Author: William H. Freivogel

Does First Amendment protect ‘Innocence of the Muslims’ film?

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. wrote a century ago that free speech didn't protect a person "falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic." Now some news commentators are dusting off that memorable aphorism to suggest that the offensive film, "Innocence of the Muslims," is not protected by the First Amendment.

War coverage: Media challenge presidents’ lines

One of the most repeated pieces of conventional wisdom about the lead up to the war in Iraq is that the press served as a cheerleader for the invasion, buying into the Bush administration’s claims about weapons of mass destruction and connections between Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida. This view is embraced so fervently

Layoffs mark end of era at Post-Dispatch

Ninety-nine years after Daniel R. Fitzpatrick became the editorial cartoonist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, that proud history of editorial cartooning appears to be coming to an end with the layoff of award-winning cartoonist R.J. Matson. Matson confirmed that he was among the 13 newsroom employees laid off last week in a round of staff

Illinois General Assembly fails to change controversial law

The Illinois General Assembly failed this month to change the state's tough eavesdropping law even though federal and state courts have said it violates the First Amendment. Currently, audiotaping without the permission of everyone involved in a conversation is a felony in Illinois, making it unlawful for citizens to tape encounters with police. Last month,

Limbaugh copyright complaint was actually Fair Use

For a time late last month, Rush Limbaugh succeeded in abusing copyright law to get YouTube to take down a Daily Kos video stringing together the insulting remarks he made about Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown law student who became a featured player in the contraception controversy a few months back. The video stitched together short excerpts