[freekeenenews] Independent Journalist Indicted – 21years for Highlighting Double-Standards of Manchester “Public Servants”

http://CopBlock.org/ManchesterIndictment
or
http://FreeKeene.com/Ademo-Indicted

Ademo Freeman, blogger at FreeKeene.com and founder of CopBlock.org,
yesterday learned from a Union Leader article that he had been
indicted on three counts of felony wiretapping for conversations he
had with three Manchester, NH public officials in early October when
inquiring of their actions related to the Oct. 3rd incident at
Manchester's West High School when school liaison officer Darren
Murphy assaulted 17-yo student Frank Harrington.

The incident attracted a lot of media attention (the original video of
Frank being assaulted, captured by his friend and fellow student Mike
Proulx, has over 140,000 views) and at the time, Manchester PD Chief
David J. Mara hinted that they were looking into charging Ademo with
wiretapping, a threat we thought done to distract from the actions of
those involved.

Background:
-Ademo, along with seven others, had been arrested on June 4th in
Manchester outside the police department at a pro-police
accountability rally and just represented himself pro se in Manchester
District Court. http://CopBlock.org/Chalk
-In July Ademo successfully defended himself pro se in Greenfield, MA
against felony wiretapping charges when interacting with public
officials there. http://CopBlock.org/Greenfield
-In July the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the Glik decision
asserted the right to record public officials in the course of their
duties. http://www.CopBlock.org/tag/Glik/

Ademo's bio from FreeKeene.com/About/Bloggers:
Ademo was born and raised in Wisconsin. He moved to New Hampshire to
join other activists who advocate for a voluntary society. Ademo has
been apart of projects like Motorhome Diaries, which traveled to 41
states and published almost 200 videos while “searching for freedom in
America”, Cop Block.org, a police accountability site, and Liberty On
Tour, which focuses on several aspects of the liberty movement. Ademo
is excited to join Free Keene and when not doing activism, enjoys a
good game of poker, a beer, and socializing with friends.

Franklin Center - A Victory of Citizen Journalism

A Victory of Citizen Journalism

Franklin Center President Jason Stverak was a featured columnist in Online Journalism Review this month. In his article, he discusses the recent federal court ruling that recording public officials, including police officers, is protected by the First Amendment. This decision, which may outrage law enforcement officials and members of Congress, is one of the first federal court decisions that brings the First Amendment into the Internet age.

An excerpt of the article is below and you can read it in its entirety at FranklinCenterHQ.org.

Federal court ruling provides a victory for grassroots journalism
Written by Jason Stverak

This case emerged from an incident where a private citizen used his personal cell phone to capture alleged police brutality.

Simon Glik could have walked away when he saw two police officers punching a man in the face. Instead, he pulled out his cellphone and started recording it. When Mr. Glik informed the police officers that he was recording audio, the officer arrested him for violating the state's wiretap law. He also was charged with disturbing the peace and aiding the escape of a prisoner. The charges were dropped eventually because of lack of merit, but Mr. Glik filed a lawsuit claiming his free-speech rights had been violated.

This latest ruling is especially relevant to those who consider themselves citizen journalists. Before the court's decision, members of the general public did not have the legal protection guaranteed by state shield laws enjoyed by credentialed journalists.

The court decision, in part, reads:

"Changes in technology and society have made the lines between private citizen and journalist exceedingly difficult to draw. The proliferation of electronic devices with video-recording capability means that many of our images of current events come from bystanders with a ready cell phone or digital camera rather than a traditional film crew, and news stories are now just as likely to be broken by a blogger at her computer as a reporter at a major newspaper. Such developments make clear why the news-gathering protections of the First Amendment cannot turn on professional credentials or status." 

Read More

Franklin Center - ICYMI: First Amendment victory for citizen journalists

Today, Washington Times ran an editorial from Jason Stverak, President of the Franklin Center. It discusses the recent court decision to allow citizens to film government officials, including police officers, in public. This decision is important to citizen journalists who are not protected under any shield laws or credentials. It is also one of the first cases that opens the definition for “the press” in the Constitution.

An excerpt of the editorial is below:

Freedom of the press belongs to everyone, not just ‘official’ reporters
 By Jason Stverak
The Washington Times

 

In a landmark decision, a federal court ruled last week that recording public officials, including police officers, is protected by the First Amendment. This decision, which may outrage law enforcement officials and members of Congress, is one of the first federal court decisions that brings the First Amendment into the Internet age.

This case emerged from separate incidents in which private citizens usedpersonal video cameras or cellphones to capture alleged police brutality.

The first occurred when Khaliah Fitchette, a New Jersey teenager, boarded a bus in Newark. As she waited for the bus to depart, two police officers boarded the bus to forcefully remove a drunken passenger. Ms. Fitchette began taping the police officers and refused to quit upon officer request. She was arrested and detained while the police deleted her footage. No charges were filed against Ms. Fitchette, but she filed a lawsuit against the Newark Police Department with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Jersey.

The second incident occurred in Boston when Simon Glik pulled out his cellphone to tape police officers punching a man on the street. An officer asked Mr. Glik if he was recording audio. When Mr. Glik admitted that he was, the officer arrested him for violating the state's wiretap law. He also was charged with disturbing the peace and aiding the escape of a prisoner. The charges were dropped eventually because of lack of merit, but Mr. Glik joined the ACLU lawsuit, claiming his free-speech rights had been violated.

Read More at Washington Times

CEI Daily - Political Journalism and War

Political Journalism

Politico recently had an odd piece on Rick Perry, slamming him for his work in the 1980s with Al Gore.

Senior Fellow Chris Horner explains what's wrong with the Politico piece---including its assumptions about what Perry knew about Gore's climate change work, which wouldn't come into the public eye for over another decade.

"You would think that there are enough actual political controversies these days that journalists wouldn’t need to invent fake ones. Apparently not."

War Paul Krugman recently had a column arguing that an alien invasion would be a boon for the economy. Fellow in Regulatory Studies Ryan Young comments. "War does not create. It can only destroy. True, aggregate numbers like GDP can thrive during such troubled times. Workers were cranking out munitions like nobody’s business. But those workers’ actual standard of living was not high; everyday essentials were being rationed. That’s the peril of relying on GDP as an economic barometer. It certainly has its uses. But over-reliance on it has made Krugman ignore other, harsher aspects of war. The fighting. The dying. The separated families, in some cases made smaller by the economic stimulus. The privation at home. The lost opportunities, economic and otherwise."

 

Washington Examiner: Pew study points to work of Franklin Center journos

Dear Friends,

Wanted to share with you the below column by Franklin Center's President Jason Stverak that appeared in today's Washington Examiner. Jason's column discusses last week's Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism's study analyzing 46 independent online news organizations – half of which were part of Franklin’s national network of state-based news bureaus.

Pew study points to work of Franklin Center journos
By: Jason Stverak
Washington Examiner

Last week, the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism released a study examining 46 nonprofit news websites, which have become more prevalent as traditional media outlets have disappeared.

The study, which analyzed 1,203 stories from the month of September 2010, found that more than half of the news sites were ideologically based.

Among the sites analyzed were the national investigative site Watchdog.org and the statehouse reporting news site StatehouseNewsOnline.com. Both of these sites are run by the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, a nonprofit group working with news organizations in more than 40 states.

To many in the press and around the nation, the Pew study was an introduction to the work of the Franklin Center. And, although we don’t agree with all of Pew’s findings about our organization, we urge readers around the nation to judge for themselves. That’s right, go to our various news sites; sign up for our news clips and read the stories for yourself.

What you will find is that the Franklin Center and our network of reporters are dedicated to educating the public about corruption, incompetence, fraud, waste and abuse of public trust by elected officials.

What you will also find is that the Franklin Center and our reporters are accurate, independent and relentlessly in pursuit to expose the truth and to hold our government officials accountable to the people they represent.

Read More at Washington Examiner

COMING SOON:
The Franklin Center will be launching a new website with fresh, innovative, and interactive features. Check it out at FranklinCenterHQ.org