What Journalists Want; How The Courts Can Help

October 2, 2012 – New Orleans

American Judges Association Annual Conference

Ben Holden, DirectorReynolds National Center for Courts and Media

Donald W. Reynolds School of JournalismUniversity of Nevada, Reno MS/310

(775) 327-8271 - office(706) 332-8426 - cell

I. WHO THEY ARE

• Young• *Scared, • *Ill-trained• *40% of journalism jobs lost in past 10 years

(*U.S. Labor Department, • Sept. 2012

II. WHAT THEY WANT AND NEED

• “I believe The First Amendment Law of the future will be made by these impecunious individuals"

• -- Floyd Abrams, counsel to New York Times, partner, Cahill, Gordon & Reindel LLP, & RNCCM board member

• BOTTOM LINE: Don't Make Them Sue You. The Bad News For Democracy is They May Not Be Able/Willing To Because of Corporate Pressures...Even If They Are Right on The Law

II. WHAT THEY WANT AND NEED (CONT)

• Good, clean rulings on:• 1. Access to courtrooms • 2. Access to court records• 3. Open meetings disputes involving other

branches of government• 4. Judicial rulings including appropriate in

camera transcripts, motions in limine and jury instructions

II. WHAT THEY WANT AND NEED (CONT)

• 5. Never ever ever grant a prior restraint -- unless the paper is trying to disclose troop movements, spy names, bombing-striking targets or bombmaking recipes.

• 6. Unmasking-you may be able to order it. Vol.1 ISSUE2 RCMLJ (judges.org)

II. WHAT THEY WANT AND NEED (CONT)

• 7. Quickly and decisively dispose of Sheppard v. Maxwell motions on venue and new trials

• AKA: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Judges

III. HOW CAN YOU HELP

• 1. M-V-P

• a. Meetings to educate

• b. (shared) Vocabulary

• c. Press Releases on Good News/ Syllabus opinions

IV. WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?• What distinguishes a truly free society from

all others is an independent judiciary and a free press.

• -- Edward R. Murrow, journalist and crusader against the Red Scare and other threats to Democracy

• Enlightened Self-Interest

IV. WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU (CONT)

• Do You Really Want The Replacement Refs Explaining to the Public:

• * Controversial Judicial Orders

• * Retention Elections

• * Judicial Compensation

Managing The Press

1. Befriend (but don’t “Friend”)2. Develop rules, shared vocabulary3. Know how media are structured

Judge Herbert B. Dixon, Jr.Superior Court of the District of Columbia

Washington, D.C.

The Florida/Oklahoma Rule

A Judge’s Toolbox1. On the record2. Not for attribution3. Background4. Deep background

A Standard Newspaper Hierarchy

(1) EE(2) ME (above 200K circ.)(3) City Editor(4A) Legal Affairs Reporter(4B) General Assignment Reporter

Newspaper Woes• Decline in newspaper FTEs• How newspaper people think• Tips on working with a depleted press• Threshold Issues:–Do you want your project covered? –Does anyone care?– Should you/PIO issue a press release? – Should you/PIO grant or seek interviews?