First Amendment Watch is an online news and educational resource for journalists, educators and students. Our goal is to increase civic engagement by providing the tools for citizens of all ages to better understand their rights and freedoms. A 2017 Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey reveals that “more than a third of those surveyed (37 percent) can’t name any of the rights guaranteed under the First Amendment.” This is deeply concerning at a time when attacks on freedoms of speech, press, assembly and petition are on the rise. Our work tracking threats to the First Amendment and supporting our democratic institutions is more relevant today than ever.
The site documents contemporary threats to the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and petition—rights that are specified in the First Amendment—and posts them as they arise, along with analysis, legal cases and historical background. As an aggregation site, we provide links to wide-ranging coverage as well as links to analysis and commentary from varying points of view. We also offer original content explaining the legal background behind the controversy, including quotations and citations to court opinions. We are committed to providing a nonpartisan description of each controversy and continuously updated links to news, commentary, photos, and videos as each story develops over days and weeks.
We are the only site that is both a news site and an educational tool. We provide book excerpts of leading First Amendment writers. We also excerpt important First Amendment historical documents and case decisions. We provide a glossary of terms and links to resources for further study.
First Amendment Watch is a project of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University.
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