FAC

N.C. court won’t force newspaper to I.D. online commentator

A North Carolina judge has ruled that news organizations do not have to release the identities of people who make comments on their online news articles. News August 2, 2010 By The Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Gaston County Superior Court Judge Calvin Murphy ruled the Gaston Gazette did not have to tell the attorney for a murder suspect who a commentator was on an article about the case. The identity of a commentator had

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U. of Ill. offers to reinstate Catholic instructor

The University of Illinois says it has offered a teaching job to an instructor who was fired over a complaint that he engaged in hate speech in his explanation of Catholic Church doctrine on homosexuality. News August 2, 2010 By The Associated Press CHAMPAIGN, Ill. —The university also said July 29 that it would stop allowing the on-campus St. John’s Catholic Newman Center to pay instructors who teach Catholic-related courses and will instead pay those

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Bell’s princely salaries result of fewer reporters on the beat

How did the city officials of Bell, CA, manage to convince the mostly low-income citizens of their municipality to fund such outrageously high salaries?  Writer Conor Friedersdorf at Forbes.com argues that the townspeople never agreed, they didn’t even know about the high salaries.  The reason? There was no watchdog reporter covering city hall. Why Every City Needs A Beat ReporterConor Friedersdorf, 07.29.10, 05:43 PM EDT …Each member of the city council was being paid six

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Divided 8th Circuit strikes down Minn. judicial-campaign restrictions

A divided federal appeals court ruled yesterday that Minnesota’s restrictions on fundraising and endorsements by judicial candidates violated their free-speech rights, overturning parts of the state code of judicial conduct. July 30, 2010 By The Associated Press ST. PAUL, Minn. —A sharp dissent warned that the change could threaten public trust in impartial courts. The decision clears the way for bigger spending in what are typically sleepy judicial races at the bottom of the ballot.

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Ousted USDA employee: I’ll sue blogger

Ousted Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod said yesterday that she would sue a conservative blogger who posted a video edited in a way that she contends made her appear racist. July 30, 2010 By The Associated Press SAN DIEGO — Sherrod was forced to resign last week as director of rural development in Georgia after Andrew Breitbart posted the edited video online. In the full video, Sherrod, who is black, spoke to a local NAACP

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