Tag Archives: First Amendment

Crying wolf on the ‘chilling effect’

Posted on June 9, 2013 by admin

The dual revelations, in rapid succession, also suggested that someone with access to high-level intelligence secrets had decided to unveil them in the midst of furor over leak investigations. Both were reported by The Guardian, while The Post, relying upon … Continue reading →

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Bait and switch for press ‘freedom’

Posted on May 18, 2013 by admin

By Joel Thurtell Would some wise person in the media please explain to me how the government’s surveillance of The Associated Press’s phones translates into a new push for a so-called federal “shield” to insulate mainstream journalists from subpoenas? Somehow, … Continue reading →

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Ashenfelter-Convertino: Essential reading

Posted on April 24, 2013 by admin

By Joel Thurtell A federal judge has ordered the Detroit Free Press to reveal the names of US Justice Department officials who illegally disclosed secret grand jury information about a former assistant US attorney, Richard Convertino. Convertino has sued the Justice … Continue reading →

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Convertino case: Judge orders Free Press to name sources

Posted on April 18, 2013 by admin

By Joel Thurtell Former assistant US attorney Rick Convertino’s lawsuit against the US Justice Department is still alive, despite a federal judge’s decision to let a Detroit Free Press reporter, now retired, off the hook as a witness in the … Continue reading →

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WikiLeaks matters

Posted on December 16, 2010 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell I’m not completely comfortable with the mass dispersion of documents undertaken by WikiLeaks and the site’s creator, Julian Assange. How would I react if someone hacked into my blog or e-mail, ripped off my private ruminations and … Continue reading →

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Repeal the First!

Posted on October 11, 2010 by hro50ta1

By Mick Allpuff Popular columnist One day, God will deal with the screaming headlines of daily newspapers. But until then, we’ll have to deal with them down here. Which may mean changing laws, modifying laws and rewriting laws. Doggonit, if … Continue reading →

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Bullies of the newsroom

Posted on September 21, 2009 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell Normally, I don’t reply to comments people post on my blog. But now and then one of these letters-to-JOTR is just too obnoxious, too disingenuous to let pass. So it is with a reader’s response to my … Continue reading →

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Judge ignores JOTR, but Convertino hears

Posted on April 29, 2009 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell I was disappointed when U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland ignored my advice that he appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the behavior of federal attorneys and maybe even the Detroit Free Press in producing a January 2004 … Continue reading →

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Spin, spin, spin

Posted on April 27, 2009 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell The more you repeat a lie, the more it overwhelms the truth. They know that maxim well at the Detroit Free Press. It took four writers, two of them Puliltzer laureates, to put that old rule to … Continue reading →

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Fixing Free Press A-C bias

Posted on April 16, 2009 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell Normally, I’m not in favor of outsourcing, especially when it involves covering local news stories. How could reporters in, say, Bangalore, India have enough background, culturally and politically, to report accurately and concisely on an American news … Continue reading →

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