Andy Phillips debates freedom of the press

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Freedom of the press has been regarded as an essential right in a democracy in which the government is accountable to the people. A free media can be a watchdog that reports government wrongdoing, and it can be free to promote different and sometimes radical opinions on issues. Recently, as the media have proliferated and we have entered the digital world, many of them have reported blatantly inaccurate and "fake news". Some dark websites have become a forum for bigots, spewing hate rhetoric and inciting unlawful violence. Should some limitations be imposed? Speaker: RonNell Andersen Jones, Professor of Law, University of Utah Quinney College of Law RonNell Andersen Jones is a constitutional scholar on legal issues affecting the press, with special emphasis on U.S. Supreme Court cases. She received her law degree from Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, summa cum laude, valedictorian, while serving as President of Ohio State University Women's Law Caucus. She clerked for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge William Fletcher and for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. She was Professor of Law at Brigham Young University Clark Law School. She is the author of numerous articles for law journals, most recently "The Fragility of the Free American Press", "Justice Scalia and Fourth Estate Skepticism", and "Libel Law in a Networked World". She was the featured speaker at the Appelate Judges Institute Summit 2018, "Courts in the Age of New Media". Speaker: Andy Phillips, Partner and Litigator, Clare Locke law firm (DC) Andy Phillips earned a B.A. degree from Indiana University and a J.D. degree cum laude from the Northwestern University School of Law. He was a litigation associate at the Kirkland & Ellis law firm before joining Clare Locke. He represents clients in federal and state courts on a variety of legal matters, including defamation cases, securing corrections and retractions of damaging falsehoods published about his clients by media organizations. Recently, Andy served as co-lead trial counsel representing UVA administrator Nicole Eramo in her defamation lawsuit against Rolling Stone magazine regarding the discredited article entitled "A Rape on Campus". He secured a jury award of $3 million for Ms. Eramo. In 2014, 2017, and 2018, Andy was named a "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers magazine. Moderator: Richard Tofel, President of ProPublica, a non-profit investigative journalism organization in NYC Richard Tofel was the founding general manager of ProPublica from 2007-2012, and became president in 2013. He has responsibility for all of ProPublica's non-journalism operations, including communications, legal, development, finance and budgeting, and human resources. He was formerly the assistant publisher of The Wall Street Journal and, earlier, an assistant managing editor of the paper. More recently, he served as vice president, general counsel and secretary of the Rockefeller Foundation. He is an author of several books, including Speaking Truth in Power: Lessons for Our Sorry Politics from Our Inspiring History (2018); Why American Newspapers Gave Away the Future (2012); Eight Weeks in Washington, 1861: Abraham Lincoln and the Hazards of Transition (2011); Restless Genius: Barney Kilgore, The Wall Street Journal, and the Invention of Modern Journalism (2009); and Sounding the Trumpet: The Making of John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address (2005).