Foley documentary wins Sundance award

A powerful film depicting the life in captivity of Medill alum James Foley is winning awards and premiering on HBO, raising awareness of the dangers of conflict reporting. Continue reading →

Honoring Medill grad James Foley – and the kind of journalism he championed

After seeing confirmation that James Foley has been murdered at the hands of the barbaric terrorist group Islamic State, I have been struggling to find the right words to say – besides the obvious, which is to tell my students and fellow … Continue reading →

An eye-opening report on the impact of U.S. surveillance on reporters, law and democracy

Two influential advocacy organizations have issued a must-read report on how large-scale U.S. surveillance is not only harming journalism and the public’s right to know, but also undermining the rule of law by creating a chilling effect on lawyers trying to do their jobs in the national security realm.

That’s quite a strong and sweeping statement, but the 120-page report by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union backs it up in great detail, including interviews with more than 90 journalists, lawyers and both current and former government officials.

The joint report, released today (July 28), is titled, “With Liberty to Monitor All: How Large-Scale US Surveillance is Harming Journalism, Law, and American Democracy.”
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NSA chief says ‘two-person rule’ will help protect classified information

ASPEN, Colo. – The National Security Agency is implementing a series of procedural changes to guard against insider threats like that posed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, whose leaks of classified information have caused “significant damage” to U.S. security, the head of the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command told the Aspen Security Forum on Thursday.

Gen. Keith Alexander, who heads the two agencies, said he has “concrete proof that terrorists have taken action and made changes” based on the information Snowden has made public.

Alexander said he knows what information Snowden downloaded and took from NSA computers and responded “yes” when asked if it was a lot. Continue reading →

TSA offering new way to expedite airport security screening

Air travel will soon be easier for Americans who can afford $85 for a new, expedited security screening plan, the head of the Transportation Security Administration said Friday. Continue reading →

Looking beyond the Snowden chase

The cat-and-mouse Edward Snowden/National Security Agency (NSA) scandal has fueled the summertime news cycle with a high tech — though drawn-out — version of a police chase.

Reporters flocked to Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport to search for the contractor who revealed secret NSA surveillance activities, and booked seats on flights to countries where Snowden might find refuge from the long arm of the United States government — only to discover he was a no-show.

Meanwhile, the diplomatic posturing of Latin American officials who feel the U.S. is bullying them into refusing asylum to Snowden added a side drama to media coverage of the actual crime — assuming that the courts will judge his actions a crime.

But the core issues have been more difficult to pursue.
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NSA Surveillance Leaks: Facts and Fiction

Medill NSJI’s Ellen Shearer was among the panelists of journalists, educators and national security experts at this roundtable at the Newseum in Washington on June 25. Click the video above to watch a replay. Transcript of the session:

Preventing cyberattacks means going after threats, experts say

Federal efforts to block cyberterrorism need more teeth and should focus more on going after threats instead of concentrating on protecting vulnerabilities, according to several top cyber experts speaking at a recent panel sponsored by the American Bar Association.

The cybersecurity panel on June 21 was part of the ABA Homeland Security Law Instutute conference. The speakers were high-level current and former government cyber experts. Here are some of their comments. Continue reading →

Having the ‘courage not to file’ — without regrets

Well into a summer of shelling, street fighting and sniper fire, several of the scores of correspondents covering the Israeli siege of Beirut in 1982 would joke, a bit wistfully, about the “courage not to file.”

That summer was long and, despite the Mediterranean breezes, the air was steamy and fear prevailed one day to the next. Fighting between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Israelis surrounding the western half of the city was sporadic and intense, and from early June to the end of August stories of the destruction and urban warfare dominated front pages around the world.

Writing about military conflict has its dangers, of course, but adrenaline-infused reporting also carries a strange excitement. Some reporters and photographers become known as “war junkies” because they often move from covering one conflict to another. For many, a quote attributed to a young Winston Churchill describes the experience nicely:  “Nothing is as exhilarating as to be shot at without result.” Continue reading →

Weighing in on key issues related to the domestic use of drones

The expanding use of drones over U.S. airspace has become a fast-growing national security topic and privacy concern. We asked our colleague Paul Rosenzweig, who co-authored a recent Heritage Foundation paper on drones, to weigh in.  Flying drones—unmanned aerial vehicles—have … Continue reading →