In the third year of President Donald J. Trump’s war on the truth, Trump is winning. When the truth loses, so does democracy and the First Amendment. Consider the past several weeks: During seven hours of congressional hearings in July, a by-the-book special counsel verified episodes showing “substantial” evidence of obstruction of justice by Trump…
A St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter listens through a closed courthouse door and tweets what he hears. The judge finds the eavesdropping reporter in contempt and orders him to write letters of apology. He is also to “participate in an educational program with court staff” on the First Amendment and right to a fair trial. The…
The indictment of Julian Assange for leaking national security secrets poses a serious challenge to the First Amendment’s protection of the right of the press to publish stories on the most important of news events. Assange is the first self-styled journalist to be charged with violating the century-old Espionage Act, an overbroad law passed in…
Jennie Crabbe and Colleen Schrappen finished their last shifts on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch copy desk on May 1, signing off on Twitter and in an email to colleagues. Lee Enterprises announced in February that it was eliminating the copy desk and moving copy and design functions to Indiana. Avis Meyer, a veteran of the…
In an issue where the cover is about the death spiral of print journalism at two of Missouri’s great newspapers, it may seem contradictory to say we are living through the most exciting time in journalism since the advent of the printing press. But we are. Jackie Spinner, who is promoted to editor of GJR…