October 11, 2024

Ed. note: The Media Update will return Tuesday, October, 15.

In the News

NH Journal: BREAKING: Nashua Mayor Donchess Furls Public Flagpole As ‘Pine Tree Flag’ Lawsuit Looms

By Michael Graham

.....It’s time to play “Taps” for Nashua’s public flagpole tradition.

After being slapped with a lawsuit over free speech violations for refusing to allow citizens to fly the historic Pine Tree Flag, Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess quietly pulled down the city’s flagpole policy earlier this week...

(The city’s new flagpole policy can be found here.)...

“The abrupt repeal of Nashua’s flag policy is a tacit admission that the old policy was unconstitutional,” IFS attorney Nathan Ristuccia told NHJournal.

“This last-minute change is a transparent attempt to avoid judicial scrutiny and sidestep the serious constitutional issues raised by Nashua’s actions toward our clients. We look forward to continuing to litigate this matter and working to protect every citizen’s right to free speech in the public square.”

The IFS is also representing the families in the lawsuit against Bow High School over punishing parents who wore pink wristbands with XX written on them at a soccer game to indicate their opposition to allowing biological males to play on girls sports teams.

Reason (Volokh Conspiracy): School Board Restrictions on "Abusive," "Personally Directed," and "Obscene" Public Comments Violated the First Amendment …

By Eugene Volokh

.....From the decision in Moms for Liberty-Brevard County v. Brevard Public Schools, written by Judge Britt Grant and joined by Judge Barbara Lagoa:

The Oklahoman: State school board members, adviser receiving subpoenas in KFOR lawsuit against Ryan Walters

By Murray Evans

.....Attorneys for Oklahoma City television station KFOR intend to subpoena state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters’ top adviser ― who lives in Texas ― as well as five members of the State Board of Education as part of a lawsuit seeking access to the room in which the board's meetings are held.

The subpoenas, disclosed in federal court documents posted Wednesday, order the recipients to produce “all documents and communications referencing or relating to KFOR-TV, its reporters or any of the named individual plaintiffs between January 1, 2024, and the present.”

Online Speech Platforms

Wall Street Journal: The Social-Media Influencers Reshaping How Young Americans Get Their Political News

By Nate Rattner

.....News influencers bring fresh perspectives and engage younger audiences with news in a way traditional outlets often struggle to match, media and disinformation researchers say. But their rise raises questions about how they adhere to journalistic ethics and standards. It also comes as American trust in mass media is at a record low, according to Gallup.

The Atlantic: I’m Running Out of Ways to Explain How Bad This Is

By Charlie Warzel

.....So much of the conversation around misinformation suggests that its primary job is to persuade. But as Michael Caulfield, an information researcher at the University of Washington, has argued, “The primary use of ‘misinformation’ is not to change the beliefs of other people at all. Instead, the vast majority of misinformation is offered as a service for people to maintain their beliefs in face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.” …

What is clear is that a new framework is needed to describe this fracturing. Misinformation is too technical, too freighted, and, after almost a decade of Trump, too political. Nor does it explain what is really happening, which is nothing less than a cultural assault on any person or institution that operates in reality. If you are a weatherperson, you’re a target. The same goes for journalists, election workers, scientists, doctors, and first responders. These jobs are different, but the thing they share is that they all must attend to and describe the world as it is. This makes them dangerous to people who cannot abide by the agonizing constraints of reality, as well as those who have financial and political interests in keeping up the charade.

Candidates and Campaigns

Washington Post: Trump calls for CBS to lose broadcasting rights over Harris interview

By Patrick Svitek and Amy B Wang

.....Former president Donald Trump said Thursday that CBS News should lose a broadcasting license over how it edited a “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, even though the federal government does not issue licenses for such television networks...

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel denounced Trump’s latest call targeting CBS, flatly rejecting an idea the independent agency has ruled out under both the Biden and Trump administrations.

“While repeated attacks against broadcast stations by the former President may now be familiar, these threats against free speech are serious and should not be ignored,” Rosenworcel said in a statement. “As I’ve said before, the First Amendment is a cornerstone of our democracy. The FCC does not and will not revoke licenses for broadcast stations simply because a political candidate disagrees with or dislikes content or coverage.”

Nonprofits

Nonprofit Law Prof Blog: A Proposal to Replace the Charitable Deduction with Matching Grants

By Darryl K. Jones

.....Robert McClelland, from the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center has a really provocative piece in The Chronicle of Philanthropy. He argues that we should do away with the charitable contribution deduction and replace it with matching grants paid directly to charities. I don't know what to think about it and it would take me more time than I have to even start. Here is an excerpt:

Candidates and Campaigns

Reason: Neither Harris Nor Trump Is a Friend of Free Speech

By Jacob Sullum

.....Like Harris, Walz thinks the First Amendment is no barrier to government censorship of "hate speech" or "misinformation," as he made clear in a 2022 MSNBC interview. When Vance alluded to those comments during the debate, Walz doubled down.

"You can't yell 'fire' in a crowded theater," Walz declared. "That's the Supreme Court test." …

Although Vance rightly rebuked Harris and Walz for these positions, that does not mean he is a reliable defender of free speech. A few years ago, he suggested the government should "seize the assets of the Ford Foundation" because he disagrees with the academics and causes that organization supports.

Trump likewise champions freedom of speech for himself and his allies while attacking it when it protects his critics and political opponents. If Trump had his way, flag burners would be jailed, purveyors of "fake news" would lose their broadcast licenses, and news outlets would have to pay him damages when their coverage strikes him as unfair.

Only "stupid people," Trump averred in July, think flag burning is a form of constitutionally protected expression, as the Supreme Court has twice ruled. Those "stupid people" include the late Justice Antonin Scalia, whom Trump described as "a great judge" and the model for his Supreme Court appointments.

The States

National News Desk: Illinois revokes 'October 7' license plates from 5 drivers after receiving complaints

By Jackson Walker

.....Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias revoked five “October 7” license plates from state drivers this week after receiving complaints about them.

One such license plate went viral on X after it was shared by Jewish advocacy organization StopAntisemitism. The image shows the plate surrounded by a “free Palestine” frame.