By ruling that Northwestern University journalism students had to surrender internal e-mails concerning their efforts to free a man convicted of murder in 1978, Cook County judge concluded that the students were “investigators” working for the defense.
In a commentary for the First Amendment Center, Gene Policinski points out that the First Amendment does not specify anything about the differences between reporting and investigating. “Nothing in the First Amendment defines a ‘free press’ in terms of the employers or medium involved or what kind of news gathering techniques are used,” wrote Policinski.
From a commentary for the First Amendment Center, September 8, 2011, by Gene Policinski.