News & Opinion

A new policy from the Office of Director of National Intelligence prevents employees and contractors from citing news reports derived from leaks.  “The Obama administration is clamping down on a technique that government officials have long used to join in public discussions of well-known but technically still-secret information: citing news reports based on unauthorized disclosures,” writes Charlie Savage for The New York Times, May 8, 2014. The Office claimed that the media distorted the policy that

The D.C. U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Oracle could pursue its case against Google that claimed that Google copied Java in developing the Android operating system. Many are concerned that the decision could seriously damage innovation and creativity in the tech industry. (Bloomberg News, May 9, 2014, by Susan Decker) Timothy B. Lee, writing for Vox, May 9, 2014, criticized the decision explaining that “Google wanted people who wrote programs in the popular programming

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Arizona could not prevent an judicial candidate from soliciting campaign contributions or speaking out on the law or other issues. The judge writing for the three panel court said that voters have a right to know the views of a candidate. (Courthouse News Service, May 12, 2014, by Jamie Ross) The candidate thought he might violate Arizona’s law prohibiting judicial candidates from seeking contributions or endorsing

A hefty media coalition is stepping up in opposition to the Federal Aviation Administration’s prohibitions on the use of drones in reporting the news. The coalition that includes The New York Times, the Associated Press, Sinclair Broadcast Group, and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed an amicus brief in the FAA’s case against a drone operator taking photos above the University of Virginia campus. (The Wall Street Journal, May 6, 2014, by

Before California’s voters in the June primary, Proposition 42 would require local government agencies to enforce the California Public Records Act and pay for it. Although there is no concerted effort to defeat the proposition, the Legislative Analyst’s Office says if enacted, the measure would cost local government tens of millions of dollars a year. (Capital Public Radio, May 6, 2014, by Steve Milne) Writing in the Contra Costa Times, April 26, 2014, Thomas Peele