The Letter of the Law, and the Law in Practice

Experts discuss the risks posed to journalism as the courts test the limits of press freedom law.

If I recall correctly, the original news peg for a live Kicker recording about threats to the free press was a raid on the home of Hannah Natanson, a Washington Post reporter. By the time Amanda Darrach, The Kicker’s producer, and I were finalizing logistics for the event, which took place in CJR’s office, two independent journalists—Don Lemon and Georgia Fort—had been arrested for covering a protest in Minneapolis. A few days before we recorded, the Post eliminated three hundred–plus jobs. Suffice it to say, I had plenty to talk about. 

I also had dream guests with whom to talk about it all. David Enrich, a deputy investigations editor at the New York Times, wrote the excellent 2025 book Murder the Truth about efforts to overturn the media law precedent set by New York Times v. Sullivan in 1964. Jameel Jaffer, the executive director of Columbia’s Knight First Amendment Institute, has been involved in litigating dozens of crucial cases on press freedom. In wrapping up the interview, I said I had about seven hundred more questions for them; in retrospect, that may have been an undercount.

Recording live also meant the rare chance to take questions from other smart people, including Fabio Bertoni, the general counsel for The New Yorker, and Tsehai Alfred, the editor in chief of the Columbia Daily Spectator. 

SHOW NOTES
Q&A: David Enrich on the Right-Wing Plot to ‘Murder’ Libel Protections, Jon Allsop, CJR

Barnard suspends WKCR and Spectator reporters who covered Butler Library protest, Isha Banerjee, Columbia Spectator

Can the Media’s Right to Pursue the Powerful Survive Trump’s Second Term? David Enrich, the New York Times Magazine 

Megan Greenwell, host

Amanda Darrach, producer

Jim Bittel, assistant dean of broadcast and multimedia technology, adjunct professor, and multimedia facility consultant 

A.J. Mangone, assistant director, broadcast and multimedia technology 

Pedro Florentin, videographer

Jamal Jones, videographer

Katie Kosma, art director