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 years, ACTA warned of a looming crisis in higher education, and with it, a crisis for our nation. It is writ large in runaway college costs, civic ignorance, a skills deficit that frustrates employers, and the breakdown in the discourse that is the lifeblood of a free society. But from its inception, ACTA has been more than a warning bell in…

Support and engagement with the First Amendment among high school students is at a high level; however, little is known regarding the ways high school students learn about the First Amendment. This study examines what sources students learn about the First Amendment from, and if some sources are considered more valuable than others. This study…

Risks to journalists are rising with disasters, epidemics, physical, mental and digital harassment all increasing globally. Some 1382 journalists have been killed since 1992 and 246 are imprisoned. However, the threat type has been changing, with the majority of journalists killed annually being ones working in their own country, often who are…

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) has gone from strength to strength in advancing their mission to ensure that American higher education is the finest in the world. This annual report focuses on how well ACTA has led schools, coast to coast, to strengthen cost-control and accountability, nurture academic excellence, and enhance…

The good news is that America is awake to the urgent need for transformative change in higher education. We are at a turning point: ACTA's admonitions to make a college education affordable and indisputably valuable for students and our nation are being heeded as never before. And more good news: We are a nation of problem solvers, and our…

A confluence of forces has brought journalism and journalism education to a precipice. The rise of fascism, the advance of digital technology, and the erosion of the economic foundation of news media are disrupting journalism and mass communication (JMC) around the world. Combined with the increasingly globalized nature of journalism and media,…

The author has built one of America's most distinguished careers among defenders of free speech and civil liberties. Cancel culture, presented in this essay, is not a new phenomenon. In this essay, the author marshals a wealth of survey data to show the scope and depth of the growing crisis: Americans feel more pressure to conceal their viewpoints…

A Pennsylvania high school newspaper published an editorial in Fall 2013 announcing its decision to cease using the name of the school's sports teams, Redskins. That decision prompted the local school board to institute a policy giving administrators more editorial control over the newspaper. The controversy resonated with U.S. professional…

Purpose: The Samuel Paty murder has generated a great response from the professional community and the world of education and schools in Europe and worldwide. In a unique way, civic educators expressed horror, sorrow, and solidarity with the family and with their French colleagues. The article is dedicated to Samuel Paty and the question of…

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) is turning the tide and calling colleges and universities to account. The ACTA is making significant progress in the campaign to make higher education accountable, affordable, and effective. ACTA's goal is for America to be again able to say our nation's higher education is the envy of the world.…

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…

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…

Legal scholars rarely focus on student First Amendment rights, and general public understanding of the extent of these rights is vague at best. While media scholars have focused much attention on newspaper coverage of more mainstream issues, no notable attention has been given to examining the way news media cover student First Amendment rights.…

Discussion of photographic coverage of courtroom proceedings considers both the historic background and an experiment currently underway in the state of Wisconsin. (RAO)