A History of the First Amendment In-Person
Andrew Smith, Ph. D., a professor of communication at Edinboro University will talk about the history of the first amendment to celebrate Banned Book Week.
Please register to receive a free Banned Book Bookmark in honor of Banned Book Week.
Abstract from the presenter: "Chilling effects develop when a person’s or group’s public speech that is protected by the 1st Amendment is abridged in some way—typically through government interdiction, litigation and/or indictment—creating fear in others who engage or wish to engage in such speech. My focus in this talk is on disinformation promulgated by the radical right, and liberal calls for the resurrection of the Fairness Doctrine to counter it. I'll review three 1st Amendment cases: Miller v. California (1973); Red Lion Broadcasting v. FCC (1969); and New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) that shed light in different ways on the question of whether disinformation promulgated by public figures (politicians, broadcasters, academics and others) should be protected speech, or in some way ‘chilled’ with a legal remedy that has been elusive since the demise of the Fairness Doctrine."