Freedom To Write: USA
News
Miller Sent to Jail, Cooper to Testify About Source
July 06, 2005
Judith Miller Sent to Jail; Cooper Agrees to Testify After Source Gives Permission
Fullerton, California: Student Punished for Article
March 08, 2005
PEN USA is concerned because a high school student was fired from her school newspaper for writing an article which the school claimed violated privacy codes.
UPDATE: March 8, 2005
PEN USA is pleased to annouce the ACLU has thrown support behind Ann Long.
Censorship on Television: When Crying “Indecency” Goes Too Far
February 18, 2005
PEN USA is concerned with the self-censoring due to the desperation gripping television networks lately. Stations are censoring themselves before the FCC or an outspoken religious minority can fine, slander, or boycott them.
Journalists Pressured into Revealing Sources
February 16, 2005
PEN USA’s First Amendment Action Committee is concerned about the growing number of journalists being threatened with legal action for exercising their First Amendment rights.
Washington, DC: Education Secretary Warns PBS About Cartoon Show
January 27, 2005
PEN USA denounces the actions of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, who wants PBS to refund the public money spent on a certain cartoon show due to the show’s content.
The show is called “Postcards From Buster,” in which Buster, an animated bunny, travels to different regions and shows people of different backgrounds and religions with his digital video camera. The episode in question depicts Buster on a trip to Vermont, a state that recognizes same-sex civil unions. The episode shows two lesbian couples, although the focus is on more traditional aspects of Vermont life namely, farming and maple syrup.
Phoenix, Arizona- High Court to Rule on Newspaper Suit
January 19, 2005
PEN USA’s First Amendment Action Committee is deeply concerned about the lawsuit facing a newspaper after they printed a controversial “Letter to the Editor” on their Opinions page.
Birmingham, Alabama- “60 Minutes” Reporter Subpoenaed in Fraud Trial
January 18, 2005
PEN USA’s First Amendment Action Committee is concerned that CBS reporter Mike Wallace has been subpoenaed for the trial of a man he interviewed in 2003.
Springfield, Illinois: New Policy Could Gag Whistleblowers
January 18, 2005
PEN USA’s First Amendment Committee is concerned by a new directive prohibiting employees of the Illinois State Police from talking to news reporters. Although it was meant to “reinforce existing confidentiality rules,” we, and other critics of this policy, see it essentially as a gag order on potential whistleblowers.
New Orleans, Louisiana- Student Lost Suit on Drawing-Related Expulsion
January 10, 2005
PEN USA’s First Amendment Action Committee denounces the actions of East Ascension High School toward a student expelled for drawing a picture in his own home. The drawing depicted the school surrounded by fire and guns, torches and missiles. In March 2001, Adam Porter was expelled after the picture was brought to another school by his younger brother. Adam Porter did not show the drawing to anyone, nor use it as a threat. However, he was charged with “terrorizing” and expelled.
Berkeley, California: Professor Fired After Publishing Controversial Paper
January 05, 2005
PEN USA’s First Amendment Action Committee is concerned by the actions of University of California, Berkeley’s Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau who denied assistant professor Ignacio Chapela tenure, and later fired him, after Chapela published an anti-biotechnology paper.