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46 Media L. Notes [1] (2017-2018)

handle is hein.journals/mdilwnts46 and id is 1 raw text is: Jason Martin In Thie Issue Inuh s IssEL)Ue))~ Division Head There probably has never been a bad time to be a communication law and policy scholar or professor in the past half-century, but it is debatable whether there has ever been a more hectic one. Daily headlines from all corners of the country and all levels of government detail new statements, proposals, laws, and rulings that could launch several new research agendas about official and unofficial infringements on freedom of expression. Rhetoric from a president who casts the press as his enemy and an administration taking aggressive positions against free speech interests amplify very real concerns about threats to journalists and the First Amendment. Reporters Without Borders ranked the United States 43rd in its 2017 World Press Freedom Index, down two spots from 2016. The organization noted that the Obama administration's war on whis- tleblowers and leaks set the stage for these recent developments. Journalists arrested covering political protests, an increase in prolonged searched of journalists and their devices at the border, and some foreign journalists prevented from entering the country after covering sensitive topics highlight Reporters Without Borders' reasoning. Those points are echoed in the launch this fall of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker (https://pressfreedomtracker.us/), a partnership of the Columbia Journalism Review, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the Freedom of the Press Foundation to document encroachments on press freedom around the country. As of Nov. 16, 2017, the website chronicled 31 journalist arrests; 20 instances in which their equipment was stolen, seized, or damaged; 31 physical attacks on journalists (including one by a Congressional candidate in Montana), and five border stops of journalists. Training journalists and journalism students now must incorporate not only awareness of libel and newsgathering torts, but also per- sonal safety and police confrontation contingencies. My syllabi now include mundane tasks such as teaching how to password-protect mobile phones, back up data from a phone to the cloud, and what to do when a police officer asks to confiscate a student journal- ist's camera. Such topics also have become commonplace in the past year in publications that bridge the academy and journalism profession. AEJMC LAWP member Jonathan Peters recently wrote a column for CJR addressing the question of what a news outlet should do if a journalist is arrested covering a protest. (Advice he gathered from experts: develop a plan in advance; reporter and amplify; hold police accountable.) Another recent CJR piece by Annalyn Kurtz tackled whether freelance journalists should invest in liability insurance - a question that NPR's Ashley Messenger addressed at our 2017 conference in Such topics also have become commonplace in the past year in publications that bridge the academy and journalism profession. AEJMC LAWP member Jonathan Peters recently wrote a column for CJR addressing the question of what a news outlet should do if a journalist is arrested covering a protest. (Advice he gathered from ex- perts: develop a plan in advance; reporter and amplify; hold police accountable.) Another recent CJR piece by Annalyn Kurtz tackled whether freelance journalists should invest in liability insurance - a question that NPR's Ashley Messenger ad- dressed at our 2017 conference in Chicago and answered with an emphatic yes. As most of our AEJMC LAWP members struggle each new term to place new devel- opments in context for their students and in their research, it is worth remembering that this division and community is one of the best resources for staying up to date on recent developments and learning best practices from one another as they develop. Even for scholars less focused on newsgathering and journalist concerns, rising issues of media consolidation, changes in FCC policy, and a range of other empirical threats from government and beyond are sure to continue the chaotic trend. As head the division, my hope is that Media Law Notes, our annual programming, our website, and our social media channels are important resources for us to learn from one another and initiate conversations in what sure to be a trying year ahead.

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