Stanton First Amendment Clinic Participates in Reporter’s Workshop

Vanderbilt’s Stanton First Amendment Clinic participated in a Reporter’s Workshop produced jointly by the Tennessee Bar Association and the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters. Reporters from across the state gathered in Nashville today to learn about copyright law, investigative journalism, open records law, and other press issues the annual Reporters Workshop program.

Professor Jennifer Safstrom presented a session related to reporters’ privilege, which allows journalists to avoid testifying in judicial and administrative proceedings about something they wrote, information gathered from an interview, or a source’s identity. Other presenters included veteran reporters Phil Williams with News Channel 5 in Nashville and Meribah Knight with Nashville Public Radio and legal media experts with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government.

“The event was a huge success, allowing for journalists from across the state and from different press mediums to connect and learn about issues of common concern, including accessibility to public records and legal protections for reporters,” noted Safstrom.