This week saw the passing of the birthday — almost without notice — of a recent American president: John F. Kennedy. Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917, and there was no special reason to note his birthday. He was in office for less than three years, and one could argue that his death — • Read More »
Archives: First Amendment
Leonardo’s journals; eyewitness to the biggest event of the first century; football art and the First Amendment; newsletter Feb. 9, 2018
February 12, 2018 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: journalism, newsletter, writing.
This newsletter was sent to everyone on Jim’s email list (3,317) on Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. Hi, This has been The Week of Interesting Things for me. Most of my weeks could take that moniker, but this one seemed especially full. I try to put a lot of interesting things I find into the newsletter, but I • Read More »
Artist Daniel Moore announces latest national championship painting
February 7, 2018 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: First Amendment, sports.
Moore discovered a gold mine for his artwork in 1979 when he produced “The Goal Line Stand,” a photo-realistic oil painting of the moments when Alabama prevented Penn State from scoring in the Sugar Bowl.
New theories on why we can’t – or don’t – read
January 11, 2018 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: journalism, writers, writing.
Scientists and scholars are taking a closer look at that question these days and are coming up with some interesting, and occasionally surprising, answers.
Alabama vs. Georgia, 50+ years ago: The Saturday Evening Post-Wally Butts-Bear Bryant libel case
January 8, 2018 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: books, First Amendment, Home, journalism, law, reporting.
More than 50 years ago, the Alabama-Georgia matchup resulted, not in a national championship, but in a legal ruling that expanded the First Amendment protections we now enjoy.
Another reader on free expression; Anger as temporary madness
November 9, 2017 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: newsletter.This newsletter was sent to all those on Jim’s newsletter list (3,873) on Friday, Nov. 3, 2017. Hi, Where did English come from? The origins of English are many and varied. If you don’t know much about it, there’s a great sub-five-minute video from Open Culture embedded at the top of the JPROF.com website. Gardening is a year-round activity: I spent • Read More »
J. K. Rowling on freedom of expression
September 7, 2017 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: First Amendment, freedom of speech, journalism.J.K. Rowling has a point of view: Intolerance of alternative viewpoints is spreading to places that make me, a moderate and a liberal, most uncomfortable. Only last year, we saw an online petition to ban Donald Trump from entry to the U.K. It garnered half a million signatures. Just a moment. I find almost • Read More »
The First Amendment today
March 8, 2016 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: First Amendment, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, history, journalism, journalism education.
The nation seems to be in a state of perpetual war, and during times of crisis, individual freedoms are always in danger. Professor Dwight Teeter of the University of Tennessee discusses the state and strength of First Amendment freedoms today.
The First Amendment, Luther Baldwin and the Alien and Sedition Acts
December 21, 2013 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: First Amendment, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, Home, journalism education.
University of Tennessee professor Dwight Teeter discusses the case of Luther Baldwin, a New Jersey man who was prosecuted under the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798. Baldwin became a symbol of Federalist intolerance during the 1800 presidential election.
This video is part of the Tennessee Journalism Series and was produced and edited by Jim Stovall.
How we got the First Amendment (video)
December 17, 2013 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: First Amendment, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, history, Home, journalism, journalism education, teaching journalism.
In this two-and-a-half minute video, Dr. Dwight Teeter explains some of the political maneuvering that occurred to get the an amendment guaranteeing freedom of speech into the hotly-debated Constitution in the late 1780s. The freedoms protected by the amendment — religion, speech, press, assembly and petition — were not foremost in the minds of the Founding Fathers. Discussion questions are included with this video.
Three Dead Americans: Life’s famous World War II photo
November 29, 2013 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: Civil War, First Amendment, history, Home, photojournalism.
Americans waited nearly two years before the news media printed a combat photograph that showed a dead U.S. serviceman. The reasons for that wait were that such producing such photos are too shocking for the friends and families of the deceased and that the public’s morale and support for the war might be diminished.
The story of the Life magazine photo is an interesting one and demonstrates the controversy surrounding photographing the deceased, particularly those who have died in combat.
Below is a set of photographs of soldiers killed in battle during the Civil War.
Tennessee Journalism Series: Writing Like a Journalist
May 24, 2013 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: books, First Amendment, teaching journalism.Journalists write for a living. They use words precisely and efficiently. They present accurate, verified information in a way that a mass audience will understand it by reading or hearing it only once.
Tennessee Journalism Series: Feature Writing
May 24, 2013 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: books, First Amendment, teaching journalism.Feature Writing presents the basic concepts and techniques of feature writing for students who want to explore this vital part of journalism. It is brief and designed to be highly accessible to the beginning student.
Daniel Moore – Artist, journalist . . . or both?
May 18, 2013 | By Jim Stovall | 1 Comment | Filed in: First Amendment, law.The University of Alabama, where I taught for 25 years, has sued artist Daniel Moore saying that Moore’s paintings, many of which depicted memorable moments in Crimson Tide football history, violate the University’s trademark protections. Moore has responded with a suit against the University saying it is interferring with his business. Moore also makes a First Amendment claim. He says that what he does — observing a game, executing a painting, making prints and selling them — is no different from what a photojournalist for a newspaper does. The University, he says, does not charge the newspaper with trademark violations when it publishes pictures of the football game and sells its newspapers to the public. So why should it charge him? Why, indeed?
Freedom of expression
May 17, 2013 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: First Amendment.The National Paralegal College has an excellent page on freedom of expression and symbolic speech. The definitions are worth noting. (Link supplied by Kristi of the Massachusetts Teachers Union.)
The Newseum opens in Washington
May 17, 2013 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: news.Gannett’s splashy new monument to journalism, the Newseum, opened in Washington yesterday. For the most part, I think, the reviews are good.