Geoffrey Stone Featured in UPenn Annenberg Classroom Film on New York Times v Sullivan
Annenberg Classroom Film Explores Landmark Freedom of the Press Case
Annenberg Classroom has released a new short film about New York Times v. Sullivan, the landmark Supreme Court case on the First Amendment right to freedom of the press.
Released in conjunction with Constitution Day, September 17, the 26-minute documentary examines the relationship of the press to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s, and the ways in which proponents of segregation tried to use the courts to prevent coverage of the violence inflicted upon peaceful protestors. As part of Southern states’ efforts to prevent coverage of these events, one tactic was suing newspapers for libel in an attempt to intimidate northern news organizations and reporters, claiming that the papers had published false information that damaged the reputation of individuals or organizations.
The film, “The First Amendment: New York Times v. Sullivan,” is the latest addition to the collection of free, nonpartisan, high-quality resources offered to educators, students, and families by Annenberg Classroom and the Civics Renewal Network, both projects of the Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics (LAIC) at the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania.
Read more at The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania