Category Archives: Subpoenaed reporters

First Amendment for reporters? Gannett says ‘NOPE!”

BY JOEL THURTELL Screams from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. Those authoritarian Chinese booted our journalists! But Trump expelled 60 Chinese journalists from the US. Do foreign journalists have First Amendment rights? Better question: do … Continue reading

Posted in Bad government, Joel's J School, Subpoenaed reporters, Unions | Leave a comment

Crying wolf on the ‘chilling effect’

The dual revelations, in rapid succession, also suggested that someone with access to high-level intelligence secrets had decided to unveil them in the midst of furor over leak investigations. Both were reported by The Guardian, while The Post, relying upon … Continue reading

Posted in Joel's J School, Subpoenaed reporters | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Bait and switch for press ‘freedom’

By Joel Thurtell Would some wise person in the media please explain to me how the government’s surveillance of The Associated Press’s phones translates into a new push for a so-called federal “shield” to insulate mainstream journalists from subpoenas? Somehow, … Continue reading

Posted in Bad government, Joel's J School, Subpoenaed reporters | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Ashenfelter-Convertino: Essential reading

By Joel Thurtell A federal judge has ordered the Detroit Free Press to reveal the names of US Justice Department officials who illegally disclosed secret grand jury information about a former assistant US attorney, Richard Convertino. Convertino has sued the Justice … Continue reading

Posted in Bad government, Joel's J School, Subpoenaed reporters | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Convertino case: Judge orders Free Press to name sources

By Joel Thurtell Former assistant US attorney Rick Convertino’s lawsuit against the US Justice Department is still alive, despite a federal judge’s decision to let a Detroit Free Press reporter, now retired, off the hook as a witness in the … Continue reading

Posted in Bad government, Joel's J School, Subpoenaed reporters | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Kiriakou gets 30 months, Convertino snitches get a pass

By Joel Thurtell They say the Obama administration has gotten really tough with federal officials who leak government secrets to journalists. For proof, look at what happened to former CIA agent John Kiriakou. He revealed names of government operatives to … Continue reading

Posted in Bad government, censorship, Subpoenaed reporters | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

That hole in their story, again

By Joel Thurtell According to the May 21, 2009 Detroit Free Press, five lawyers involved with last year’s Kwamegate text message scandal have been charged with violating the lawyers’ canon of ethics and some may even have committed crimes in a coverup. … Continue reading

Posted in censorship, Joel's J School, Subpoenaed reporters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Judge ignores JOTR, but Convertino hears

By Joel Thurtell I was disappointed when U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland ignored my advice that he appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the behavior of federal attorneys and maybe even the Detroit Free Press in producing a January 2004 … Continue reading

Posted in censorship, Joel's J School, Subpoenaed reporters | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fixing Free Press A-C bias

By Joel Thurtell Normally, I’m not in favor of outsourcing, especially when it involves covering local news stories. How could reporters in, say, Bangalore, India have enough background, culturally and politically, to report accurately and concisely on an American news … Continue reading

Posted in censorship, Joel's J School, Subpoenaed reporters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

JOTR to judge: Appoint prosecutor in A/C

By Joel Thurtell The twists and turns in the case of onetime Alaska Senator Ted Stevens must be mind-boggling to Washingtonians. But the outcome there might also turn some heads in Detroit, if a federal judge here chose to do … Continue reading

Posted in Joel's J School, Subpoenaed reporters | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment