By Lena Williams – First conservatives accused Facebook of bias in how it chooses the “trending topics” that appear on the popular social media’s website. Now, a group of black newspaper publishers said Facebook’s “inscrutable choices” about stories it displays on trending topics is a threat to the very existence of the black press. It’s […]
By Lena Williams :: A federal court has ruled that government authorities are no longer legally, and might I add constitutionally, required to release criminal mug shots to the press or the public. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals says it made a mistake 20 years ago when it ruled that the Freedom of Information […]
By Lena Williams:: On the same day President Obama signed a bill that significantly improves access to public records under the Freedom of Information Act, it was reported that secret FBI rules allow agents to obtain journalists’ phone records without their knowledge and without a court order. So the president finally makes good on his […]
By Lena Williams, Guild-CWA:: The Secret Service had a fight on its hands after announcing in April that it planned to run background checks on the 15,000 journalists seeking credentials for the upcoming Republican and Democratic conventions. Officials never laid out the criteria for vetting, but said any journalist who failed a check would be […]
By Lena Williams, Guild-CWA :: Most college and university faculty members freely express ideas and opinions in the classroom and beyond, believing that they – like all Americans — have a First Amendment right to do so. They’re mistaken. A study released May 9 shows that academic freedom is an ideal, not a reality, in […]