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2012 Silha Lecture
A Question of Taste: The Ethics and Craft of Restaurant Reviewing
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.
Date: October 16, 2013
Time: 7:30 pm
Place: Cowles Auditorium, West Bank of the Twin Cities Campus of the University of Minnesota
Cost: Free
Everyone has heard of the "Pentagon Papers" case. But only a few know what happened behind the scenes. The top-secret Department of Defense documents exposing U.S. government policies during the Vietnam war were only part of the story. The
strategies, decisions and negotiations between the larger-than-life characters from the worlds of law, politics, journalism and the military that shaped the outcome of one of the most important First Amendment cases in U.S. history took place behind closed doors. When the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favor of The New York Times and the Washington Post in 1971, it set an almost impossible standard for the government to meet to justify censoring the press -- a standard that has never been met. Yet.
As of 2013, President Obama has indicted more leakers of classified information than any other President. His administration has threatened to pursue espionage charges against WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. Do the government’s claims of secrecy and national security stand up to scrutiny today? Have we learned the lessons of the Pentagon Papers?
The 2013 Silha Lecture will be delivered by James C. Goodale, author of the new book, Fighting for the Press: the Inside Story of the Pentagon Papers and Other Battles. Goodale is a leading First Amendment lawyer who was vice chairman and general counsel of the New York Times during the Pentagon Papers litigation. He has also been a TV host and producer; a partner in Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, a major New York City law firm; and has taught at Yale, NYU and Fordham law schools.
A book signing will follow the lecture.
For further information, please contact Elaine Hargrove at 612-625-3421 or by e-mail at silha@umn.edu.
Silha Center activities, including the annual lecture, are made possible by a generous endowment from the late Otto Silha and his wife, Helen.
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.
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.
The entire article is available online at
http://www.vb.kg/doc/203485_
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
On February 16, 2012, Professor Jane Kirtley was a speaker on a panel, "International Law After
WikiLeaks" at a conference, "The Media World After WikiLeaks and News
of the World," sponsored by UNESCO and the World Press Freedom Committee,
held at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris, France, on Feb. 16-17, 2012. A video of the event is available online here:
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/c
(Professor
Kirtley's presentation appears in the16 February, Part 3 portion, about an hour
into the video.)
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 Kirtley was on Fox 9 Monday, June 27 discussing the Supreme Court's decision in the "violent videos" case.
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.
U of M professor Jane Kirtley authors new "Media Law Handbook" for the U.S. State Department
Away from Democracy and Toward a Dictatorship? Hungary's New Media Law
Featuring Professor Jane E. Kirtley, SilhaProfessor of Media Ethics and Law
February 23, 2011, 2:30pm–3:30pm
Download full text (PDF)
On Nov. 29, 2012, Lord Justice Brian Leveson released his 1,987-page report of findings and recommendations stemming from his 17-month inquiry into the culture, practices, and ethics of the United Kingdom press. Continue reading
