Franklin Center - Attacking the Fifth Estate: Bloggers legally belittled

Friends,

We wanted to share the below editorial by Franklin Center President Jason Stverak regarding the recent court ruling in Oregon saying that bloggers are not protected by shield laws. Feel free to repost on your site. 

Attacking the Fifth Estate
By Jason Stverak 
Online Journalism Review

Bloggers in Oregon, watch out. That’s because this month an Oregon court ruled that bloggers do not have same protection as the “media.”
 
This ruling emerged when Crystal Cox, a blogger, was accused of defaming Obsidian Finance Group and its co-founder Kevin Padrick on her blog. She posted that Padrick acted criminally in a federal bankruptcy case. Padrick sued and the court found that Cox was not protected under the state’s media shield law.
 
This decision has implications for bloggers around the country.
 
Since there is no legal definition for “the press,” this court ruling is one of the first to explicitly say that bloggers are not the media. This comes only a few short months after a federal court ruled that anyone, including bloggers, may legally record public officials, including police officers. The ruling said:
 
[C]hanges 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.
[Page 13 of the Slip Opinion from Glik v. Cuniffe]
 
While the Glik case was a victory for citizen journalism, the Oregon ruling is a failure to recognize the drastic changes occurring in the journalism world. Current technological advancements have made the line between citizen journalists and mainstream media harder to define. This is beneficial not only to anyone who produces news but also news consumers as well.

Read More at Online Journalism Review 

If you would like support the Franklin Center, your tax-deductible contribution can be made online by clicking here or send to our offices at 127 S. Peyton St. Suite 200, Alexandria, VA 22314.

Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity promotes social welfare and civil betterment by undertaking programs that promote journalism and the education of the public about corruption, incompetence, fraud, or taxpayer abuse by elected officials at all levels of government. Founded in January of 2009, The Franklin Center is a nonpartisan organization that believes that new technology can advance the cause of transparency in government. The Franklin Center aims to educate, to advise and to train individuals and organizations from all backgrounds to become thorough, unbiased and responsible reporters well versed in new media techniques and journalistic integrity. For more information on the Franklin Center please visit www.FranklinCenterHQ.org.

WTAS: Gov. Huntsman's Momentum In 2012 Campaign

Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele: “The reality for Huntsman is Huntsman is where the American people are. Period. End of story.” (MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” 11/14/11)

The Washington Post: “Things in the country are bad. No, terrible. And only former Utah governor Jon Huntsman can fix them. That’s the message in the first ad from Our Destiny PAC — a so-called super PAC supporting Huntsman — that will begin running in New Hampshire on Tuesday.” (Chris Cillizza, “Jon Huntsman Super PAC Launches N.H. Ads,” The Washington Post’s “The Fix” Blog, 11/14/11)

NBC News: “A Super PAC supporting Jon Huntsman's presidential candidacy, Our Destiny PAC, is airing a 60-second TV ad in New Hampshire (on broadcast and cable) to help Huntsman in the Granite State. The ad concludes with an elderly man looking into the camera and saying: ‘Why haven't we heard of this guy?’” (Mark Murray and Jo Ling Kent, “‘Why Haven't We Heard Of This Guy?’,” NBC News’ “First Read” Blog, 11/14/11)

Concord Monitor: “Our Destiny PAC's first Huntsman ad is pretty intense” (Ben Leubsdorf Twitter Feed, twitter.com, 11/14/11)

Former GE CEO Jack Welch: “He [Huntsman] is so great … He’s going to emerge, in my opinion, it’s going to be between Romney and Huntsman in the end.” (CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” 11/11/11)

National Journal: “Huntsman Super PAC going up on broadcast and cable in NH. ‘Why haven't we hard of this guy?’ voter asks in kicker.” (Beth Reinhard Twitter Feed, twitter.com, 11/14/11)

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough: “There is no doubt he is head and shoulders above all the other candidates on policy and on leadership. There’s no doubt.” (MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” 11/14/11)

Talking Points Memo: “A Super-PAC supporting Jon Huntsman has a new TV ad, set to run in New Hampshire starting Tuesday, that asks a key question for Republican primary voters: How come we haven’t heard of Jon Huntsman?” (Eric Kleefeld, “Pro-Huntsman Super-PAC Ad: ‘Why Haven’t We Heard Of This Guy?’,” Talking Points Memo’s “TPM2012” Blog, 11/14/11)

The Associated Press: “The minute-long ad by the Our Destiny political action committee is scheduled to begin airing Tuesday. It highlights Huntsman's two terms as governor, three tours as a U.S. ambassador and record as the nation's top job-creating governor.” (Philip Eliott, “Huntsman Super PAC Going On Air In New Hampshire,” The Associated Press, 11/14/11)

Human Events: “Gritty. … Here is the Huntsman SuperPac spot.” (Tony Lee Twitter Feed, twitter.com, 11/14/11)

• Human Events: “[I]f voters are willing to put aside ideological and rhetorical purity in favor of electability, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman may be the candidate who is more conservative and electable than Romney, and he should be discussed as the anti-Romney challenger from the ‘electability’ wing of the Republican party.” (Tony Lee, “Jon Huntsman: The Anti-Romney From The Electability Wing Of The GOP,” Human Events’ “The Chase 2012” Blog, 11/5/11)

Politico Headline: “Erick Erickson Gives Jon Huntsman Second Look” (Tim Mak, “Erick Erickson Gives Jon Huntsman Second Look,” Politico, 11/8/11)

Miami Herald Headline: “If Cain Flames Out, Huntsman May Find Chance To Rise” (Marc Caputo, “If Cain Flames Out, Huntsman May Find Chance To Rise,” Miami Herald, 11/8/11)

Foreign Policy: “The only candidate to respond in a way that I found realistic was Huntsman, who blasted his colleagues with ‘sound-bite’ campaigning. I couldn't agree more.” (Michael Magan, “Someone Please Give These Candidates Some (Foreign) Assistance,” Foreign Policy’s “Shadow Government” Blog, 11/14/11)

Newsmax Headline: “Cain’s Fall Could Benefit Huntsman” (Andra Varin, “Cain’s Fall Could Benefit Huntsman,” Newsmax, 11/9/11)

NHDP - #FITN News 11/14/2011

This Week's NH #FITN News & Headlines

Concord Monitor: 'Mittless protection?'

Union Leader (via Reuters): Planned Parenthood hits Romney on opposition to family planning funding

Boston Globe: Christie offers pre-debate advice to Romney: Be yourself
Concord Monitor: Newt's moment

NHPR: Cain gets benefit of the doubt - for now

Concord Monitor: Santorum: I'm the conservantive pick

Union Leader editorial: Perry's third department: We're making progress

Keene Sentinel editorial: What Rick Perry's 'brain freeze' says about his capabilities

Nashua Telegraph: Roemer tackling campaign finance

Concord Monitor: One friendly debate

Nashua Telegraph: Delegation faces endorsing or not

 

State News & Views

AP: State GOP's job record spotty 

Concord Monitor: Biden pays tribute to N.H. veterans 

Patch: Organizing for America Volunteers in Amherst for Day of Action

Valley News: Obama Supporters Re-Engage, One Year Out Volunteers Begin Work

Boston Globe: While N.H. eyes are on GOP candidates, Obama and Democrats work quietly 

Portsmouth Herald: Gov. Patrick helps open Obama office in Portsmouth

GARY JOHNSON TO RNC: LETTING NEWS MEDIA PRE-SELECT PRESIDENTIAL FIELD IS IRRESPONSIBLE

October 21, 2011, Santa Fe, NM - In response to several debate exclusions Presidential candidate Gary Johnson sent the following letter to Republican National Committee Chairman, Reince Priebus:

 

"There is one thing about which all Republicans agree:  Our greatest imperative in 2012 is to elect a Republican President of the United States. 

 

It is the simple reality that our country is headed in a disastrous financial direction that prompted me to seek the Republican nomination for president.  As a Republican who was elected - and reelected - governor of New Mexico, an overwhelmingly Democrat state, I recognized that the right kind of leadership is essential if we are to regain the White House in 2012.

 

Having compiled a record as governor that, by any measure, demonstrates the ability to curb spending, cut taxes and create an economic and regulatory environment that will bring about real job creation, I entered the race for president with the belief that I bring to the table not only the credentials, but ideas that Republicans would like to see and hear.  Never did it occur to me that I would be excluded from the conversation; however, that is precisely what is happening - and I believe the Republican National Committee bears some responsibility for what is going on.

 

Debates, such as the one this week in Las Vegas, are supposed to be opportunities for voters to see the candidates, hear their views, and judge their qualifications without the distortions of money, recognition and favoritism.  However, when organizing those debates is left to the national news media, the result has been an absurd Catch-22.  Invitations to participate in the debates are based upon arbitrary polling criteria decided in the conference rooms of media organizations such as CNN or NBC or the Washington Post. 

 

Of course poll performance in the early stages of a campaign is almost entirely a function of money and name recognition - those same distortions debates are intended to eliminate.   Even worse, the same organizations who organize the debates are the ones who conduct the polls upon which their invitations are based.  In my case, most of those organizations do not include me in their polling.  The net result is that a handful of media executives have largely denied Republicans the opportunity to hear from a former governor whose record clearly merits their consideration.

 

I recognize that the RNC is not in the business of helping one candidate for the nomination or another.  However, I would suggest that it is the business of the RNC to insure that the Republican nominating process is not ceded to the likes of CNN and the Washington Post.  Commentators across the board have pointed to the fundamental unfairness of my exclusion from the process.  Even other candidates have done the same.  But nowhere have we heard the voice of the Republican National Committee.  As a lifelong Republican and a former Republican governor, I would suggest that allowing the national news media - who do not have the best interests of the Republican Party in mind - to pre-select the presidential field is nothing less than irresponsible.

 

It is no secret that not all of my views, particularly on some so-called 'social issues' are shared by certain elements of the Republican Party - elements who frankly exert inordinate influence within the Party.  Many of my supporters who are Independents - and even Democrats - are quick to suggest that the Republican "establishment" doesn't want my voice heard.  I hope that is not the case.  To the contrary, as I travel the country, I find a great number of Republicans who not only share my views, but who feel disenfranchised by a vocal minority that has become the face of the Party.

 

My electoral success in a heavily Democrat state should serve as proof that my candidacy presents an opportunity to demonstrate that the Republican Party is big enough to allow a slightly different voice to be heard.  That will be important next year when it comes time to turn our attention to the ultimate goal:  Convincing a majority of Americans that they want a Republican in the White House.

 

With the early Republican primaries and caucuses fast approaching, I urge you to exert some leadership and reclaim the nominating process from the national news media who are today pre-ordaining the viability and success of candidates.   It is Republican voters who ultimately lose when the process is skewed, and serving the interests of those voters is, in fact, your responsibility, as is the integrity of the nominating process."

For more information, please visit www.garyjohnson2012.com.

View this release on the web.

# # # #

About Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson: Gary Johnson, a Republican and two-term Governor of New Mexico from 1994-2002, has been a consistent and outspoken advocate for limited, efficient government and personal liberty.

NHDP - Tough Day for GOP Candidates All Over New Hampshire

Concord, NH - It was a tough day for Republicans on the editorial pages of four of New Hampshire's largest newspapers.  Republican leadership in the state House of Representatives along with the GOP's 2012 presidential wannabes were taken to task for their support of a wide variety of out of touch and reckless policy positions.

Excerpts from today's blistering editorials are below.

Concord Monitor: Speaker's mileage fiat discriminatory  

Don't get us wrong. We're not in favor of paying lawmakers to stop by the State House before going shopping or otherwise abusing the system. And reasonable measures to reduce mileage, like then-Speaker Terie Norelli's request that lawmakers restrict trips to essential travel in August, should be made. But efforts to cut costs shouldn't disenfranchise constituents of lawmakers who live far from Concord and don't have the means to travel scores or hundreds of miles when gas is $3.65 cents per gallon.

O'Brien's edict does permit reimbursement for members of statutory and study committees attending meetings and hearings. And who picks those members? The speaker. And whom does he choose? Supporters and people who won't disagree with him. On Aug. 12, O'Brien named 35 members to study committees, including those overseeing medical malpractice, business regulations, a plan to privatize the corrections system and the Financial Resources Mortgage Ponzi scheme. Not one was a Democrat.

Valley News: The Miracle' Worker' But Is He Electable? 

This is what we've been able to find out so far. Perry in recent years wrote a book in which he compared Social Security to a giant Ponzi scheme and called for scrapping the program. He doesn't believe that climate change is caused by human agency, and he harbors strong suspicions that the Federal Reserve and its chairman, Ben Bernanke, are disloyal to America. The governor earlier this month hosted a day-long prayer meeting that attracted 20,000 evangelicals to a football stadium in Houston, at which he said, "As a nation, we have forgotten who made us, who protects us, who blesses us, and for that we cry out for (God's) forgiveness." He uses hollow-point bullets in his handgun to dispatch coyotes while jogging (is that overkill?). And his signature line combines "adios" with the diminutive form of one of the very few words in the English language that will get a Major League baseball player summarily dismissed from a game by an umpire.

Nashua Telegraph: State budget cuts have consequences 

When Republican leaders were insisting on allowing a $30-$75 surcharge on registering motor vehicles to expire June 30 - a temporary fee that raised roughly $45 million a year, primarily for highway maintenance - they were warned by then-Transportation Commissioner George Campbell that the department would only have enough money to plow half as many miles of road as in previous years.

Instead, the Republican-led Legislature made the conscious decision to end the surcharge on the grounds that not doing so would have broken members' campaign promise to voters not to raise taxes or fees in the next two-year budget.

That's all well and good. But balancing budgets is much more than a mathematical exercise in making a set of numbers in one column match a set of numbers in another. Many of those numbers correspond to real services that have a real impact in people's daily lives.

And when you start fiddling with public safety, you do so at your own risk.

Keene Sentinel: Deadly force 

Consistent with their pattern of mischaracterizing things they don't agree with, Republican leaders in Concord this week blasted Governor John Lynch for conducting a "Gun Confiscation Tour."

...

At no time in their months of pushing for change have the proponents offered a material basis for new law. Given the nature of the subject - deadly force - one would expect a few specifics. Not seeing any such substance, responsible legislators should let the governor's sensible veto stand.