Attack in Copenhagen

Lars Vilks

Earlier this month, a gunman stormed a cafe in Copenhagen, Denmark where Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks was attending a free speech forum. The man began firing from an automatic weapon and Vilks's bodyguards (who always travel with him) took him into a back room until the danger passed.

Vilks was uninjured, but a 55-year-old man was killed and three others wounded. The man fled, and hours later fired shots at officers at a Copenhagen synagogue. The officers were wounded and a security guard was killed. Later that day, police tracked down the man and killed him.

Vilks has survived two previous attempts on his life after being placed on a terrorist hit list. His cartoons are offensive, and meant to elicit a reaction. He believes that it should be possible to insult all religions in a democratic way.

What do you think? Is it okay to deliberately create cartoons to offend? Does having the right to freedom of the press mean that we should use that privilege to deliberately create images to offend?

For more details on this story, visit CNN.

Bill to Gut Oklahoma Records Act Withdrawn

Democratic Rep. Claudia Griffith withdrew House Bill 1361 that would have allowed public officials to deny open records requests under multiple exemptions. She said Thursday that she would not allow the bill to be heard because it had been drastically changed by an amendment. The bill previously cleared a House committee.

The measure was originally intended to protect the privacy of those caught on police cameras. However, the end product would've infringed on the public's access of open records. This can definitely be considered a win for press freedom in Oklahoma.

For the full story, visit NewsOK.

The Obama Administration and the Espionage Act

Espionage has been a relatively loose term the Obama Administration has used during the current presidency. Obama has prosecuted more people under the Espionage Act (passed in 1917 in response to WWI) than any other previous administration combined. Since 2008, eight Americans have been charged with leaking information and violating the Espionage Act. 

Espionage: the practice of spying or of using spies, typically by governments to obtain political and military information. 


How does espionage relate to Stephen Kim? Kim was working as the state department expert on rouge nations with weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Kim, a U.S. citizen who was born in South Korea, probably knew more about what was going on in North Korea than anyone else.

James Rosen, a Fox News reporter named by Eric Holder as a co-conspirator, met with Kim to discuss the contents of a top-secret intelligence report. The information concerned North Korea's intentions to carry out additional nuclear tests in response to a United Nations resolution. This information was by no means groundbreaking, and merely confirmed what most had already suspected. Kim was later charged with espionage. After four years, he took a plea bargain and was sentenced to 13 months in prison. He is set to be released in 2015. 

The Obama administration has been controversial with the use of the Espionage Act when leaks appear to be merely "whistle blowing" rather than dangerous. Follow the link below to view a video about Kim and ask yourself this......is he guilty of espionage? Or is he just another victim of the government crackdown on journalist's sources?

The Surrender: a film by Stephen Maing

House Committee Passes Bill to Gut Oklahoma Open Records Act

On Thursday, February 19 the House Public Safety Committee approved a bill that significantly expands fees for public records.

The new bill adds 10 exemptions that allow law enforcement agencies to redact or obscure information in the following situations:

1. "Any information specifically required by law to be kept confidential."

2. "Any medical information pertaining to a diagnosis, medication, treatment or transport of a person to any hospital, mental health facility, drug or alcohol treatment facility."

3. "Any information that could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy including, but not limited to intimate matters, sexual details or domestic violence."

4. "Any information that might identify an informant for a law enforcement agency where disclosure" of the person's identity "could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of the person."

5. Any information provided by an informant.

6. Any information about a person not arrested.

7. Any information about a suspect not arrested or cited.

8. Opinions of law enforcement officers about the case.

9. Gang involvement and affiliations.

10. "Any information related to the detection, investigation or prosecution of a crime where the release of the information may interfere with the investigation or prosecution of the crime."

According to the FOI website, the bill was railroaded through the committee and only limited questions were allowed and there was no opportunity for discussion or extended debate. For more information visit the FOI Oklahoma website. 

What do you think? Does this bill provide too many opportunities for public officials to decline releasing information?

A New Plan to Protect Journalists

Major news organizations are joining forces to confront a rising tide of abductions and murders of freelance reporters. Will it save lives? Global Post’s Charles Sennott with an exclusive announcement.

Last year 61 journalists were killed, including James Foley, the journalist that was beheaded by ISIS. In 2015, 13 journalists have already been killed and 164 imprisoned. It is crucial that those who put their lives on the line to report truth are protected.

Will this training be enough?

James Foley: American Journalist
10/18/1973 - 08/19/2014

Reporters Without Borders 2015

Reporters Without Borders has published their 2015 World Press Freedom Index stats and the United States has dropped another three levels to #49. We have some real issues to deal with in our very own backyard.

Here is what Reporters Without Borders had to say about our country:

"In the United States, 2014 was marked by judicial harassment of New York times Investigative reporter James Risen in connection with the trial of Jeffrey Sterling, a former CIA officer charged under the Espionage Act with given him classified information, US journalist are still not protected by a federal shield law that would guarantee their right not to name their sources or reveal other confidential information about their work. Meanwhile, at least 15 journalist were arbitrarily arrested during clashes between police and demonstrators protesting against black teenager Michael Brown's fatal shooting by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri."

Lets get this message out in front of people. It is important to let our government know we will no longer tolerate them imposing on our journalists. It has become apparent that journalists put their freedom at risk when they print information that the government deems classified.

Please do your part and share this with your friends. Thanks.

Reports Without Borders Website

A great resource to follow is Reporters Without Borders.

This organization's mission is to help protect reporters across the globe. Their goal is prevent journalists from becoming victims of crime and brutality due to the actions of those wishing to suppress information and truth. 

The below image was found as a repost on The Daily Blog. The picture collage is graphic and not intended to offend any readers of this blog. 

The intent of showing this image is to demonstrate the brutality of these leaders and illustrate the disregard to free exchange of information and truth reported by journalists. 

http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/05/04/reporters-without-borders/

John Peter Zenger: The Start of Press Freedom

The first known freedom of the press case in the United States was the trial of John Peter Zenger in 1735 

Zenger (born 1697, Germany--died July 28, 1746, New York City) was the printer of a paper called the New York Weekly Journal. The publication spoke out against the corruption of the royal governor, William S. Cosby. Zenger did not write the articles, he merely printed what his sources gave him. When he refused to name the writers, he was thrown into jail.

His famous acquittal in the following libel suit established the first important victory for press freedom in the English colonies of North America.

To see the movie on YouTube click here 

Studio One: The Trial of John Peter Zenger 1953. 

http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/bookmarks/zenger/zenger1.html 

Peter Greste Interview

Here is an interview with Peter Greste, the Al Jazeera English journalist who was held in an Egyptian prison for 400 days. He was charged with spreading lies to help a terrorist organization, and his two colleagues remain imprisoned. 
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/2/2/greste-peter-interview.html


Some are not so lucky, and are targeted by terrorist groups. Please do your part. Press Freedom Day is coming up on Sunday, May 3. Help spread the word and educate yourself about threats against freedom of speech. 

Here is another video about the Charlie Hebdo shooting in France. On January 7, 2015 the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine, were attacked by two gunmen claiming to belong to al-Qaeda.. They were offended by the satire the Hebdo offices were publishing about the prophet Mohammad. Click on the link below to visit the BBC's coverage.

http://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-30710777

We do not agree with the satirical images published by this magazine, but as advocates of freedom of speech we believe that no one has the right to suppress it. 

Facebook Press Freedom

Here is the link to our Facebook site https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009089737860

This site has been initiated by some of the students of the Press Freedom class at the University of Central Oklahoma. It is intended to promote freedom of the press and to bring attention to those situations that hinder it. We hope to open the eyes of people who are unaware of the persecution of press representatives around the world.

We will post stories on trending situations within the press corps here and around the world. We will bring you new information on this site as is becomes available.

Please feel free to link stories to this blog site to help us spread the information to our viewers. Thank you for taking the time to be part of our press freedom movement.