Welcome | View My Profile | Sign Out
MediaPost Home About MediaPost Privacy/Terms Media Kit Sitemap
Publications Home News
Online Media Daily Media Daily News Marketing Daily Mobile Marketing Daily Search Marketing Daily
Daily Feed> Email Daily Feed> Video Daily Feed> Social
Online Blogs
Online Spin Email Insider Search Insider Behavioral Insider Online Publishing Insider Mobile Insider Video Insider Gaming Insider Performance Insider Metrics Insider Social Media Insider Just An Online Minute Daily Online Examiner Raw Blog
Media Blogs
Research Brief Diane Mermigas:On Media TV Watch TV Board Magazine Rack Media Creativity Notes From the Digital Frontier Digital Outsider Mad Blog Red White and Blog
Marketing Blogs
Engage:Hispanics Engage:Kids 6-11 Engage:Moms Engage:Boomers Engage:Gen Y Engage:Teens Marketing:Green Marketing:Sports
Magazines
OMMA Magazine Media Magazine
Subscribe
Feedback Loop RSS Feeds Archives Subscribe
Feb 24 OMMA Metrics Measurement (NYC) Feb 25 OMMA Behavioral (NYC) Mar 17 OMMA Global (San Francisco) Apr 14 Search Insider Summit (FL) Apr 18 Email Insider Summit (FL) Apr 27 Outfront Conference (NYC) May 12 OMMA Mobile (NYC) May 13 Digital Out-of-Home Awards (NYC) Jun 15 OMMA Video Jun 16 OMMA Publish (NYC) Jun 17 OMMA Social (NYC)
Recently Concluded Events
Jan 26 OMMA Social (San Francisco) Jan 25 OMMA Performance (SF) Jan 12 MEDIA Agency of the Year 2009 (NYC) Jan 11 OMMA Agency of the Year 2009 (NYC) Dec 6 Email Insider Summit (Utah) Dec 2 Search Insider Summit (Utah) Nov 3 OMMA Adnets (NYC) Oct 30 OMMA Video (LA) Oct 29 OMMA Mobile (LA) Oct 29 OMMA Mobile & Video (LA)
All MediaPost/OMMA Events Event Blogging Past Event Videos
Industry Events Calendar
2010 Digital Out-of-Home Awards
2010 MEDIA Agency of the Year 2009 2010 OMMA Agency of the Year 2009 2009 Creative Media Awards 2009 OMMA Awards 2009 Digital Out-of-Home Awards 2009 Media Agency of the Year
All Awards
Employment Situations Wanted Services Offered Post a Job
Briefs Reports Online
MediaPost Directories
Mobile Insiders Group
People Finder Edit My Profile View My Profile My Contacts My Calendar
HOME • MANAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS • MEDIA KIT
Judge: Tweeting Is Broadcasting, So Courtroom Tweets Are Out
by Wendy Davis, Monday, November 9, 2009, 5:16 PM

SHARE

TOOLS

RELATED ARTICLES
TAGS:  Search

MOST READ

The Georgia newspaper Columbus Ledger-Enquirer can't post Twitter updates about a drug trafficking trial, a federal judge has ruled.

In a remarkably expansive interpretation of rules banning broadcasts of criminal cases, U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land found that tweeting was a form of broadcasting because it "would result in casting to the general public and thus making widely known the trial proceedings."

"The contemporaneous transmission of electronic messages from the courtroom describing the trial proceedings, and the dissemination of those messages in a manner such that they are widely and instantaneously accessible to the general public, falls within the definition of 'broadcasting,' " Land wrote.

Land's decision might be linguistically defensible, but it's hard to see the logic in a ruling that bans text-only updates. At least it can be argued that photos, radio, TV, streaming video, or other rich media might distract participants from concentrating on the trial. But a reporter's silent filing of a Twitter update doesn't seem likely to affect witnesses, lawyers, jurors or anyone else in the courtroom.

In fact, other federal judges have allowed reporters to Twitter updates from the courtroom. In one high-profile case, U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten in Wichita ruled earlier this year that a reporter for the Wichita Eagle could tweet updates about a trial of six alleged gang members.

Despite the ruling, Land did offer a partial compromise. He said the courthouse will have a media room near the entrance, where members of the press "can use their electronic reporting devices near but outside of the courtroom."

That's better than requiring journalists to leave the building to tweet, but still inconvenient for reporters who are trying to get information to the public as quickly as possible.

Posting updates via Twitter is one way that newspapers -- currently fighting for survival -- are attempting to remain relevant. Unlike questionable proposals to give newspapers government subsidies, or to rewrite copyright law, allowing reporters to tweet doesn't have a downside.

35 people recommend this article. 

6 comments on "Judge: Tweeting Is Broadcasting, So Courtroom Tweets Are Out"

  1. John Jainschigg from World2Worlds, Inc.
    commented on: November 10, 2009 at 9:19 PM
    Props to David, Brian, Russell and Paula! The courtroom -- and the integrity of due process, which incorporates checks, balances, transparency, the jury of peers and the public (if asynchronous) record -- should not intersect in realtime with the "court of public opinion." No matter how many pageviews might be lost, or tinyurls untinyurled.

  2. David Hawthorne from HCI LearningWorks
    commented on: November 10, 2009 at 11:47 AM
    Judge Land's ruling is correct. The technology is irrelevant. If there is a credible threat to the integrity of the trial caused by reporting in real-time, the court has an obligation to prevent it. On the other hand, if the court hasn’t barred “real-time” reporting (or the use of any and all means of transmitting the proceedings in real-time beyond the boundaries of the courtroom) then, tweeting, or any means, should be permitted. We are supposed to have public trials in this country as a means of assuring justince. If a claimant, prosecutor or defendant feels ‘real-time’ transmission could harm their ability to get a fair and just trial, let them show cause, and let the judge make a decision. It’s not about technology. Imagine the real-time transmission of a divorce proceeding. In the age of “social networks” it wouldn’t take much to get scores of “followers” tuned into the juicy details of your neighbor’s marital problems, or tens of thousands following the trial of a celebrity divorce.) Courts exist to render justice, not generate “media hype” or satisfy prurient interests.

  3. Russell Cross from Prentke Romich
    commented on: November 10, 2009 at 10:36 AM
    Oddly enough, I find myself on the side of the judge with this one. Texting IS instantaneous communication (well duh, that's the whole point of Twitter!) and NOT the same as taking notes at all. Effectively you are allowing a blow by blow live transmission of a case (and also allowing tweets to come BACK to the reporter).

    I'm not convinced that any court case is so critical that waiting until you get out of the room is too much to ask. The "public interest" can hold out until the judge says "dismissed" and the "need" to tweet live is no more than the desire to be first to report.

  4. Christopher West from SEO Works
    commented on: November 09, 2009 at 7:15 PM
    Tweeting is another way to deliver your message, and not allowing a reporter to tweet in a courthouse would be like not allowing them to take notes (IMHO).

    What does the justice system have to hide if it won't allow this?

  5. Brian Hayashi from ConnectMe 360
    commented on: November 09, 2009 at 6:11 PM
    I disagree with the characterization of the ruling as "expansive" - as I understand it, the ruling has less to do with copyright law or inconvenience to reporters and more to do with the traditional debate over the constitutional issues arising from courtroom broadcasts.

    While the public has a right to some transparency, broadcasting information about witnesses arguably leads to risk of intimidation and endangers fair trials. Previous safeguards to balance constitutional issues have included using illustrators to convey courtroom scenes rather than photographers. But today, if you've gone to a conference that has been live tweeted, it's an experience that shares many characteristics with courtroom stenographers. Livetweeting information about trials could provide easily-searchable information about witness addresses, work history etc.

    Your column seems to suggest that judges sets precedents that others must abide by. When it comes to electronic media, it's my understanding that each judge is generally able to make their own ruling as to what is and is not permissible at the onset.

  6. Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited; hollywood5459@gmail.com
    commented on: November 09, 2009 at 5:57 PM
    There is a major lost sight of what is important. Getting information that could hurt a case for either side out to the public instantaneously is not important. If it were, there would be a press conference. Just in case anyone is missing it, the trial and allowing people to do their jobs without the mob mentality or threats or perceived threats superceeding the judges decision. That why they are judges and it is their decision whether the twits like it or not and do not know the back stories of why. When the trial is over, they will get all of the public information.

Leave a Comment

You must be signed in to comment. Sign In



ARCHIVES

Recent Daily Online Examiner Articles
RIAA Stands Firm On High Damages For File-Sharing   
Should Web users who share music for free have to face the same potential liability as...
Will Google's Super Bowl Ad Backfire?   
For years consumer advocates have warned that Google poses a threat to Web users' privacy. Now,...
Showdown Looms Over Future Of Google Books   
In late 2008, the Department of Justice threatened to file an antitrust lawsuit against Google unless...
Will Comcast Move To 'Three Strikes' Regime After Buying NBC?   
Some digital rights advocacy groups have long criticized the prospect of "three strikes" policies, which would...
Critics Still Unhappy With Google Book Deal   
Some critics aren't any happier with the revised deal in the Google Book Search case than...
Obama Touts Neutrality, But Can FCC Deliver?   
President Barack Obama reiterated his support for net neutrality this week during an interview on YouTube....
Software Company Backs Passage Of Privacy Laws   
Faced with the use of its technology to track consumers without their permission, software company Adobe...
EFF Shows How Web Companies Can Track Cookie-Deleters   
Flash cookies aren't the only way of circumventing users' ability to opt out of online tracking....
Flash Of Criticism At FTC Privacy Roundtable    
Behavioral targeting companies had better call their lawyers. Federal Trade Commission consumer protection head David Vladeck...
Note To Facebook: Yes, Web Users DO Care About Privacy   
Earlier this month, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg infamously said that Web users no longer cared about...
>> Daily Online Examiner Archives 
ABOUT MEDIAPOST • MASTHEAD • MEDIA KIT • RSS FEEDS • PRIVACY/TERMS & CONDITIONS
©2010 MediaPost Communications. All rights reserved.
1140 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10001
tel. 212-204-2000, fax 212-204-2038, feedback@mediapost.com