It is easy to confuse academic freedom with freedom of speech, but it is illuminating to consider the responsibilities that frame academic freedom and thus distinguish it from the less constrained freedoms to speak that characterise our roles as citizens of democratic societies. In particular, scholars and scientists are subject to standards of…

Media freedom and independence are the pillars of a given democratic society. Since the media makes up the bridge between the political authority and the public opinion, its independence is crucial for the survival of democracy. However, the history of the media has always been paved with obstacles of different kinds. This paper examines the…

Recent efforts prohibiting race-related diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives have informed localized public pushback narrating anti-equity campaigns. Emerging research and media accounts have largely focused on adults engaged with or against these efforts, with less attention on youth and their perceptions of these campaigns. To center…

In the history of US news media, partisanship, class, race, and gender biases have always infused the press and that coverage has often been shaped behind closed doors by those with the greatest power. People of color have been systematically excluded from the press, both in general society and on college campuses. However over the past several…

For more than 30 years, student journalists' freedom of expression has been in flux. Freedom of expression is central to journalism education. Without this freedom, teaching students the courage and truth telling central to the profession becomes impossible. To reinstate compromised freedoms, North Dakota student journalists created The John Wall…

The accrediting body for media education, the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC), has established twelve professional values and competencies that all students must demonstrate before graduating from accredited journalism and mass communication programs. A close reading suggests that these twelve…

Criticisms of IRBs are proliferating. In response, we compare the ethical and epistemic standards of two closely related forms of inquiry, investigative journalism and equity-oriented collaborative community-based research (EOCCBR). We argue that a university affiliation justifies formal ethical review of research and suggest how institutionalized…

This article describes a lesson in which students will examine several views expressed by the founders to understand the context for including freedom of the press in the First Amendment. Students will be asked to think about the role that the news media and the need to be an informed citizen continue to play in our democracy. Students will…

Independence for the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia has not led to press freedom, solutions to pressing environmental problems, or development of effective grassroots nongovernmental organizations. This article examines relations between journalists and environmental nongovernmental organizations, and it…

This article outlines how providing accessible transparency to information controlled by institutions of power and suppressed from public view is both similar in purpose to, as well as an essential component of, the pedagogical processes promoted by Paulo Freire, which are necessary for the establishment of a truly just and non-oppressive society.…

The Depression and the New Deal brought together a variety of conditions and social forces that set up a formative clash over the institution of professional journalism. At the heart of that fight was the rise of the American Newspaper Guild and its battle for control over the trusteeship of the freedom of the press. The experience in the news…

The First Amendment's guarantee of an independent press that may freely collect and disseminate news is often considered the bedrock of American democracy. Yet more than a century and a half after the "New York Herald's" John Nugent became the first American reporter jailed for refusing to identify a confidential source, reporters…

Provides insights into seven so-called journalism myths. Discusses professional freedom and responsibility. (RL)

Reexamines primary materials to show that John Milton's later activities did not contradict his appeal for liberty in "Areopagitica." (Author/FL)

Describes some of the efforts by schools throughout the nation to celebrate the Bicentennial and the human freedoms shared in America. (RB)