By Dan Kennedy, assistant professor of journalism, Northeastern University
Central to the idea of censorship is that it’s an action taken by the government. But it appears that the Kennedy family may have come up with a new form of censorship: suppression of government documents by a private person.
Boston Globe reporter Bryan Bender writes that Max [...]
Archive of entries posted on January 2011
Kennedy hypocrisy harms the public interest
Records reveal big secret in little Mass. town
By Tom Zuppa, assistant managing editor, The Sun, Lowell, Mass
Carlisle is a sleepy town with tree-lined streets where the general store is still the main attraction, just as it has been since 1844. But it had a secret. In October, the Board of Selectmen placed popular Police Chief John Sullivan on paid administrative leave. A [...]
The Mass. parole board transparency challenge
By Laura Crimaldi, board member, New England First Amendment Coalition
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has already cleaned house at the Parole Board. The question now is whether he’ll also take this opportunity to open the board’s votes and operations to the public.
Last week, five parole board members resigned after the Patrick administration released a scathing [...]
Muzzling parents and the press in Swampscott
By Dan Kennedy, assistant professor of journalism, Northeastern University
Swampscott school officials are a disgrace. Check out this Salem News story about a meeting on drug and alcohol abuse that parents of high-school students were forced to attend — the penalty for non-compliance being that their kids would be banned from sports and after-school clubs.
