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FREE SPEECH & OPEN GOVERNMENT ASSEMBLY
USC ANNENBERG SCHOOL, OCT. 25 & 26
REGISTER NOW AND SAVE 50 (FIFTY!) PERCENT
 CFAC's 12th Annual Free Speech and Open Government Assembly brings
together the best and brightest of law, journalism and public
policy. New Yorker magazine writer JEFFREY TOOBIN will be there,
discussing secrecy and the US Supreme Court. Hear National Journal
columnist and Newsweek contributor STUART TAYLOR on his new book
about the rush to (mis)judgment in the Duke rape case. Raise a glass
of wine to honor SANDY CLOSE, champion of ethnic media as head of New
American Media and Pacific News Service.
And check out a dozen debates and panel discussions, including:
- GOING TO JAIL TO PROTECT CONFIDENTIAL SOURCES, with former NY Times
reporter Judith Miller and videographer Josh Wolf (both of whom
went to jail), San Francisco Chronicle reporter Lance Williams (who
nearly did), Ted Boutrous, Supreme Court lawyer for Time Magazine
and Time reporter Matt Cooper, and Pulitzer-winning reporter Martha
Mendoza as moderator.
- CITIZEN MEDIA, with LAObserved editor Kevin Roderick, Xeni Jardin
of NPR and Boing Boing, Center for Citizen Media founder Dan Gillmor,
and technology lawyer & blogger Denise Howell.
- PERSONAL PRIVACY VS. PUBLIC ACCESS, with Nicole Wong of Google, LA
Times editorial page editor Jim Newton, Boalt Hall privacy advocate
Chris Jay Hoofnagle, and Clark Kelso, McGeorge law professor and
Governor Schwarzenegger's chief IT officer.
Take in still more forums on: social networking; national security
secrecy; immigration reporting; tribal secrecy; California's secret
police; foreign laws and the internet; access to public records and
meetings--and more, all featuring leading lawyers, journalists, new
media maivens, policy wonks and other experts.
Whether you attend for just two hours or two full days, your
intellectual batteries--and your faith in First Amendment principles--
will be recharged.
REGISTRATION:
REGISTER TODAY AND SAVE 50%
Early Registration (by October 10) - $25 (includes free parking)
http://www.cfac.org/content/assembly.php
After October 10 and at the door - $50 (parking not included)
College students and Annenberg School faculty: Early Registration (by October 10) -- Free
http://www.cfac.org/content/assembly_free.php
PANEL DISCUSSIONS
Sources and Shields
Going to jail to protect original source materials or confidential
sources: Does this act of "contempt" of a court order place a
journalist "above the law," or preserve the trust required for
journalists to serve the public's right to know? Two journalists who went to jail and one who faced jail time describe their experiences, and talk about the prospect of a federal shield law.
Moderator:
Martha Mendoza; Panelists: Judith Miller, Josh Wolf, Lance Williams,
Ted Boutrous Jr.
Did I Really Post That?
Increasing numbers of students are discovering to their dismay that
comments and images they post on social-networking websites, and
unflattering (and worse) comments and files that others post about
them, are not easily removed from the internet. Earlier generations'
youthful mistakes were quickly forgotten; will employers and graduate
schools be as forgiving when evidence of one's indiscretions are only a Google search away? Will a future presidential candidate have to explain something he or she posted on FaceBook 30 years before?
Moderator: Tom Clanin, Panelists: Genelle Belmas, Marti Longworth,
Jackie Kimmel.
National security and government secrecy.
This panel will demystify and debate several of the federal
government's most controversial tools for gathering intelligence
information and for keeping that information secret. These include
the FBI's use of secret subpoenas---so-called "National Security
Letters"---to obtain information on individuals or organizations
without their knowledge. Also, the NSA's access to, and use of, email
and phone communications in two ways: 1) for a large volume of
communications, the sifting through metadata in search of patterns
and links; and 2) for a (presumably) much smaller number of
communications, the interception, usually subject to the recently
amended FISA law, of the actual content of the messages. Lastly, the
panel will explore the government's use of the "state secrets"
privilege to abort judicial inquiry into these and other government secrets.
Panelists: Scott Armstrong, John Sims, Kevin Bankston.
Applying Old Age laws to a New Age Internet
The legal system can't possibly keep up with the pace of
technological change, but that doesn't stop lawyers, courts and
legislatures from applying 20th Century legal principles to a 21st
Centurt internet. This panel will examine restrictions on internet
expression posed by laws of foreign nations, lawsuits filed abroad
that punish speech and content in the US, and restraints from
expanding copyright and other intellectual property protections. The
panel will also explore issues created by "unfiltered" speakers, such as videos posted on YouTube and anonymous bloggers who say things they might not if they were identified.
Moderator: Guylyn Cummins;
Panelists: Jonathan Anschell, Nicole Wong, Jan Constantine, Fred von
Lohmann.
Tribal Sovereignty or Secrecy?
Indian gaming is now a $30 billion a year industry. As it grows, so
do questions about tribal sovereignty. Journalists, citizen groups
and tribal members themselves increasingly find a rocky path in
obtaining crucial information from secretive tribal governments. A mounting wave of explusions of tribal members has now brought the issue of the limits and scope of sovereignty to the courts.
Moderator: Marc Cooper. Panelists: Steve Maganini, Cheryl Schmidt,
John Gomez.
Personal privacy vs. Public access.
The tension between protecting personal privacy on one hand, and
enhancing public access to government information on the other, is an
enduring conflict in contemporary politics. Key issues fanning the tension are identity-theft and the security of personalized data gathered by internet search engines. Can we find common ground?
Moderator: Jim Newton. Panelists: Nicole Wong, Chris Hoofnagle, Clark
Kelso.
Our Secret Police
Police in California enjoy special privacy protections and exemptions
from access laws. This panel will consider the extent and
consequences of this special status. Journalism students at Cal State
Fullerton and Cal State Long Beach will report on allegations of
police misconduct that have disappeaed into the black hole of legally
sanctioned police secrecy, comparing California's experience to
other states. Panelists will also report on the status of proposed legislation designed to unlock police secrets in the golden state.
Current Developments in Access Law
This panel will provide an overview of the latest legal and
legislative developments in access law, including: new state Supreme
Court decisions on access to government salaries and police IDs; the
uncertain status of elected officials' email; educating state
agencies to abide by access rules; and local governments' abuse of
the "deliberative process" privilege. In addition, panelists will
discuss federal FOIA, declassification, and state agencies' emerging strategy of using U.S. Department of Homeland Security regulations to block access to state and local government records.
Investigative Reporting Using Digital Mapping Technology
Recent litigation is forcing California counties to provide access to
highly accurate, digital maps. The availability of various databases
that are linked to these maps, from real estate boundaries and
appraisals to demographic data and crime statistics, makes possible
reporting--on, for example, performance of local agencies, analyses
of government spending--that could not be done previously. This
panel will hear from legal and technical experts. Journalists will also demonstrate the use of GIS digital mapping technology in news reporting.
Immigration: The Push and Pull
After the failure of comprehensive immigration reform in the last
Congress, the journalistic and legal topography of the immigration
issue continues to shift. Can the media (both English language and
ethnic) stay ahead of the reporting curve? What are the particular problems in reporting on advocacy for those who lack legal status.
FEATURED SPEAKERS
- Jeffrey Toobin, New Yorker writer and author of the newly released book, The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court (Doubleday, 2007).
- Stuart Taylor, journalist, lawyer and author of 2007 book, Until Proven Innocent: Political Correctness and the Shameful Injustices of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case (St. Martin's Press, 2007).
- Leadership Award recipient: Sandy Close, acclaimed journalist,
Macarthur Award winner, and Executive Director of New America Media
and Pacific News Service, for her championing of freedom and opportunity for immigrants, children and ethnic media in California and across the country.
MEALS, REFRESHMENTS**
- Reception (wine and beer), Thursday evening, Oct. 25
- Lunch Friday, Oct. 26
- Reception, Friday afternoon, Oct. 26
**Fees will apply to persons attending for free
See the full program here:http://www.cfac.org/content/index.php/cfac-assembly/index/
Map and directions to USC Annenberg:http://www.usc.edu/about/visit/upc/driving_directions/main_entrance.html
Questions for CFAC about the Assembly:
Call 415.460.5060 or
email: assembly@cfac.org
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