Once upon a time, I was exposed to thoughts on the First Amendment every day. Or at least one thought a day, thanks to the Freedom Forum First Amendment Calendar on my desk. The calendar ran a daily thought on First Amendment issues and the media from a variety of people. Here’s former First Lady Barbara Bush in 1992: ”Avoid this crowd (the press) like the plague. And if they quote you, make damn sure they heard you.” I thought the calendar had died a quiet death, but you can buy a copy of the 2004 calendar from the Newseum.org store for $5.
I thought of the calendar because one of those quotes appears daily on the front page of a site that I think all journalists should know about, but don’t. FirstAmendmentCenter.org is a site run by the Freedom Forum’s First Amendment Center, and it is the best place to learn more about the First Amendment and the various issues that affect our business and our society.
It’s sometimes easy to think of the First Amendment as something abstract that doesn’t have much day-to-day impact. But just a glance at the news stories on the site shows you how many issues it touches: journalists forced to reveal sources in the naming of a CIA spy; the tussle over permits for those who want to protest in New York City during the Republican convention; campaign spending by non-party groups as a free speech issue. The site covers these and other topics with news stories, commentaries, and in-depth features.
Some sections worth exploring include:
- First Amendment Library: A massive collection of documents dealing with First Amendment issues. The site describes it this way, “This online library aspires to become the nation’s preeminent clearinghouse for information concerning the five freedoms — speech, press, assembly, petition, and religion — guaranteed by the First Amendment to our Constitution. To that end, a vast array of judicial, legislative, historical, analytical, journalistic, editorial, and other materials have been collected, organized, and presented, free of charge, to all users of the First Amendment Center’s website.”
- Glossary: Explanations of concepts from “absolute privilege” (defined as “the right of legislators, judges, and government officials to speak without threat of libel when acting in their official capacities”) to “vagueness” (defined as “a characteristic of laws that are imprecisely worded. A vague law restricting some form of free expression would be unclear as to what is allowed and what is not”).
- Lesson Plans: Lessons for those teaching First Amendment issues. I know what some of you are thinking: “Good to know, but how can this possibly help me in my deadline work?” One answer is that it can teach you about your rights and helping you cover some thorny topics you might come across. But some of you will insist on something even more “practical” (I know this from feedback to previous columns). So here it is: check out the Experts section: names of experts on various First Amendment issues (many have contact information on the site; otherwise you can contact the Center and they will help you get in touch with experts).
Your turn: Send your thoughts — and useful sites — to poynter@sree.net.
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