The following is the keynote address given by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on March 11 at the National Archives and Records Administration in honor of Sunshine Week. Sen. Leahy received NEFAC’s 2016 Stephen Hamblett First Amendment Award for his efforts to advance government transparency. By Sen. Patrick Leahy Sunshine Week is an opportunity for us […]
By Jim Condos On Tuesday, March 5th, Vermonters elected their local government officials on Town Meeting Day. In November 2018, Vermonters chose their statewide officers and legislative representatives. In November 2016, Vermonters voted for the highest elected office in the United States. Regardless of the difference in responsibilities of their positions, from local select boards […]
By Jared A. Goldstein The exotic dancing at the Foxy Lady will never be confused with the Bolshoi Ballet. Indeed, some would consider it “low value” speech and condemn it as demeaning to women, offensive and immoral. Yet, the fact that some members of society may frown on this type of expression provides no basis to suppress it. […]
By David A. Logan TIME chose the right time to name four journalists and a newspaper as the magazine’s “Person of the Year.” This is an entirely appropriate salute to journalists who have the temerity to speak truth to power while facing arrest and even beheadings at the hands of governments unwilling to tolerate criticism. TIME also […]
By Edward Fitzpatrick The President of the United States praised a member of Congress for assaulting a journalist. Think about the message that sends to the world. Now add in that President Trump had just spent days publicly grasping for ways to avoid blaming Saudi Arabia for the gruesome murder of another journalist. And then, […]
By David Rosen When President Trump calls the press the “enemy of the people” or the “true enemy of the people” (as he did several days after authorities found the second of two packages containing pipe bombs sent to CNN) he is doing more than disrespecting the press. He is delegitimizing and demonizing the press, […]
By Jenna Wims Hashway Public agencies and officials run afoul of First Amendment protections if they block Twitter followers for criticizing them. But those First Amendment arguments are moot if those government officials simply hit “mute.” That’s the upshot of a recent ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, who said that President […]
By Edward Fitzpatrick Glamorous work it’s not. The work that she has done for decades has placed her at odds with some of the state’s most powerful public officials. The work has placed her on hard wooden benches in State House hearing rooms, waiting for hours to deliver testimony to leery legislators. And the work […]
By David A. Logan The malicious spreading of rumors, masquerading as fact, well predates the Internet, but the ubiquity and speed of electronic communications, and the tendency of social media to provide amplification, has made the problem exponentially more dangerous to the “marketplace of ideas.” Perhaps there is no better example of that cancer on […]
By Justin Silverman In an effort to counter the anti-media rhetoric being expressed by President Trump, The Boston Globe called on newspapers throughout the country to publish editorials today emphasizing the value of journalism and a free press. According to the Globe: A central pillar of President Trump’s politics is a sustained assault on the […]