![]() It is no surprise, then, that many LGBT supporters equate First Amendment arguments with resistance to their cause. Ball Conservative opponents of LGBT equality in the United States often couch their opposition in claims of free speech, free association, and religious liberty. June 18 at the Ethical Humanist Society of Asheville, Edgewood Rd, Asheville, NC.The First Amendment and LGBT Equality by Carlos A. So-called “official press credentials” are hard to get, especially for anyone “freelance” at the time of breaking news stories.Ĭovering news of all that is of public interest, to try to get to the truth without bending to political powers or business interests, can be dangerous in many ways for any dedicated journalist, not just international war correspondents who may become hostages or killed, but also reporters covering local news. Press freedom and protection of journalists are important everywhere worldwide, especially starting at the local level.Įlizabeth (Liz) Colton, Ph.D., award winning journalist, including News & Documentary Emmy Award with ABC News, now professor of diplomacy & the news media with UNITAR, Diplomat & Journalist in Residence at Warren Wilson College, board-chair of Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders) RSF-USA/North America.Ĭolton will lead “Journalism Ethics and the Law ”2:30-4 p.m. More: Opinion: Barbara Walters: Special memories of a mentor and broadcast legendĪ view of some former journalists is the Blade reporters were not legitimate journalists because at least one reportedly did not have “proper accreditation.” Unlike some of the men noting this lack of credentials, I have been a freelance journalist trying to make my way in a world in which getting full-time jobs as a female reporter was then and now still difficult. “Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for the charges against two reporters from The Asheville Blade to be dropped … The trial against them sets a dangerous precedent that journalists can be prosecuted just for doing their jobs.” Local, national and international organizations supporting press freedom and protection of journalists have spoken out against the court action. An appeal court hearing has been set for June 12. Two Asheville Blade newspaper reporters were last month convicted of trespassing in December 2021 while reportedly covering police evictions of homeless encampments in a city park after closing time. The Nobel Peace Prize brought world recognition to press freedom as a human right.Ī case in my hometown of Asheville has brought global attention to press freedom at local levels. ![]() In 2021 the Nobel Peace Prize laureates were two journalists, one in Philippines and another in Russia, honored for their local, later global efforts to promote press freedom in spite of incarcerations and other abuse. More: Editor: Open call for women to share their voices, during Women's History Month and always More: Opinion: Prosecutors should drop retaliatory charges against Asheville journalists Unfortunately, the USA is declining in global rankings of press freedom, as noted in the annual World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders), the international organization promoting press freedom and protection of journalists. (I am proud to have volunteered with this organization, including now serving as board chair of its RSF-USA-North America bureau.) More: Opinion: From the WNC mountains to Maldives: Urging glocal environmental diplomacyĪ belief in the First Amendment right to freedom of the press is globally acknowledged though seldom practiced. The next year I published three newspapers - one “4 th grade reporter” for my public school, one for neighborhood distribution in the Manor Grounds, and an international paper mailed to supportive cousins and parents’ friends overseas. That was mid-1950s at the local news publishing company for my city and region - the Asheville Citizen in mornings Monday-Saturday and Asheville Times in afternoons with both combined for Sunday publication as Asheville Citizen-Times.Īt the time of my first tour in the old Citizen Times building, I had launched my own newspaper, printed by hand and pages copied with carbon paper, for my personal delivery to Montford neighbors on Saturday mornings. Watching in awe for the first time what appeared to an 8-year-old as “mighty presses” in action - huge machines rolling, printing, noisily churning out beautiful newspapers - is a powerful memory from my childhood. Although I’ve worked as a journalist reporting news around the world and locally, I’m writing this as my opinion, based on longtime news experience. The importance of journalism in a free society and my belief in the freedom of the press are important values in my life.
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