News

The studios of Fox station Wtxf appears in an undated image. (Photo via Google Street View)

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday dismissed a petition brought by a grassroots organization that challenged an application to renew the broadcast license of a Fox-owned station in Philadelphia.

The dismissal was part of a broader move by the FCC to toss challenges against broadcasters and news media organizations that the agency felt were politically motivated.

The move clears the way for the license of Fox-owned Wtxf (Channel 29) to be renewed immediately; the station has been operating under a temporary extension of its prior license for two years while the challenge was pending at the FCC.

The challenge was brought in July 2023 by the Media and Democracy (Mad) Project, a news and journalism accountability organization founded by a New York-area surgeon with the backing of former Fox executives and ex-fcc officials. The...

The departing chairwoman of the FCC, Jessica Rosenworcel, warned of efforts to tie the broadcast station license renewals to news content, as the agency dismissed a series of complaints brought from the left and the right.

She did not name incoming President Donald Trump, who has threatened networks over their news and other content, but she said in a statement Thursday that she wanted to “draw a bright line at a moment when clarity about government interference with the free press is needed more than ever.

“The action we take makes clear two things. First, the FCC should not be the President’s speech police. Second, the FCC should not be journalism’s censor-in-chief,” she said.

The dismissed complaints included three filed by the conservative Center for American Rights. A complaint against ABC’s Philadelphia affiliate, Wpvi-tv, alleged bias in ABC’s hosting of the September presidential debate; a complaint...

Floyd Abrams: Speaking Freely is a biopic about lawyer Floyd Abrams and his contributions to the First Amendment, showcasing his crucial and controversial cases. Co-founder of Salty Features, Yael Melamede, serves as the director and producer, bringing her experience and expertise to the project. The film explores Abrams' views on free speech, the impact of Citizens United on political elections, and the importance of protecting journalists' confidential sources.

Floyd Abrams: Speaking Freely debuted on September 22nd and is currently available to stream on the PBS app. With a runtime of 1 hour and 23 minutes, the biopic centers around the career of lawyer and legal expert, Floyd Abrams, and how his contributions expounded upon the First Amendment. Speaking Freely highlights Abrams' most crucial and controversial cases, as well as the effect his work has had on recent political elections.

Co-founder of Salty Features, Yael Melamede, serves as the director and...

On Friday, September 22, 2023, at 9:00 Pm, PBS will broadcast Season 37, Episode 7 of “American Masters,” titled “Floyd Abrams: Speaking Freely.”

This episode shines a spotlight on the remarkable 50-year career of First Amendment attorney Floyd Abrams. His legal journey has been marked by landmark cases that have left a lasting impact on the United States. Notable among these cases are his involvement in the Pentagon Papers and Citizens United.

For those interested in the First Amendment, freedom of speech, and the pivotal legal battles that have shaped the nation, this episode provides a simple and direct look at Floyd Abrams’ work.

So, if you want to gain insight into the career of a prominent attorney who has played a key role in defending free speech, make sure to tune in to PBS on the specified date and time for “Floyd Abrams: Speaking Freely” on “American Masters.”

Release Date & Time: 9:00 Pm...

Google and GoDaddy did not violate the Daily Stormer’s constitutional right of free speech by kicking the white supremacist website off their internet hosting services, experts say. The First Amendment “limits only the government, not private parties such as Google and GoDaddy,” Harvard law professor and free speech expert Floyd Abrams told TheWrap. Because “neither GoDaddy or Google have any First Amendment obligations to any customer,” the Daily Stormer would not win a First Amendment lawsuit against those private companies, Santa Clara law professor and internet expert Eric Goldman told TheWrap. Also Read: Neo-Nazi Site Daily Stormer Booted by Google Just Hours.

President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday to bash yet another judge who ruled against him. But Trump should be glad that judges have expanded First Amendment rights over the past century, because back in the good old days of the early 1900s, criticizing a judge meant a jail term in some states, according to esteemed First Amendment attorney Floyd Abrams. “He’s certainly supported in that speech. Presidents have first amendment rights too,” Abrams told TheWrap. “But it is amazing to even contemplate that at the beginning of the 20th century that he could have been severely punished … for saying just what.

Exclusive: Something Chris Rock recently said to Frank Rich in New York magazine has been haunting me for the past few weeks.

“The thing about comedians is that you’re the only ones who practice in front of a crowd,” Rock said. “Prince doesn’t run a demo on the radio. But in stand-up, the demo gets out. [Emphasis added.] There are a few guys good enough to write a perfect act and get onstage, but everybody else workshops it and workshops it, and it can get real messy. It can get downright offensive. Before everyone had a recording device and was wired like f*cking Sammy the Bull, you’d say something that went too far, and you’d go, ‘Oh, I went too far,’ and you would just brush it off. But if you think you don’t have room to make mistakes, it’s going to lead to safer,...

Review by Kathy Kaiser

What do you get when you combine a love for jazz from a very young age – a prolific journalistic talent – and a civil rights libertarian who will let you know exactly where he stands on any issue, including being pro-life – you get the story of the man – The Legend – whose life of work has touched both the cultural and political sides of our mere existence in this country for over 65 years – Nat Hentoff.

David L Lewis, a journalistic and broadcast media talent himself for over 30 years, brings the man himself along for this ride – exposing Hentoff’s life’s work – and mostly in his own words – with this new documentary – The Pleasures Of Being/ Out Of Step. Stepping into the limelight of his career, Hentoff emerged as the Jazz critic of all critics, being named The Jazz Master and gaining fame and recognition by the musicians...

Last week, we wrote about the controversy surrounding the title of "The Butler", an upcoming film starring Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey.

The ongoing Warner Bros. vs. Weinstein Company dispute hit new highs on Tuesday, when Mr. Harvey Weinstein himself appeared on "CBS This Morning" to discuss the feud, along with TWC lawyer David Boies, MPAA Chairman-ceo Chris Dodd, and First Amendment attorney Floyd Abrams.

As expected, Weinstein continually stood by his movie's current (or, perhaps soon-to-be former) title, with Boies wholeheartedly backing his client's views with legal terms and justifications. "One hundred twenty-two times in the history of movies, titles have been used and repeated," Weinstein said. "And our understanding with Warner Bros. was that this was just going to be the simple process that it always is" — referring to titles such as "Heat" (and "Heat" and "The Heat") and "Unstoppable" (et al.) as evidence.

In fact, Weinstein says...

Why is Warner Bros. really trying to stop The Weinstein Company from calling its upcoming Lee Daniels film The Butler? Harvey Weinstein has a few radical ideas — and naturally, he isn’t afraid to share them.

Weinstein appeared on CBS This Morning today, along with his lawyer David Boies, former senator and current MPAA head Chris Dodd, and veteran constitutional lawyer Floyd Abrams. After complaining that films often share similar titles — “Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy have a movie out called Heat. Jason Statham is shooting a movie called Heat. Bob De Niro and Al Pacino made a movie called Heat,...

Floyd Abrams, First Amendment expert, attorney, and author, joined CNN host Jake Tapper on Tuesday where he tore into the Department of Justice for subpoenaing the communications records of journalists in a heavy-handed effort to prosecute leakers. Abrams said that naming a reporter, like Fox News Channel’s James Rosen, as a “co-conspirator” in a conspiracy to violate the Espionage Act sets a dangerous precedent.

Kate Beckinsale is "a little bit of a genius," according to Nothing but the Truth writer-director Rod Lurie. Known for crafting fiercely intelligent female characters in films such as The Contender and on ABC's Commander in Chief, Lurie was unprepared for just how prepared Beckinsale was on the first day of Truth's five-week shoot. "Kate's rather remarkable because she will come on any day and the script pages will be covered in notes," he says. "From every point of view, she has consulted with people that are experts in the field. There was almost nothing to tell her." Genius might not be the first word that comes to mind upon seeing the stunning Beckinsale as a leather-clad bloodsucking warrior in the Underworld series, a sword-swinging vampire killer in Van Helsing, or the innocent Hero in her breakthrough film, Much Ado About Nothing. But even in a bodysuit that leaves little to fanboys' imaginations,...

NEW YORK -- Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, ABC's Bob Woodruff and CBS' Kimberly Dozier will be honored at the 17th annual First Amendment Awards Dinner in Washington.

The awards, set for March 8, are held by the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation. They will honor the journalists' work on freedom of the press in the U.S. and worldwide. Ailes, Dozier, Woodruff and New England Cable News' Philip Balboni are this year's honorees; all are scheduled to attend the dinner.

Ailes will receive the 2006 First Amendment Leadership Award, whose past recipients include Floyd Abrams, Katharine Graham, Don Hewitt, Roone Arledge and Ted Turner, among others. Woodruff and Dozier each will get the Leonard Zeidenberg First Amendment Award, and there will be a tribute to every journalist who has been hurt or killed in covering the war in Iraq. Others who have received the award include Ed Bradley, Sam Donaldson, Jim Lehrer and Diane Sawyer.