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Tag: fake news

Fall River mayor took wrong cue with “Fake News” attack

Fall River mayor took wrong cue with “Fake News” attack

Edward Fitzpatrick, RWU director of media and public relations, a New England First Amendment Coalition and Common Cause Rhode Island board member, and a former Providence Journal columnist: If President Donald Trump is teaching a new generation of politicians how to attack the reporters that cover them, then Fall River Mayor Jasiel F. Correia II is a star pupil. And if the late Providence Mayor Vincent A. “Buddy” Cianci Jr. had ever offered a master class on how to respond…

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Sinclair script unintentionally undermines trust, underscores dangers

Sinclair script unintentionally undermines trust, underscores dangers

Edward Fitzpatrick, RWU director of media and public relations, a New England First Amendment Coalition and Common Cause Rhode Island board member, and a former Providence Journal columnist: The bad news is that local TV news anchors from coast to coast stared into the camera and read from a script, parroting the “fake” news mantra of a press-bashing president. The good news, such as it is, is that perhaps there was no better way to vividly illustrate a largely academic debate…

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Latest attacks on free press will fail, New Yorker’s Jane Mayer says

Latest attacks on free press will fail, New Yorker’s Jane Mayer says

Kayla Ebner, a junior journalism major and managing editor of the RWU student newspaper, The Hawks’ Herald: BOSTON – This is all of our fight. Jane Mayer, investigative journalist for The New Yorker, delivered a powerful speech on Feb. 23 at the New England First Amendment Coalition’s awards luncheon in Boston, where she received the Stephen Hamblett First Amendment award for her most recent book, “Dark Money,” and her other journalistic accomplishments. Starting off at the smallest weekly newspaper in Vermont, Mayer worked…

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Free Press Helps Make America Great

Free Press Helps Make America Great

Edward Fitzpatrick, RWU director of media and public relations, a New England First Amendment Coalition and Common Cause Rhode Island board member, and a former Providence Journal columnist: The First Amendment needs allies. It needs people like you: Republicans, Democrats and independent Rhode Islanders. It needs people who aren’t going to buy the self-serving “Fake News” narrative being spun by President Trump. It needs people who aren’t going to applaud when the President of the United States uses his bully pulpit…

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U.S. must remain beacon as world jails more journalists

U.S. must remain beacon as world jails more journalists

Edward Fitzpatrick, RWU director of media and public relations, a New England First Amendment Coalition and Common Cause Rhode Island board member, and a former Providence Journal columnist: The bayonet scar on Omar Bah’s left hand reminds him of the dangers faced by journalists worldwide. The scar reminds him of what dictators and other authoritarian leaders think of a free press. The scar reminds him of how crucial it is for the United States to stand as a beacon of press…

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RWU journalism Prof. Prado traces history of propaganda, “fake news”

RWU journalism Prof. Prado traces history of propaganda, “fake news”

Paola Prado, RWU associate professor of journalism and adviser to the university’s chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, spoke with Bruce Newbury on WADK-1540 in Newport on March 1 about propaganda, “fake news” and Walter Lippmann’s 1922 book, “Public Opinion.” Listen to the podcast by clicking here: http://wadk.com/assets/podcaster/464/2017_03_01_464_54959_4434.mp3

When facts and news diverge

When facts and news diverge

David A. Logan, professor of law and former dean of the RWU School of Law who has studied and written extensively about First Amendment issues: Historically, what information was considered “news” and thus worth publishing was determined by a reporter or editor. The idea was that this provided a screen that would judge not just accuracy but also relevance and context. And indeed, many journalists worked hard to be unbiased in making these determinations, striving toward some version of the…

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