2013 Silha Lecture
The Lessons Of the Pentagon Papers:
Has Obama Learned Them?
The Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law was established in 1984 with an endowment from Otto and Helen Silha. Located within the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota, the Silha Center is the vanguard of the School's interest in the ethical responsibilities and legal rights of the mass media in a democratic society.
The Center focuses on the concepts and values that define the highest ideals of American journalism: freedom and fairness. It honors the importance of these ideals by examining their theoretical and practical applications and by recognizing the interdependence of ethical and legal principles.
State of Our Satirical Union
April 20-21, 2018
Cowles Auditorium, West Bank
“The State of Our Satirical Union: Hustler Magazine , Inc. v. Falwell at 30” symposium will mark the anniversary of a landmark Supreme Court decision, issued in 1988, affirming the First Amendment right of editorial cartoonists and satirists to lampoon public figures.
But 30 years later, cartoonists and journalists face intimidation on social media platforms. Satirists of all stripes are working in an environment that presents challenges to freedom of speech unimaginable when the unanimous court decided Hustler v. Falwell. There are calls to change libel laws to make it easier to sue the news media. In the era of Trump and Charlie Hebdo, will Hustler’s protections endure?
The symposium will explore the many dimensions of the Hustler decision, including the history of the case and participation by editorial cartoonists and other First Amendment advocates as “friends of the court.” Leading media law scholars and editorial cartoonists will interpret the legacy of the ruling in the context of major political events and legal developments of the last 30 years.
The symposium will feature some of the country’s best-known editorial cartoonists, whose work will be displayed throughout the event.
Helen Fitch Silha passed away peacefully October 21 of natural causes.
Helen was born May 21, 1919 in Manhattan, Kansas, the third child of James Burgess Fitch and Alice Rakestraw Fitch. She had an older brother, Dr. William Fitch, and an older sister, Marjorie Fitch Shaffer.
Her father later became head of the dairy division of Kansas State University in Manhattan. In 1935, Mr. Fitch came to the University of Minnesota as head of the dairy division there and Helen finished high school at Marshall High in Minneapolis.
A lifelong learner, Helen attended Principia College in Elsah, Illinois, for two years, then returned to the University of Minnesota where she received her degree in education in 1941. She taught social studies and English in Tracy, Minnesota, schools. She also worked in the Student Activities Bureau at the University of Minnesota.
Helen married Air Force Corporal Otto A. Silha at the Fitch home on September 4, 1942. Their long marriage was enriched by Otto’s media career as publisher and CEO of the Minneapolis Star and Tribune/Cowles Media Company. Together they founded the Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law, which conducts research and presents lectures. Otto died in 1999.
Her spiritual life continues to be Helen’s ongoing focus. She was active in her church, Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Minneapolis, and has been a lifelong Christian Scientist.
Beginning in 1963, she organized classes at her home in Edina for the Continuing Education for Women Program at the University of Minnesota. More than 300 women attended 24 classes in topics ranging from Greek history to futurism. She also served on the boards of Minnesota Early Learning Design, COMPAS, and the Edina Special Children’s Group.
Helen is survived by three children: Stephen, of Vashon Island, Washington (Gordon Barnett); Alice Reimann, of Edina, Minnesota (John Reimann); Mark Silha of Bloomington, Minnesota. Another son, David, died in a Teton Mountain avalanche in 1974. She’s also survived by grandchildren Johnny Reimann (Kristin) of Orono; Sarah Reimann Likens (Jeff) of Wolfsburg, Germany; David Reimann of Miami, Florida; and four adoring great-grandchildren.
Helen lived a dynamic life of learning and discovery. If you knew Helen, talk about her tonight at your dinner table. If you didn’t know Helen, she would want you to have a conversation about what’s going on in your family and the world.
A memorial celebration will be held November 21, 2017, at 10 a.m. at The Minikahda Club, 3205 Excelsior Boulevard. Another celebration will be on Longboat Key, Florida, in spring 2018. Memorials can be sent to Third Church of Christ, Scientist, Minneapolis; Choice, Inc. Eden Prairie (Mark Silha’s occupational program); or the University of Minnesota’s Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law.
To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, today is big with blessings.
-- Mary Baker Eddy
32nd Annual Silha Lecture featuring David McCraw,
Deputy General Counsel of The New York Times
"Making Media Law Great Again:
The First Amendment in the Time of Trump"
Monday, October 2, 2017
7:30 pm
Cowles Auditorium, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus
David McCraw
In October 2016 New York Times’ deputy general David McCraw wrote a letter to Donald Trump’s attorney defending the right of The New York Times to publish a news story over which Trump had threatened a lawsuit. The letter became an instant sensation, with more than two million people reading it on the Times website alone.
Despite apparently rising to fame overnight, however, McCraw had already compiled a record as one of the nation’s most prolific litigators of freedom-of-information cases. The 15-years Times veteran has been the lawyer behind every major investigative story the paper has published in recent years, including three that won Pulitzer Prizes. In 35 FOIA suits he has helped pry loose secret documents on topics ranging from drone strikes in Yemen to the U.S. government’s burgeoning surveillance program.
A graduate of the University of Illinois, Cornell University, and Albany Law School, David McCraw is an adjunct professor at NYU Law School. In 2010, the New York City Bar awarded him its Cyrus Vance Award for his international pro bono work promoting free expression.
McCraw will deliver the 32nd annual Silha Lecture on Monday, October 2, 2017. His lecture, entitled, “Making Media Law Great Again: The First Amendment in the Time of Trump” will begin at 7:30 pm at Cowles Auditorium, located within the Humphrey School of Public Affairs on the University of Minnesota’s Twin City campus. The lecture is free and open to the public; no reservations are needed. Additional information about the lecture is available online at www.silha.umn.edu.
Silha Center events are supported by the generosity of the late Otto Silha and his wife, Helen.
More details coming soon!
Silha Director Jane Kirtley Panelist for
37th Annual MAYDAY! Peace Conference
at Gustavus Adolphus College
May 3, 2017 - Professor Jane Kirtley was a panelist for the 37th Annual MAYDAY! Peace Conference at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN.The panel topic was: "What Would You Do? Mass Surveillance and the Citizen." The panel is archived here: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/gacadmin/ (On demand, Panel Discussion at 1:30 p.m.) Additional information is available online at: https://gustavus.edu/events/mayday/
Silha Center Joins More Than 80 Organizations in Statement Condemning Government Efforts to Undermine a Free Press
For immediate release
Free Speech, Press Groups Call President’s Attacks on the Media
A Threat to Democracy
New York, NY, 3/2/2017- The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) and the American Society of News Editors (ASNE), along with more than 80 other organizations committed to the First Amendment right of freedom of speech and the press, condemn efforts by the Trump administration to demonize the media and undermine its ability to inform the public about official actions and policies. In a joint statement released today, the groups stress that the administration’s attacks on the press pose a threat to American democracy.
The statement cites numerous attempts by the administration to penalize and intimidate the press for coverage the President dislikes, including refusing to answer questions from certain reporters, falsely charging the media with cover-ups and manipulation of news, and denying certain media outlets access to press briefings. Official designation of the media as “the opposition party” escalated when the President described the New York Times, CBS, CNN, ABC, and NBC News as “the enemy of the American people!”
The statement emphasizes that an independent and free press is the Constitution’s safeguard against tyranny. Its job is not to please the President but to report accurately on the actions of public officials so the public has the information to hold power accountable. Efforts to undermine the legitimacy or independence of the press, the statement reads, “betray the country’s most cherished values and undercut one of its most significant strengths.”
“The press plays an essential role in democracy, by serving as an independent watchdog on government conduct and as the main source of information for the public,” said NCAC’s Executive Director Joan Bertin. “The constitutional right to freedom of speech and to petition the government for a redress of grievances cannot be exercised in a meaningful way without access to information about what the government does in our name.”
“Given his actions and rhetoric during the campaign, the attacks on the press by President Trump should not be a surprise to anyone,” said Mizell Stewart III, president of the American Society of News Editors. “Every American should be concerned about this administration’s coordinated attempts to marginalize journalists and threaten the public’s right to know.”
###
NCAC Contact: ASNE Contact:
Jas Chana, NCAC Communications Director Jiyoung Won, ASNE Communications Coordinator
jas@ncac.org, 212-807-6222 ext.107 jwon@asne.org, 573-882-2430 ncac.orgasne.org
Statement in Support of Freedom of the Press
“In the First Amendment the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy. The press was to serve the governed, not the governors. The Government's power to censor the press was abolished so that the press would remain forever free to censure the government.” Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black
As organizations committed to the First Amendment right of freedom of speech and the press, we are alarmed by the efforts of the President and his administration to demonize and marginalize the media and to undermine their ability to inform the public about official actions and policies.
Such efforts include the President’s refusal to answer questions posed by a reporter from CNN because the President asserts it promotes “fake news”; charges that the media “manipulated” images of the inauguration; false accusations that the media has covered up terrorist attacks; and repeated claims that the media is “failing” and “dishonest.” All of this recently culminated in the President calling the New York Times, CBS, CNN, ABC, and NBC News “the enemy of the American People!” and in the exclusion of representatives of various media outlets from a press briefing. In these and other examples, the President and his designees have attempted to villainize and discredit the press for any reporting he dislikes. However, the job of the press is not to please the President but to inform the public, a function that is essential to democracy.
The expressions of disdain for the press and its role in democracy by federal officials send a signal to state and local officials. In the aftermath of an election season that witnessed outright intimidation of journalists in communities around the country, there is a compelling need for highly placed federal officials to acknowledge the crucial role of a free press under our Constitution and the responsibility of government officials at all levels to respect it. In one chilling example, multiple individuals who identified themselves as journalists were arrested, detained, and charged with felonies while simply doing their job: reporting on Inauguration Day protests in Washington, D.C. Those arrests were made by local police and pursued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, both of which displayed an alarming lack of concern for fundamental constitutional rights. The fact that those charges have since been dropped suggests that the arrests were unwarranted and highlights the need for our nation’s leaders to set national policy that unequivocally supports a free and independent press and the public’s right to know.
Our Constitution enshrines the press as an independent watchdog and bulwark against tyranny and official misconduct. Its function is to monitor and report on the actions of public officials so that the public can hold them accountable. The effort to delegitimize the press undermines democracy, and officials who challenge the value of an independent press or question its legitimacy betray the country’s most cherished values and undercut one of its most significant strengths.
The First Amendment protects the right to protest, dissent, and petition government for a redress of grievances, but these rights cannot be exercised without a free press that provides information to the public. Together, these rights represent the constitutionally sanctioned method for the public to oppose government policies and activities and to seek change. The wisdom of this system can be seen in parts of the world where such a right does not exist, or is not honored, and violent opposition is the only available avenue to express opposition or remedy injustice.
We condemn in the strongest possible terms all efforts by elected and appointed officials to penalize, delegitimize, or intimidate members of the press.
March 2, 2017
Click here to read the statement in full and the list of organizations which endorsed it.
From "culturally offensive" Halloween costumes to protests over
controversial speakers to "trigger warnings" in classrooms, debate over freedom
of expression only seems new to America's college campuses. These and
similar issues have roiled higher education for decades. Randall L. Kennedy, the
Michael R. Klein Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, will revisit key
disputes that are likely to continue to challenge First Amendment principles
when he presents "The Politics and Law of the Culture Wars in American Higher
Education, 1950-2020." Selected books authored by Professor Kennedy will be
available for purchase at a book signing following the lecture.
Professor Kennedy attended Princeton and Yale Law School, and
clerked for Judge J. Skelly Wright and Justice Thurgood Marshall. His most
recent books are The Persistence of the Color Line: Racial Politics and the
Obama Presidency and For Discrimination: Race, Affirmative Action, and
the Law. He is a member of the American Law Institute, the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.
October 3, 2016
7:30 PM
Cowles Auditorium, Humphrey
School of Public Affairs
University of Minnesota West Bank
This event is free and open to the public; no reservations
are required.
Noteworthy Silha Activities:
2015 Silha Lecture: 30th Annual Silha Lecture
A video of the 2015 Lecture is now available online.
You can view ithere.
A slideshow with photographs from the 2015 Lecture is now available
online. You can view it here.
October 19, 2015
7:30 PM
Coffman Theater, Coffman
Memorial Union
University of Minnesota East Bank
"Clear and Present Danger:
Covering National Security Issues in the Post 9/11 World"
with James
Risen,
Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times investigative
journalist, and Joel Kurtzberg, media attorney.
Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, government officials often justify
secrecy as necessary to protect national security. But without information, how
can citizens hold their government accountable? To gather the news the public
needs to know, journalists may turn to sources who will speak only on the
condition that their identities are kept confidential. When leaks trigger
criminal investigations, zealous prosecutors subpoena reporters to force them to
reveal their sources. Journalists who refuse to testify face the threat of
fines and jail. The result is a no-win situation for sources, for journalists,
and for the public.
One journalist who has faced this predicament is New York Times investigative reporter and Pulitzer Prize-winner James Risen. On Monday,
October 19, 2015, Risen and his attorney, Joel Kurtzberg, will discuss the legal
and journalistic challenges that arise when reporting the national security beat
and using confidential sources at the 30th Annual Silha Lecture, “Clear and
Present Danger: Covering National Security Issues in the Post-9/11 World,”
sponsored by the Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law.
In 2011, Risen was subpoenaed to testify in the prosecution of Jeffrey
Sterling, a former Central Intelligence Agency officer accused of several counts
of violating the Espionage Act. During a four-year court battle, federal
prosecutors demanded Risen’s testimony, claiming he was the only person who had
direct knowledge of whether Sterling had actually disclosed classified
material. Despite orders instructing him to testify, Risen refused to identify
the confidential sources for his book, State of War, and two articles
on national security issues, one of which quoted Sterling. Risen appealed the
orders to the U.S. Supreme Court, which refused to hear his case. In January
2015, Department of Justice officials finally conceded in court filings that
Risen’s consistent and steadfast refusal to identify his source “laid to rest
any doubt concerning whether he will ever disclose his source or sources. He
will not.” They dropped the subpoena, and Sterling was later found guilty of
violating the Espionage Act without Risen’s testimony.
Despite this victory for his client, Kurtzberg said Risen’s battle
demonstrates how far the government will go to force a reporter to reveal
confidential communications. “The significance of this goes beyond Jim Risen.
It affects journalists everywhere. Journalists need to be able to uphold that
confidentiality in order to do their jobs,” Kurtzberg told the New YorkTimes. The newspaper commented in an editorial that “The abandoned
pursuit of Mr. Risen leaves behind an atrocious legal precedent: a 2-to-1 ruling
in 2013 by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in
Virginia, which denied the existence of any reporter’s privilege in the First
Amendment or common law.”
The 30th Annual Silha Lecture begins at 7:30 p.m. on October 19 at the
Coffman Theater in Coffman Memorial Union on the East Bank of the University of
Minnesota Twin Cities Campus. James Risen’s book, Pay Any Price, will
be available for purchase and signing immediately following the Silha
Lecture.
The Silha Lecture is free and open to the public. No reservations or tickets
are required. Parking is available in the East River Road Garage. Additional
information about directions and parking can be found at http://www1.umn.edu/pts/.
The Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law is based at the School
of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Minnesota. Silha
Center activities, including the annual Lecture, are made possible by a generous
endowment from the late Otto Silha and his wife, Helen. For further
information, please contact the Silha Center at 612-625-3421 or silha@umn.edu, or visit www.silha.umn.edu.
About the Speakers:
James Risen is a graduate of Brown University, where he
majored in history, and holds a master’s degree in journalism from the Medill
School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He joined the New York
Times in 1998 after previously working for the Los Angeles Times.
He has won several awards for his journalistic work, including Pulitzer Prizes
in 2002 and 2006, the 2006 Goldsmith Prize for investigative reporting, and the
2003 Cornelius Ryan Award from the Overseas Press Club. He is the author of
four books, two of which are national bestsellers: State of War: The Secret
History of the CIA and the Bush Administration (Free Press, 2006), and Pay Any Price: Greed, Power and Endless War (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,
2014).
Joel Kurtzberg is a partner at
the law firm Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP in New York who focuses on general
commercial litigation. He has extensive experience in legal issues related to
media organizations and the First Amendment, representing reporters in cases
involving former CIA operative Valerie Plame and alleged spy Wen Ho Lee. He
teaches a mass media law course as an adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School
as well as a course on Internet law as an adjunct professor at Fordham
University School of Law. He formerly served as the New York State Bar
Association’s chair of the Media Law Committee. Kurtzberg graduated from
Harvard Law School in 1996.
2014 Silha Lecture
A video of the 2014 Lecture is now available online. You can view it here.
October 6, 2014
7:00 pm Cowles Auditorium
University of Minnesota West Bank, Twin Cities Campus
"See No Evil:
Why We Need A New Approach
to Government Transparency"
Featuring
David A. Schulz
Partner, Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz, LLP
Co-Director of the Media Freedom & Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School
Counsel to The Associated Press, New York Times, Guardian, and other investigative news organizations
On the 25th anniversary of Department of Justice v. Reporters Committee, one of the nation’s leading advocates for press access and the public’s right to know will explore the judicial and bureaucratic debilitation of the Freedom of Information Act since 9/11, and the critical need to broaden and enforce the First Amendment right of access to government proceedings and records. The discussion will consider the untapped potential of the constitutional access right and the role of the press in illuminating issues ranging from “secret law” articulated by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, to the government’s plans to prevent Guantanamo detainees from testifying publicly at their own trials, to a State’s ability to keep secret the formulas used for lethal injection executions.
This event is free and open to the public; no reservations are required.
For additional information, contact the Silha Center at 612-625-3421 or at silha@umn.edu
David A. Schulz was interviewed on MPR's "The Daily Circuit" on
Wednesday, September 24, 2014. A recording of that interview is available here.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune covered the 2014 Silha Lecture in an article entitled, "Full Disclosure: Sounding the Alarm about Secrecy." The article is available online here.
Symposium Honoring Silha Professor Emeritus Donald M. Gillmor
“How Far from Near? 50 Years of New York Times v. Sullivan in
Minnesota and Beyond: A Symposium Honoring the Legacy of Silha Professor
Emeritus Donald M. Gillmor.”
The symposium, co-sponsored by the School of Journalism and Journalism and the Silha Center, took place on Wednesday, April 23, 2014 in Cowles Auditorium, in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs on the
West Bank, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Campus.
Videos and photos of the event are available here.
Noteworthy Activities by Silha Center Director/Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law
Professor Jane Kirtley:
Professor Jane Kirtley Appears on TPT's "Almanac"
On July 15, 2016, Professor. Jane Kirtley was a guest on Twin Cities Public Television's "Almanac," which aired live that day. The topic was data privacy issues raised by the popular augmented reality game, Pokemon Go. Information about the program is available online at: http://www.tpt.org/almanac/episode/castile-funeral-minneapolis-urban-league-police-union/
The New York Times Publishes Essay by Professor Jane Kirtley
On March 18, 2016, Professor Jane Kirtley wrote an essay for The New York Times' "Room for Debate" on its Opinion Page. The title of the article was "Should the Gawker-Hulk Hogan Jurors Decide What's Newsworthy?" and Professor Kirtley's essay was entitled "Hogan Case is a Threat to Editorial Independence." The article is available online at http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/03/18/should-the-gawker-hulk-hogan-jurors-decide-whats-newsworthy.
Professor Jane Kirtley Presents Lecture at the Latvian National Judicial Conference
On May 13, 2016, Professor Jane Kirtley presented a lecture entitled, “Why Can’t We Be Friends? How judges can ethically navigate social and traditional media,” at the Latvian National Judicial Conference (Latvijas tiesnesu konference). Professor Kirtley was a Fulbright Scholar on the Faculty of Law at the University of Latvia in Riga during Spring 2016. A press release about the event (in Latvian) is available online at: http://at.gov.lv/lv/pazinojumi-presei/par-tieslietu-padomi/2016/7695-tiesnesu-konference-noverte-etikas-komisijas-darba-pozitivo-rezultatu/, and a link to the conference program (also in Latvian) is available at: http://at.gov.lv/files/uploads/files/9_Tieslietu_padome/Notikusas_konferences/13.05.2016-darba_kartiba_A4.pdf
Professor Jane Kirtley Quoted by Oregon Public Broadcasting
On March 2, 2016, Professor Jane Kirtley was quoted in this story entitled, “Case Against Santilli So Far Largely Based On Words,” that aired on Oregon Public Broadcasting. The story was about internet radio host Peter Santilli and his “strong and at times even offensive statements” while he covered the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The article is available online at: http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/pete-santilli-charges-legal-case-free-speech/. The interview also aired on NPR/WBUR's "Here and Now" show on March 9, 2016.
Professor Jane Kirtley Is a Guest on WYNC's "On the Media"
On January 29, 2016, Professor Jane Kirtley was a guest for the edition of "On the Media," produced by WNYC public radio. The topic was “Laws of the Lying Game,” and Professor Kirtley discussed the legal and ethical issues arising from deceptive newsgathering techniques in the context of the indictment of anti-abortion activists for using fraud to procure recordings of Planned Parenthood staff. Audio of the interview is available online at: http://www.onthemedia.org/story/law-lying-game/.
Professor Jane Kirtley's Article Republished by Newsweek
On July 12, 2015, an article by Professor Jane Kirtley, “Gawker – and First Amendment – may receive body blow from another thin-skinned wrestler” that appeared in The Conversation, was republished by Newsweek in an article entitled, “Hulk Hogan’s Sex Tape Trial Tests the First Amendment.” The Newsweek article is available online at: http://www.newsweek.com/hulk-hogans-sex-tape-trial-tests-first-amendment-352600.
Professor Jane Kirtley's Article Published in The Conversation
On July 6, 2015, Professor Jane Kirtley’s article entitled, “Gawker – and First Amendment – may receive body blow from another thin-skinned wrestler,” was published in The Conversation, an online publisher of articles written by members of the academic and research community. The article examines Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker Media over the publication of the former professional wrestler’s sex tape, a case which would pit a celebrity’s privacy rights against the Bill of Rights. The article is available online at https://theconversation.com/gawker-and-first-amendment-may-receive-body-blow-from-another-thin-skinned-wrestler-44179.
Professor Jane Kirtley Is a Guest on "Philosophy Talk"
On July 26, 2015, Professor Jane Kirtley was a guest on "Philosophy Talk" discussing the topic the "power and perils of satire." The interview is available online at: http://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/power-and-perils-satire
"Philosophy Talk" is produced by KALW radio in San Francisco, which aired the program live. The program is syndicated to other radio stations, including KTNF AM 950 in Saint Louis Park, MN. A list of stations carrying the program is available online at: http://www.philosophytalk.org/stations#sthash.1ODI4vd9.dpuf.
Professor Jane Kirtley Awarded Fulbright US Scholar Grant; Will Teach in Latvia Spring 2016
During May 2015, Professor Kirtley was awarded a Fulbright US Scholar Grant and will be teaching media law and ethics on the Law Faculty at the University of Latvia in Riga during Spring 2016 semester. The grant totals $26,500. Professor Kirtley was also awarded a Faculty Development Leave from the College of Liberal Arts for Spring 2016, at 50% of her regular salary. Additional information about Professor Kirtley’s Fulbright grant is available online at: http://www.jf.lu.lv/eng/news/t/38030/.
Professor Jane Kirtley Serves as Juror for 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary
On April 20, 2015, Professor Jane Kirtley served as a juror for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. Information about her and the other jurors is available online at:http://www.pulitzer.org/jurors/2015-Commentary. This year’s award went to Lisa Falkenbergof the Houston Chronicle. Information about Falkenberg and her article is available online at:http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2015-Commentary.
Professor Jane Kirtley Interviewed for KPCC's "Air Talk" Program
On April 6, 2015, Professor Jane Kirtley was interviewed on KPCC’s radio "AirTalk" program, discussing the Columbia Journalism School report on the Rolling Stone University of Virginia story. Information about the broadcast is available online at: http://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/2015/04/06/42260/assessing-fallout-of-rolling-stone-uva-story-retra/
Professor Kirtley Serves on Panel at the Inter American Press Association Midyear Meeting in Panama
On March 7, 2015, Professor Jane Kirtley was a panelist at the Inter American Press Association's Midyear Meeting in Panama City, Panama. The panel topic was "Government Control Through the Internet." Her presentation was covered inLa Prensa, the largest daily newspaper in Panama, where she was quoted in this story entitled, “Expertos analizan cómo la tecnología ha cambiado la libertad de expression.” The article is available online at: http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/2015/03/07/i1045011_expertos-analizan-cmo-tecnologa-cambiado-libertad-expresin.html.
Professor Jane Kirtley Moderates Participates in Panel: "What Can We Learn
from Pointergate?"
On December 8, 2014, Professor Jane Kirtley participated in a panel discussion entitled, "What Can We Learn
from Pointergate?" sponsored by the Minnesota Pro Chapter of the Society of
Professional Journalists, the Silha Center, the Minnesota Journalism Center, and
the Twin Cities chapters of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ)
and the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) at Cowles Auditorium at
the University of Minnesota. A video of the event is available online at
http://theuptake.org/live-video-post/journalists-discuss-pointergate/.
Professor Jane Kirtley Moderates "Freedom and Power in the Digital Age"
On September 17, 2014, Professor Jane Kirtley was the moderator for "Freedom and
Power in the Digital Age." The event featured a presentation by Ben Blink,
Senior Policy Analyst for Google, followed by a conversation with Professor
Kirtley. The program and was held in Cowles Auditorium on the University of
Minnesota campus and was sponsored by the Minnesota International Center, whose
website is available online at http://www.micglobe.org/. A video of the
event is available online at http://youtu.be/dlSsIe783tQ, and photos of the
event are available at http://goo.gl/QDMj3J.
Professor Jane Kirtley Interviewed by KARE
On July 29, 2013, Professor Jane Kirtley was interviewed by KARE 11 news about the Jesse Ventura trial. The interview aired on July 29 on KARE 11 News at 10 and on July 30 on KARE 11 News Sunrise.
Professor Jane Kirtley Interviewed by WCCO
On July 7, 2014, Professor Jane Kirtley was interviewed for WCCO TV's "News at 10" in a segment entitled "Ventura Heads to Federal Court with Libel Case."
Professor Jane Kirtley Writes Editorial for London's The Guardian Newspaper
Professor Jane Kirtley Panelist in Philadelphia Ethics Conference
On October 4, 2013, Professor Jane Kirtley was a panelist at the "Professional
Ethics in National Security Law and Politics" conference in Philadelphia, PA.
The conference was sponsored by the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law at the
University of Pennsylvania Law School. She appeared on Panel 1, "Journalists and
National Security Reporting: The Ethics of Leaks." Additional information about
the conference is available online at: https://www.law.upenn.edu/institutes/cerl/conferences/ethicsnationalsecurity/
Professor Jane Kirtley Interviewed on KMSP TV
On July 18, 2013. Professor Jane Kirtley was interviewed by Rob Olson of Fox 9
(KMSP TV) for the "Fox at 5" evening newscast, discussing Rolling
Stone's cover with the controversial photograph of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Information about the broadcast is available online at http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/video?clipId=9103584&autoStart=true.
Professor Jane Kirtley, SJMC Grad Student Holly Miller Author Front Page Article in Committee News, the Newletter for the American Bar Association's Media, Privacy, and Defamation Law Committee
Professor Jane Kirtley and Holly Miller, a JD/MA candidate in the dual degree program through the University of Minnesota's School of Journalism and Mass Communication and its Law School, authored an article entitled, "Media's Quote Approval Practice Raises Ethical and Legal Concerns." The article appeared on the front page of the Winter 2013 edition of Committee News, the Newletter for the American Bar Association's Media, Privacy, and Defamation Law Committee. The newsletter is available here.
Professor Jane Kirtley Quoted in Kyrgyzstan Newspaper
While speaking on a visit to Kyrgyzstan, Professor Kirtley was featured in a two-page article in the Vecherniy Bishkek with a headline which read: “No government can limit free speech.” The article was published in October 2012.
September 21, 2012 – Professor Jane Kirtley was a member of the "Media Panel"
on TPT's Almanac show, discussing current journalism ethics issues,
including the use of the secretly-recorded Romney tape, linking to the
"Innocence of Muslims," and The New York Times' new policy prohibiting
reporters from granting "quote approval" to sources. The program is available
online at: http://www.tpt.org/?a=programs&id=4875
Professor Jane Kirtley speaks at Paris conference sponsored by UNESCO and the World Press Freedom Committee
Professor Jane Kirtley, Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law and Director of the Silha Center at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota was featured on the College of Liberal Arts homepage after speaking on Minnesota Public Radio's Midday about the state of the media in 2011 on Minnesota Public Radio's Midday program.
Professor Jane Kirtley Answers WCCO's Jason Derusha's Good Question:
How Free is Free Speech?
Professor Jane Kirtley Discusses Violent Video Game Ban and Free Speech
That same day the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states do not have the right to ban violent video games from children as this would ban the children's rights to free speech. The 2010 Silha Lecture, hosted by the Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics & Law, was delivered by Paul Smith, the attorney who represented the video games industry and whose argument prevailed in the case.
