In January of this year Gallup released a poll showing 84 percent of Americans thinking the press is very important to the health of our democracy, but 43 percent saying journalists were doing a very poor job of supporting it. Flash forward to last night’s White House Correspondents Association dinner where comedian Michelle Wolf berated…
Ladd Erickson: Social Media and the Human Race: A DAPL Protest Postscript
This guest post was submitted by McLean County State’s Attorney Ladd Erickson. Oil pipeline protests are a possibility in Minnesota and South Dakota this summer. I helped Morton County prosecute DAPL cases and thought better about posting about it at the time. I no longer have that constraint, and will example how social media fueled…
Objectivity Is a Lie the Journalism Industry Tells Itself
Americans are living through a chaotic time, and a lack of trust is at the heart of the chaos. But it’s not just a lack of trust in the politicians which is driving American angst. It’s a lack of trust in the news media as well. A lack of trust the folks in the news…
The Media Don’t Care About Your Access So Much as They Care About Their Access
On North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum’s first day in office he sent out video message to the public by way of platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Today the Associated Press published a gripe about politicians who use social media to bypass journalists and control their message, and they cite Burgum’s video message as an…
Jason Stverak: More Than 1st Amendment Needed To Protect Journalists
The news on Monday that three Al-Jazeera journalists were convicted and sentenced in Egypt to seven years in prison on terrorism-related charges has sparked international outrage. The ruling is a huge blow to the free press and seen widely as a political move against unfriendly coverage. As America and the rest of the civilized world look at…
"The protections of the First Amendment do not turn on whether the defendant was a trained journalist"
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that a blogger shouldn’t be treated any differently from a traditional journalist in a defamation case. “The protections of the First Amendment do not turn on whether the defendant was a trained journalist, formally affiliated with traditional news entities, engaged in conflict-of-interest disclosure, went beyond just…
Forum Editor: Legislator Emails Should Be Open Records
Fargo Forum editor Matt Von Pinnon, last seen wishing crappy cell phone coverage on western North Dakota, continues the paper’s proud tradition of being total homers for all things NDSU with an editorial calling legislators hypocrites because open records laws don’t apply to their emails. “When a North Dakota legislator wants to dig into a…
Chris Berg: The Fargo Forum Ought Not Lecture About Journalistic Integrity
Valley News Live – KVLY/KXJB – Fargo/Grand Forks Last night Valley News Live’s Chris Berg took the Fargo Forum to the woodshed over their attacks on me for covering the NDSU email controversy, and their often all-too-cozy relationship with the state’s political and bureaucratic elite. I always get a little uncomfortable when people accuse me…
Fargo Forum: "Real Journalism" Means Shooting The Messenger
In an editorial today, the Fargo Forum takes pot shots (not by name, naturally) at myself and my good friend Jay Thomas (of the Jay Thomas Show on WDAY AM970 in Fargo) for our focus on the email controversy at North Dakota State University. “Credible answers have been elusive,” writes the Forum, “but traditional in-the-trenches…
Video: Protesters Say They Must Defend Freedom Of Speech By Blocking Koch Brothers Newspaper Purchase
The folks at Reason went down to an anti-Koch brothers protest at the LA Times headquarters and interviewed some of the protesters there about why they’re, well, protesting. It’s humorous to watch. One protester says she’s opposing the Koch brothers because America needs to be more “open minded.” No, really. She wants to block the…