Insights on Law & Society: Digital Media & Free Expression

Volume 12, no. 3, Spring 2012

This 32-page issue of Insights includes:

A Free Press? It’s Not That Simple

Gene Policinski takes a look at the United States’ recent ranking in an international free press index, and compares it to other parts of the world.

Learning Gateways: Exploring the Free Press

Teaching ideas to help students explore freedom of the press in the United States and around the world.

Digital Media and Revolutions

David M. Faris discusses the role of social media in recent revolutions around the world, and how more and more people are using new technology to make political statements.

Learning Gateways: Internet Freedom and the United States

Two discussion starters ask students to consider the balance between Internet censorship in China and human rights, and the United States’ role in ensuring open access to information.

Viewpoints: What does it mean to be a journalist in the digital and global era?

Delphine Halgand and William H. Freivogel discuss how digital media is,influencing the reporting of news, the sharing of information, and the meaning of a free press.

The Emerging Right to Be Forgotten

Jasmine McNealy explains how a recent proposal in the European Union could have implications for free

expression.

Learning Gateways: The Right to Be Forgotten

Students learn about the proposed legislation in Europe outlining the “right to be forgotten.” Then they consider real-life scenarios appearing in courts around the world as part of this right under the proposed laws.

Students in Action: Tweeting for Change

Zachary Stedt introduces Insights readers to Ahmed Malek, a high school student in Egypt who is working to reform education systems in the wake of revolution, through Twitter.

Law Review: Student Journalists and Free

Speech Frank D. LoMonte outlines various challenges facing student journalists in the wake of a declining journalism profession in the United States and increasing concerns about cyberbullying.