Freedom of the Press

Democracy Now! visit

by Tatsuya

We went to visit the Democracy Now! building. There, we watched the filming of the show and got a tour of the building. we were also lucky enough to meet with Amy Goodman and a few other people who worked on the show.

by Max

We visited Democracy Now! Which is a news broadcast created to cover the 1996 election but, because of popularity stayed on air. We took a tour of the entire place and saw what everyone’s jobs were. We also met with Amy Goodman who has been with Democracy Now! for as long as it’s been active

by Mia

Last Friday we went to visit Democracy Now! Democracy Now is a private news organization that reports on news that is not being focused on in mainstream media. They do not take funding from private companies and there are no advertisements. They are funded by their listeners and viewers.

First, we watched a live taping of the show from 8-9. Then we got to interview the host Amy Goodman about what she does and we talked to her a little bit about how fake news affects her and her company. We also got a special interview with Journalist Kate Arnoff who was a guest on the episode that we watched. She is currently reporting on the Green New Deal and focusing on climate change around the world. After we discussed how Democracy Now was different than other mainstream media.

by Mia

This weekend I watched a movie called, The Post. It is about The Washington Post’s involvement in the Pentagon Papers case of 1971. These events would eventually lead to the national scandal that set the ball rolling for former President Nixon’s resignation.

by Tatsuya

We watched a movie called The Post, which depicts events related to the Pentagon Papers that eventually lead to Watergate.

by Juno

We wrote letters to imprisoned journalists in Iran, Myanmar, and Russia. The letters let them know that there are people who support them outside of prison and that they are others who fight for their cause.

by Juno

For this fieldwork, we met with Chris Ott, a lawyer for the ACLU based in Wisconsin. We asked him about past cases and his thoughts on them, and how he thinks the country can improve the current state of the First Amendment.

by Max

We wrote letters to imprisoned journalists in Russia, Iran, and Myanmar. All three of them were imprisoned due to unfair behavior from the law. I think it’s important that we do things like that because it gives hope to journalists, and it could help their situation.

by Tatsuya

For this fieldwork, we sent messages to imprisoned journalists in other countries to comfort and support them. We also let them know that lots of people support them and care about the cause they are fighting for.

by Juno

We interviewed Andrea Taetle, A civil rights attorney. She showed us a documentary that covers a story where James Risen (a New York Times journalist) released government secrets to the press which then led to him going to court with the government. The film covers whistleblowers and the difference between letting the people know the things the government does in secret and committing treason.

by Juno

For this interview, we got in touch with Farah Brelvi. A lawyer for the ACLU and CJA via Skype. We asked her questions about her work and opinions about Freedom of the Press in the United States recently as well as past cases that the ACLU has worked on.

by Max

We skyped a family friend of Tatsuya’s named Farah Brelvi. She taught us about the 1st amendment and cases that she have done which involve it. She used to work for the ACLU and she told us about cases she worked. It helped us because she was clearly smart and knew what she was doing.

by Max

We had an interview with Chris Ott who works for the ACLU. Chris Ott along with the ACLU help journalists all around the world, with their right to freedom of the press. We spoke to Chris about current and pass cases with the ACLU, including a controversial case where the ACLU defended a Nazi march through Skokie.

by Max

We talked about a case where a New York times reporter known as James Risen was forced to leak his sources, and the threat of Jail loomed over him for years because of it. He had come into knowledge that an NSA program that had been used to spy on foreign terrorists was being used against the american people.

by Mia

I wrote letters to imprisoned writers in Iran, Myanmar and Russia. The letters were wishing them happy holidays and let them know that people all around the world support them in their fight for freedom of the press.

by Mia

We spoke with Andrea Taetle, she is a civil rights attorney (and also max’s mom). We watched a documentary about James Risen, a journalist for the New York Times, discussed whistleblowing and the blurred line between freedom of the press and treason.

by Mia

We spoke with Chris Ott, a lawyer for the ACLU Wisconsin (American Civil Liberties Union) who provides legal representation for journalists around the country. We inquired about his job and personal opinions about the current status of Freedom of the Press in the United States. We also discussed famous cases involving our countries laws and regulations about freedom of the press.

by Tatsuya

We called Chris Ott and talked about what the ACLU is and does and why it is important to the US. We also discussed famous cases where the 1st amendment was tested.

by Tatsuya

In this field work, our group visited the house of Andrea Taetle, a Civil rights attorney as well as the mother of one of our group mates. When we got there, we watched a video about James Risen and talked about how he was related to freedom of the press and whistleblowing. She shared facts as well as opinions on problems related to freedom of the press and how our country is dealing with it currently.

by Tatsuya

We skyped Farah Brelvi, a lawyer for the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) and asked questions about her job and personal opinions about the current status of Freedom of the Press in the United States. Farah Brelvi has worked for both the ACLU and the CJA (The Center for Justice Accountability) providing legal representation for journalists in the United States.

by Tatsuya

For our fieldwork, we had a skype call with Farah Brelvi to talk about the different complications and areas of interest in freedom of press laws and lack of laws in the U.S. and other countries. We also discussed different times where people debated over freedom of press and speech laws.

by Clair

Our group is focused on Freedom of the press in the US as well as in other countries. We want to find out how the 1st amendment may be flawed, as well as how other countries policies and actions affect press in the US. There have been times where the government directly stops and manipulates…

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