Tag: media

Facts, lies, elections and the press: In search of a shared national story

By William H. Freivogel >> “Facts can’t fix this.” That was the headline that emerged from a post-election discussion recently at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard Law School about how the press fell short covering the presidential election. The point: The press constantly repeating facts and pointing out lies won’t stop a man like

Missouri’s broad redaction law declared unconstitutional

By William H. Freivogel >> Updated Dec. 22: A state judge ruled Dec. 20 that Missouri’s strict law redacting the names of witnesses and victims from court records violated both the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Open Courts provision of the Missouri Constitution. Judge Aaron J. Martin, ruling out of Cole County

News Analysis: The threat Trump poses to the press

By William H. Freivogel >> If President-elect Donald Trump follows through on the threats and actions he directed at the press during the election campaign and his first administration, an already weakened press could suffer further harm over the next four years. A weaker press, in turn, weakens an important constitutional check on government, one