Free Press for All or Free-for-All?

Thursday, September 22, at 7 p.m. in the William G. McGowan Theater.

Blogging: Free Press for All or Free-for-All?

In honor of Constitution Day, the Newseum and the National Archives present a program examining how technological advances are reshaping interpretation of the first amendment, which guarantees, among other things, free speech and free press.

It has been said that the power of the press belongs to the person who owns one. Today, as the Internet turns desktops and laptops into personal presses, first amendment rights are challenged, and a power shift seems to be under way. Bloggers are staking a claim to "grassroots journalism," and print and broadcast journalists are looking to the future and wondering where their reporting skills fit in.

What’s credible? What’s not? And, just how far does the first amendment protect this new wave of journalism? Frank Bond of the Newseum and former Channel 9 anchor will moderate a discussion with Robert Cox, president of the Media Bloggers Association and managing editor of "The National Debate"; Bruce Sanford, a first amendment lawyer with the D.C. office of Baker & Hostetler, LLP, and chairman of the board, the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression; Jay Rosen, chairman and professor of journalism at New York University ; and Deborah Potter, president and founder of NewsLab as they examine the issues on the line when technology meets traditional journalism.

Reservations required by emailing them here. All programs are free and open to the public. The National Archives is located between 7th and 9ths Sts. on Constitution Ave, NW. Use the Special Event entrance just off the corner of 7th and Constitution Ave.