Forum: First Amendment Under Fire? Assessing Current Threats to the Press and the Public Sphere

KUNR - Reno Public Radio is proud to co-sponsor "The First Amendment Under Fire?", a forum assessing the current threats to the press and the public sphere.

In this forum, organized by the Reynolds School of Journalism, two experts on the fight to protect free speech rights will discuss both the obvious and overlooked threats facing the press and the public sphere in our current political climate. 

Reynolds School Assistant Professor of Media Law Patrick File will moderate a conversation with Jones and Greene, followed by audience Q & A. 

This event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited. RSVP by clicking here for free ticket information.

SPEAKERS
David Greene, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Senior Staff Attorney and Civil Liberties Director

RonNell Andersen Jones, University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, Lee E. Teitelbaum Endowed Chair and Professor of Law

Greene has significant experience litigating First Amendment issues in state and federal trial and appellate courts and is one of the country's leading advocates for and commentators on freedom of expression in the arts. He was a founding member of the Internet Free Expression Alliance, and currently serves on the steering committee of the Free Expression Network, the governing committee of the ABA Forum on Communications Law, and on advisory boards for several arts and free speech organizations across the country.

Jones is a widely cited expert on legal issues affecting the press, including reporter’s privilege, the media’s role as a check on government, and emerging areas of social media law. Prior to entering academia, she was an attorney in the appellate division of Jones Day, where her work focused on Supreme Court litigation and included major constitutional and First Amendment cases. She clerked for the Honorable William A. Fletcher on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the United States Supreme Court. She is a former newspaper reporter and editor.

Patrick File, Assistant Professor of Media Law, Reynolds School of Journalism

Patrick File’s research, public engagement, and teaching focus on helping us better understand how we define and regulate journalism at the intersection of law, technology, and professional practices.His research in media law and history is published in journals like Communication Law & Policy and the Journal of Media Law and Ethics. Prior to his academic career, Patrick won national awards as a student journalist, worked for his hometown newspaper in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, reported for publications in Iowa and upstate New York, and interned with the Student Press Law Center, in Washington D.C.