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Miami Beach police allegedly confiscate video of police shooting

donal brown June 9, 2011

After Miami Beach police shot and killed a suspect on a public street, they allegedly confiscated a video devise from a witness Narces Benoit and roughed up him and his girlfriend in the process. The police said Benoit was seized as a witness and denied that they stomped on his cellphone. Free press supporters say unless Benoit had posted it on YouTube, the public would never have known the details of the police shooting since

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Tennesee law bans posting of gratuitous images causing emotional distress

donal brown June 9, 2011

In his blog, Eugene Volokh says a new Tennessee law banning the posting of images causing emotional distress without legitimate purpose is unconstitutional. The law did not specify the meaning of legitimate purpose. Volokh argues that the law would seriously curtail free speech, “…if you post an image intended to distress some religious, political, ethnic, racial, etc. group, you too can be sent to jail if governments decision maker thinks your purpose wasn’t ‘legitimate.’ Nothing

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California: Santa Barbara City Council restricts open meeting law

donal brown June 9, 2011

The Santa Barbara City Council, citing the need for freer discussion of issues, voted 4-3 to roll back aspects of the Brown Act, California’s open meeting law. The council majority expressed the need for more leeway in discussion before making decisions and argued it was unproductive to restrict private meetings. The mayor who voted against the majority said, “It [deliberating in public] takes longer and it’s not as pretty…but at the end of the day,

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A&A: Charter board meetings flout Brown Act rules

FAC June 7, 2011

Q: Can Charter Boards hold special meetings, with limited notice on just any subject? Can they go into closed session and report out publicly that no action was taken, then order the CEO to do what was decided in the closed session? Can a vote be taken to approve signature of a disclosure filing that contains conflict of interest information and then the board president refuse to sign it in a timely fashion? A: Addressing

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Sexual attack used as weapon to silence women reporters

donal brown June 7, 2011

A report released this week reveals that women reporters, tired of enduring sexual threats and no longer afraid of losing their jobs for complaining, are now speaking out. The change occurred after CBS News correspondent Lara Logan candidly spoke about her assault by a mob in Cairo’s Tahrir Square while covering the Egyptian uprising. News organizations are beginning to provide help for women in difficult assignments. NBC is starting a course for journalists reporting in

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