Freedom of the Press and the Trump Administration

Date/Time
Date(s) - 03/21/2017
6:00 pm - 7:30 pm

Location
Room 5048, UNC School of Law

photo-faculty-george-freemanOn March 21, the Center is excited to host George Freeman, executive director of the Media Law Resource Center and former assistant general counsel of the New York Times Co.  Mr. Freeman will discuss the challenges to press freedom that are likely to arise (and have already arisen) under the Trump administration. Mr. Freeman, who will provide opening remarks on this subject, will then sit down with Professor Mary-Rose Papandrea, a noted First Amendment expert, for an open-ended conversation that explores the administration’s positions on executive branch transparency, journalists’ access to government officials, whistleblower protections, the scope of defamation law, and respect for journalists, among other topics.

The election of Donald Trump has thrust issues of media law and press freedom into the limelight in ways not seen since the Watergate era. As a candidate and now President, Trump has rankled journalists and First Amendment scholars with his controversial positions on a range of issues, including executive branch transparency, the scope of defamation law, and the protection of satire and parody. Please join us for what will undoubtedly be a energetic and entertaining discussion of what the Trump Administration could mean for freedom of the press in America.

The event is free and open to the public. For directions and information on parking at UNC, which is free after 5:00 PM, please visit the law school’s parking page.

More on George Freeman

George Freeman is Executive Director of the Media Law Resource Center. He was most recently Of Counsel to the law firm of Jenner & Block. He is a former Assistant General Counsel of the New York Times Company, where he was at the forefront of numerous high-profile cases for the company and its affiliated businesses. George is a well-known speaker on media and First Amendment issues. He is the William J. Brennan Visiting Professor at the Columbia Journalism School and also teaches at New York University and CUNY’s Graduate School of Journalism. He has led or participated in many media groups and is the founder and Co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Forum on Communications Law annual conference. He is a graduate of Amherst and the Harvard Law School.

Video from the event is available here:

Freedom of the Press and the Trump Administration from Center for Media Law and Policy on Vimeo.

 


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