SLAPP suits threaten coverage of campaign financing
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Dear friend of press freedom,
Here are some of the most important stories we’re following from the U.S. and around the world. If you enjoy reading this newsletter, please forward it to friends and family. If someone has forwarded you this newsletter, please subscribe here ([link removed]) .
Medill DC, Amanda Bossard. Chief Justice John Roberts, like Justice Clarence Thomas, faces questions about potential conflicts of interest arising from his spouse's work. A new federal law makes it harder for journalists to report on similar ethical concerns in the lower courts.
Public records laws are vital to transparency and democracy. That's why we're deeply disturbed by a number of tactics government agencies have recently employed to circumvent their obligations.
This new wave of anti-transparency measures seems bolder than past practices of, for example, abusing exemptions ([link removed]) to open records laws or delaying responses to requests until the records lose their newsworthiness.
Our blog highlighted ([link removed]) examples ranging from state lawmakers proclaiming themselves exempt from open records requirements to military courts ignoring the law to avoid transparency during court martials to state and federal legislatures obstructing media access to their legislative chambers. And we previously wrote about ([link removed]) the new federal law that allows judges to scrub potential ethical violations from the internet.
These innovative anti-transparency efforts don’t mean that officials have given up on tried and true avoidance tactics like price gouging. A Nebraska environmental agency, for example, wants to bill ([link removed]) the Flatwater Free Press $44,000 to comply with a records request. Thankfully, the Free Press is suing, but litigation likely means more delay.
** SLAPPs target discussion of campaign contributions
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Wealthy campaign financiers love the First Amendment ([link removed]) when they’re looking to avoid regulation but not so much when they get criticized.
Billionaire Kelcy Warren is suing former Congressman Beto O’Rourke over comments connecting Warren’s $1 million donation to Gov. Greg Abbot to legislation allowing gas companies like Warren’s to opt out of weatherization requirements. His case may end up in front of Texas Supreme Court justices whose campaigns Warren also backed.
We explained to The Lever ([link removed]) that “the press and public are entitled to discuss the functioning of the judiciary” and the potential conflicts among the justices “only underscore the need for people to be able to speak freely about campaign contributions,” which Warren’s lawsuit, if successful, would undermine.
** Reporter’s privilege needs consistency
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Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) advocacy director Seth Stern co-wrote an article ([link removed]) for American Bar Association magazine The Brief about the patchwork of reporter’s privilege laws and court decisions around the country and the resulting confusion and inconsistency.
The article discusses the differing outcomes of journalist subpoenas in R. Kelly’s various criminal trials to illustrate the unpredictability journalists and their sources face, especially when reporting on stories of national significance. They can’t anticipate where someone might compel them to testify and what law might apply.
The article explains that the PRESS Act ([link removed]) would resolve the problem altogether in the federal courts and provide helpful guidance to state judges, especially in smaller states where court precedents are limited.
** What we’re reading
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Reporter pepper-sprayed while covering ‘Justice for Tyre’ protest ([link removed]) : FPF’s U.S. Press Freedom Tracker reports that police pepper-sprayed a journalist from the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin during a protest in New York this week. The Press & Sun-Bulletin reported that the journalist, Sarah Eames, had identified herself as press and was holding up her media credentials. Historical data from the Press Freedom Tracker ([link removed]) confirms that protests, and particularly protests against police misconduct, are often hotbeds for press freedom violations.
US Charges 3 in plot to kill Iranian-American author in NYC ([link removed]) : The Justice Department charged three men for allegedly plotting to kill Iranian American journalist, author and activist Masih Alinejad. The indictment does not directly accuse Iran of backing the murder-for-hire plot, although Alinejad, who now resides in New York, has been vocal in opposing human rights abuses in Iran and the alleged ringleader lives there. The Press Freedom Tracker has been following the case for years and has more background here ([link removed]) .
California lawmaker pushes to reopen news media access to prisons, jails ([link removed]) : A California state senator has proposed legislation to allow the media to tour prisons and interview and record inmates. It also prohibits corrections staff from retaliating against incarcerated people for talking to the press. California and other states have, unfortunately, rolled back press access to prisons over the last several decades. Officials often cite concerns that the media will glamorize criminals to justify policies that actually suppress much-needed investigative reporting on prison conditions and abuses.
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