Posts under ‘Issues’

SF Chronicle: Bail revoked for journalist in contempt case. Freelance journalist and activist Josh Wolf is heading back to jail after a federal appeals court on Monday ordered his bail revoked unless he changes course and gives a federal grand jury outtakes of footage he shot at a violent San Francisco protest in July 2005.

(The following column first appeared in PR Week (subscription required).) My friend David Weinberger, an author and deep thinker, once updated the famous Andy Warhol line for the era of the blog. Weinberger said, “In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 people.” Fame is double-edged, of course. So an addendum: In the future, […]

Bob Cox, in ‘The best test of truth’, makes the case that free speech, one of America’s core values, should be one of our chief cultural exports in an often hostile world. It’s an eloquent essay. He makes one small error, though, when he says the right to free speech “does not extend to shouting […]

The New York Times discusses “The Lonelygirl That Really Wasn’t” but skirts the ethical questions — including the fact that the site in question was deceiving people, and that the creators plainly hope to make money on the people they’ve deceived. Isn’t that — at least as much the smart forensic work that exposed the […]

In an item on Poynter Online about the likely dismissal of a libel lawsuit against a website where a commenter posted allegedly libelous material, a staffer from the San Diego Union Tribune is quoted thusly: While protection to ferret out the truth is nice, I kind of wish the courts or Congress would revisit this […]

It’s no surprise that some bloggers on the political right have been enthusiastic supporters of the fake history that ABC and Disney are passing off as “almost fact” this weekend — the so-called “docudrama” about 9/11. What is dismaying in the extreme is that some people for whom I’ve had a great deal of respect […]

The Chicago Tribune’s Phil Rosenthal notes the rise in private (i.e. non-public shareholding) ownership of newspapers and warns, “Be careful what you wish for.” He says the Citizen Kanes of a new era will not be the saviors some people believe. OK, but so what? (And why does he use a fictional character to illustrate […]

AP: Some CBS Affiliates Worry over 9/11 Show. Broadcasters say the hesitancy of some CBS affiliates to air a powerful Sept. 11 documentary next week proves there’s been a chilling effect on the First Amendment since federal regulators boosted penalties for television obscenities after Janet Jackson’s breast was exposed at a Super Bowl halftime show. […]

AP: Freelancer jailed over video released. Freelance journalist Josh Wolf was released on bail today from a federal prison where he had been held since Aug. 1 after challenging a grand jury subpoena that demanded outtakes of videos he shot at a San Francisco protest. Wolf’s advocates, who included national journalist organizations, saw the Ninth […]

If any of this interests you, check out ICT for Peacebuilding. Great summaries of what’s going on.