Cohen Papers Forum to Explore Media/Government Issues
Contact: Media contact: Joe Carr at (207) 581-3571
ORONO, Me. — Experts in media law, academics who specialize in the study of journalism and working reporters will gather at the University of Maine on Oct. 29 for an afternoon forum exploring current issues concerning the relationship between the media and government. “The Media Threatened? Protecting the Free Flow of Information,” is scheduled for 1-4 p.m. in Minsky Recital Hall.
A William S. Cohen Papers Forum, presented by UMaine’s Raymond H. Fogler Library, the session is intended to raise awareness of the diverse research material in the library’s William S. Cohen Papers collection and to provide a forum for public discussion of current affairs based on Cohen’s political career. It is anticipated that this will become an annual event.
As a member of Congress representing Maine’s 2nd District 30 years ago, Cohen proposed a national shield law, which would have provided legal protection for journalists who were subpoenaed to disclose their sources. The Oct. 29 forum will use Cohen’s interest in media privileges and related developments as the underpinnings for a discussion of current issues such as the Freedom of Information Act, the USA PATRIOT Act and embedded journalists covering military activities.
“The debate over confidential news sources, taken up by Cohen and other members of the House Judiciary Committee in 1973, continues,” says Paige Lilly, UMaine’s Cohen archivist and the lead organizer of the forum. “It’s a complex issue with legal and societal implications affecting our interpretation of the Constitution.”
The keynote address will be delivered by Stephen Bates of “The Wilson Quarterly.” Bates is an attorney who has written widely about media and legal issues, and he was a lawyer in the Whitewater Office of Independent Counsel where he worked on litigation concerning a subpoena to ABC News. He will present his paper “The Reporter’s Privilege: Then and Now.” Bates’ talk will be followed by three panel presentations: “The Role of the Citizen-Journalist in a Democratic Society” by Jane Kirtley, director of the Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law at the University of Minnesota; “The Prosecution’s Point of View” by Stephen Higginson, an assistant U.S. Attorney from Louisiana who has litigated several relevant high-profile cases; and “From the Field,” by Richard Dudman, an independent journalist who worked 31 years for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The forum will conclude with the four presenters engaging the audience in a discussion to be moderated by Shannon Martin of the UMaine Communication and Journalism faculty. A reception will follow.
In 1996, upon his retirement from the U.S. Senate, Cohen donated his papers to UMaine, where they are in the care of the Fogler Library’s Special Collections Department. He later donated similar materials from his tenure as U.S. Secretary of Defense (1997-2001). UMaine’s William S. Cohen Center for International Policy and Commerce, part of the university’s College of Business, Public Policy and Health, was established shortly after the papers were donated. The Cohen Center and Fogler Library work together in planning for the preservation and use of the Cohen papers.
There is no charge to attend the forum, but space is limited. Participants are encouraged to register before Oct. 17 by calling 581-2665 or e-mail.