Multichannel News January 10, 2011 By John Eggerton In the wake of the shootings of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others in Arizona, the National Hispanic Media coalition is asking the federal government to update its study on hate speech and to investigate the link between media hate speech and hate crimes. -db
First Amendment Center editor Brian Buchanan argues that assassins have acted without the influence of hate talk and doubts that “inflamed rhetoric” is to blame for the latest horrific shooting. -db First Amendment Center Opinion January 10, 2011 By Brian J. Buchanan Hold on, there, sheriff. Before the crime scene had even been fully analyzed, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik was quick to blame free speech after the horrific attack Jan. 8 in Tucson, Ariz.,
Courthouse News Service January 7, 2011 By Liz Potocsnak A woman sued the A&E reality show, “The Squad: Prison Police,” for portraying her as a drug dealer who smuggled drugs into prison for her husband. Reality shows are often the target of defamation suits. -db
On Point January 10, 2011 By Matthew Heller A California appellate court said two women could bring their fraud case against Dr. Phil but found that the free speech rights of talk show hosts protect them from liability for conduct related to producing a TV program. -db
The New York Times January 8, 2011 By Scot Shane and John F. Burns The U.S. government has begun a criminal investigation of WikiLeaks for releasing thousands of classified documents pertaining to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The Attorney General issued subpoenas for the Twitter accounts of people linked to WikiLeaks including its founder, Julian Assange. -db