Search

Categories

Total Results

No Record Found

View All Results
DONATE

donal brown

Opinion: Tabloid use of illegal tactics should deprive it of First Amendment protection

donal brown July 20, 2011

A former tabloid reporter says the tabloids are mired in illegal conduct so dependent on it that they could not compete with the mainstream press without it. Tabloids routinely practice bribery and extortion along with other borderline activities. In an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, Jeffrey Scott Shapiro says, “Although the law provides us with the tools we need to punish crimes related to free speech, the judicial system is too quick to bow

Read More »

FCC report recommends policy initiatives to protect journalism

donal brown July 20, 2011

A working group of staff members at the Federal Communications Commission issued a report calling for Congress and policy makers to support civic journalism. “There is a shortage of ‘local, professional accountability reporting’ which will (not surprisingly to any of us journalist folk) lead to corruption. The working group foresees a world where non-profit media, including web sites, state-based C-SPANs, citizens tweeting, and Low Power FM stations, need to play a bigger role in filling

Read More »

Federal court rules threats and racial slurs against Obama protected speech

donal brown July 20, 2011

The federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a California man’s online rant against Barack Obama during the 2008 campaign did not  constitute “serious threat” and was protected under the First Amendment. The man had posted the comments, “Obama fk the niggar, he will have a 50 cal in the head soon,”  “shoot the nig country fkd for another 4 years+, what nig has done ANYTHING right???? long term???? never in history, except sambos.”

Read More »

Government secrets: How many and for how long?

donal brown July 18, 2011

In a memorandum just made public this week, then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said in 2005 tht the government secrecy system was a failure, that the government was incapable of keeping a secret and policies need to be crafted to deal with that reality. One current government official said Rumsfeld’s initial premise was wrong. The government could keep secrets but that trying to keep too many secrets for a long time would bring failure. -db

Read More »

Whistleblower gets probation in espionage case

donal brown July 18, 2011

Charged with espionage for leaking classified information to a reporter concerning contracts let by the National Security Agency that he felt wasted taxpayers’ money, Thomas Drake agreed to a plea deal of one-year on probation and 240 hours of community service. The federal judge presiding over the case criticized the government for retreating on the eve of the trial and the two and a half year time period between the initial search of Drake’s house

Read More »