Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., shocked many yesterday when he went public to muse over the question of whether bloggers “deserve First Amendment protection? These are the issues of our times.” Actually, it may be a question for Lindsey Graham but it is not a question of our time. Bloggers are clearly entitled to first amendment rights as are other citizens. Graham appears to be trying to raise the question of whether they are entitled to protections accorded journalists under a federal shield law.
Graham stood before reporters to pose the question: “Who is a journalist is a question we need to ask ourselves. Is any blogger out there saying anything—do they deserve First Amendment protection? These are the issues of our times.”
Putting aside his confusion between general first amendment rights, including the right to free speech, and press protections, Graham appears to be clueless about the shift of the media toward Internet reporting and blogging. It is astonishing that he would question the status of bloggers who regularly cover the government and politics as journalists. Bloggers are now included in the White House press conferences and other media events. The White House regularly brings in bloggers with traditional media for meeting affecting the free press.
Congressional members have long been quietly hostile to the federal shield law, which is why virtually every state has passed it despite the lack of a federal law. These members have a love/hate relationship with the media. They need the media but resent the media.
In Graham’s defense, there has been a long discussion of how broad the definition of a journalist can become without losing any sense of definition or limits. Traditional media figures have been known to raise this question. However, Graham puts a more menacing spin on the question by questioning all bloggers and failing to distinguish between the federal shield law and already recognized first amendment rights of bloggers.
SOURCE: NJ
This synopsis is from the Illinois First Amendment Center:
The 5 First Amendment Freedoms
Speech
The First Amendment says that people have the right to speak freely without government interference.
Press
The First Amendment gives the press the right to publish news, information and opinions without government interference. This also means people have the right to publish their own newspapers, newsletters, magazines, etc.
Religion
The First Amendment prohibits government from establishing a religion and protects each person’s right to practice (or not practice) any faith without government interference.
Petition
The First Amendment says that people have the right to appeal to government in favor of or against policies that affect them or that they feel strongly about. This freedom includes the right to gather signatures in support of a cause and to lobby legislative bodies for or against legislation.
Assembly
The First Amendment says that people have the right to gather in public to march, protest, demonstrate, carry signs and otherwise express their views in a nonviolent way. It also means people can join and associate with groups and organizations without interference.
©Illinois First Amendment Center – All rights reserved.
Testing. I am getting censored here by JT or his WordPress.
bloggers have the same right to have their e-mails and phone calls monitored as any other journalist.
I’d like to add “vile” and “treasonous” to mespo and Bron’s list of character defects in Lindsey. He took an oath to protect the Constitution, not subvert it.
This clown has also gotta go. Ffs how have these guys been able to take over our country. Its crazy.
Mike Spindell 1, June 6, 2013 at 9:28 am
“In Graham’s defense, there has been a long discussion of how broad the definition of a journalist can become without losing any sense of definition or limits.”
It seems to me that the definition of who is a journalist should be as broad as possible. …
==============================
That would mean as wide as a church preaching.
Like Senator Wide Stance.
3 paws up for the BarkinDog!
clever boy…. 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9e96zt-sZI
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9e96zt-sZI&w=420&h=315%5D
The author of the topic here poses the question of free speech rights as if one must be a journalist for free speech protection to apply. While a blogger could be deemed a journalist, it does not matter, one does not need to be a journalist to write, publish, convey speech by mouth, typewriter, computer or spitball. That special free press thing was evident back in the Pentagon Papers era when everyone was quick to protect the Grahm lady and not Daniel Ellsberg. There is another Prong of the First Amendment which gets overlooked on this blog by both JT and the rest of us. The Right To Petition One’s Government For Redress of Grievcances. That Prong is bigger than Lindsey Grahams prong. Was it Kathryn Graham who was head of the Washington Post during the Pentagon Papers era? Not related to this Graham Craker down in SC.
So, JT: take a refresher course on the Prongs of the First Amendment and report back. This is not one of your spulling errors. You are a law professor and need to get up to speed. The long and short of it, you don’t need to be some qualified journalist to exercise your right to free speech whether on a bulletin board, a blog, a newspaper, a step stool on Assembly Square, or a billboard in Times Square. The freedom of the press clause is there to prevent the feds and other perps from closing down the press itself, the machines, the newspaper publisher, not necessarily but also includes the speaker, writer, Ok?
He looks like such a dumb schmuck too.
In NC we refer to him as Lindsey Graham Kraker.
Come out, come out, wherever you are; Miss Lindsey.
We should consider the source here. Lindsey Graham has never met a civil rights intrusion that he didn’t like.
I like Darren’s idea. I think we should establish a 501c4 entity for the social welfare purpose of defending all bloggers rights to bug Senator Graham.
http://www.alternet.org/rape-rampant-juvenile-justice-system
by all means, ramp up the aggression and dummie down on civil-rights abuses….we have a world to build!
Ah, the smell of patriotism in the morning…smells like victory! (for the Democrats, I hope).
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. is a treasonous fascist chicken-hawk warmongering bigoted cretin who in a just world would be held to account for his crimes against the US Constitution and humanity.
Freedom of speech is an inalienable right that inherently belongs to every human being on this planet.
The only reason war criminals like the fascist chicken-hawk warmongering senator from South Carolina are concerned about freedom of speech is that they are afraid the general public will find out about their criminal acts against both humanity and the constitution and attempt to hold them to account.
The fraction of a human being known as Lindsey Graham and his warmongering/constitution shredding ilk should resign as they have abdicated their oaths of office repeatedly they are treasonous scum and have sold the most vulnerable folks in the US out for their own power lust and greed.
Bron:
“Unctuous” works, too.
Lindsey Graham: “All your bloggers are belong to us”
So, we the people just need to form an association called “Online Blogger News Association” which issues itself press credentials. Take that Lindsey.
Gee, whiz…… Senator Graham….. I question whether you deserve to be breathing??????
Graham is a traitor. He should be either tried and imprisoned or expelled