Media

Alito talks media with lawyers in St. Louis

Justice Samuel Alito didn’t direct his remarks at the press when he spoke to a ballroom full of lawyers in St. Louis. But it was clearly the press he had in mind when he described the misconceptions that people have about the Supreme Court.

Alito even singled out for criticism the star Supreme Court reporter of the past generation, Linda Greenhouse, who writes a column about the court in her retirement from the New York Times. He noted that Greenhouse had wondered in her column about “topsy-turvy world” Supreme Court where business had not won as high a percentage of cases this term as in the past.

“Maybe the law has something to do with it,” said Alito with some sarcasm. “Maybe the text has something to do with it. I know that is a radical thought.”

Media

Liberty Tree seminar: Media accountability in the digital age?

The School of Journalism at Southern Illinois University Carbondale hosted a seminar on April 12 to focus on journalism ethics and First Amendment issues, funded by a grant from Liberty Tree. In two panels, journalists, lawyers and professors talked to students and each other about whether the traditional tools of media accountability are up to the new challenges of the digital media age. GJR is happy to present video of both sessions.

Media

Protess and Northwestern keep battling

In 2009, when a prosecutor went to court to force David Protess to release information compiled by journalism students working on his famous Innocence Project, Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism came to the defense of the popular, pugnacious professor. After all, Protess had made the school famous for having helped free 12 men who had been wrongfully convicted, including five from death row.

Media

So-called Enterprise bill would weaken protections for whistleblowers

When legislators or lobbyists talk about a bill in the Missouri General Assembly that would weaken protection for whistleblowers, they often call it the “Enterprise bill.” The reason is that Enterprise Rent-a-Car of Clayton has made it a top legislative priority for the past five years, ever since the firm lost a whistleblower lawsuit filed by its fired corporate comptroller, Thomas P. Dunn.