donal brown

Rapper Kanye West, known for his divisive and incendiary comments, is buying Parler, a right-wing platform dedicated to providing conservatives a forum for hate, vaccine lies, conspiracy theories and racism. Twitter and Istagram recently shut down West’s accounts after an antisemitic tirade. (The New York Times, October 17, 202, by Tiffany Hsu and Jenny Gross) It is yet to be determined if West can rebound from his recent extremist rants. Several business partners are reluctant

The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that St. Louis did not restrict the First Amendment rights of church leaders who handed out bologna sandwiches to homeless people. A local law forbids distribution by temporary establishments of potentially hazardous food including meat, eggs and fish. “…a three-judge panel ruled government regulation of ‘inherently expressive’ conduct – such as distributing sandwiches to the homeless – does not necessarily violate the First Amendment if the regulation

Out of their experience in reporting on the homeless, Street Sense Media has published a guide for covering the homeless crisis. The guide helps reporters frame questions, address the homeless with sensitivity and tact and and deal with dicey questions of consent and anonymity. (Poynter, October 12, 2022, by Kristen Hare)

Former President Donald Trump announced plans to file several lawsuits against news outlets for defamation. Trump has a long history of litigation. (Next TV, October 10., 2022, by John Eggerton) Law professor RonNell Andersen Jones in NBC News, October 8, 2022, writes that politicians are opting for defamation suits against the news media to attract attention and promote their agendas. Matt Ford in The New Republic, October 6, 2022, reports that in suing CNN, Trump