News & Opinion

The Supreme Court will take up the case of Billy Counterman who claims that his internet messages to a woman were not intended to be genuine threats and thereby protected by the First Amendment. Intend is key, but some lower courts ruled that prosecutors only have to establish that a “reasonable person” would consider the messages as threats. (NBC News, January 13, 2023, by Lawrence Hurley) Counterman is seeking to vacate his conviction of stalking

After covering the 14 votes to elect House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, C-SPAN sent a letter to new McCarthy to ask if C-Span could cover all House floor proceedings for all credited news outlets. Usually, footage of the proceedings are government-produced unless there are special events such as the election of the speaker. (CNN, January 10, 2023, by Oliver Darcy) The Washington Post editorial board, January 13, 2023, argues that the usual government coverage is dull

Finland has initiated curriculum to teach students how to identify false information and ranks first among European countries for resilience against misinformation. Students begin their education on media literacy starting in preschool. (The New York Times, January 10, 2023, by Jenny Gross) Joshua Benton in NiemanLab, January 10, 2023, says a close look at lies in the media show that they mostly reach those already misinformed. He cites an article by Paul Renfro of Florida

After doing a sterling job of investigating reports of abuse of those with intellectual disabilities by the West Virginia health care system, West Virginia Public Broadcasting fired Amelia Ferrell Knisely. Apparently, a state official pressured the station’s leaders remove her from her position. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 9, 2023, by The Editorial Board) Knisely investigated an advocacy group’s allegations that the state was “patient dumping” or “warehousing patients” who should not be institutionalized. Shortly after the