Inside the First Amendment

Contributor Charles C. Haynes is vice president of the Freedom Forum Institute, founding director of the Religious Freedom Center and a senior scholar at the First Amendment Center. He writes and speaks extensively on religious liberty and religion in American public life. Listed below are his most recent columns with “Inside the First Amendment.”

• Mary Ann Hogan’s Memoir: ‘Circle Way’
  December 28, 2021
  "Circle Way," a memoir by the late Mary Ann Hogan, a former career coach with the Chips Quinn Scholars program, goes on advance special offer to CQS alumni.
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• Chips Watch: The Latest Alumni News
  December 01, 2021
  Chips Watch features the latest Chips Quinn Scholars alumni news.
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• Chips Watch: The Latest Alumni News
  March 03, 2021
  Chips Watch features the latest CQS alumni news.
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• Chips Watch: The Latest Alumni News
  December 16, 2020
  Chips Watch features the latest CQS alumni news.
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• CQS Alum Mentoring: “Much-needed Connection”
  October 21, 2020
  A summer journalism intern says his mentor, an alumnus of the CQS program, helped him stay connected as he worked remotely from his home due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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• Chips Watch: The Latest Alumni News
  September 09, 2020
  Chips Watch features the latest CQS alumni news.
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• Chips Watch: The Latest Alumni News
  July 09, 2020
  Chips Watch features the latest CQS alumni news.
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• Local Broadcasters Connect with Viewers’ Practical and Emotional Needs in Crisis
  May 28, 2020
  Fundraising for food banks, hosting mental health forums and offering financial advice for the newly jobless are just a few of the ways local radio, television and digital news outlets are connecting with their communities’ needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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• What words make up a ‘true threat?’ Well, that depends
  May 14, 2020
  The First Amendment’s protection for free speech covers most of what we may say, whether it’s impolite, insulting, biased or uplifting, even commentary or forcefully expressed opinions that most of us would find repulsive or repugnant.
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• Webinar Recap: Journalists Seek ­– and Find ­­– Solutions Amid the Pandemic
  May 12, 2020
  Journalists practicing a solutions-oriented style of reporting shared story ideas and tips for how covering the COVID-19 pandemic can unearth strategies for solving problems the crisis has revealed during a May 11, 2020, Power Shift Project webinar.
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• Webinar Recap: Health, Science and Business Reporters Battle Misinformation, Lack of Access
  April 27, 2020
  Journalists covering the COVID 19 pandemic are struggling to access credible information as the public seeks the facts on a fast-changing story.
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• Webinar Recap: Local News Audiences Grow As Pandemic Changes Journalism
  April 09, 2020
  The leaders of 11 major journalism organizations that are helping their members manage the challenges of covering the story came together for the Power Shift Project’s third webinar on COVID-19, led by Freedom Forum fellow Jill Geisler.
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• ‘Be nice’ is not needed during crisis — but a free press is
  April 02, 2020
  The concept of a free press as provided for and protected by the nation’s founders was that of a robust set of independent critics, working to hold government accountable on behalf of a public and of particular value to voters.
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• Webinar Recap: COVID-19: Taking Care of Journalists and Journalism
  April 02, 2020
  Representatives of seven journalism affinity groups spoke with Freedom Forum fellow Jill Geisler in the second Power Shift Project webinar focusing on caring for journalists and journalism while covering the COVID-19 story.
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• CQS Coverage: Covid-19
  March 26, 2020
  Showcasing coverage by Chips Quinn Scholars of the Covid-19 pandemic
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• COVID 19: Taking Care of Journalists and Journalism
  March 24, 2020
  Sixteen newsroom, education and industry leaders gathered for a Power Shift Project webinar led by Jill Geisler, Freedom Forum Fellow in Women’s Leadership, on Monday, March 23.
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• COVID-19: Getting good information as virus crisis unfolds
  March 12, 2020
  In times of crisis, from natural disasters to 9/11 and more, a free press has consistently delivered the goods, saving lives and asking the necessary and often inevitable challenging questions of the public officials on whom we depend for safety and security.
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• Chipsters in the World: New Orleans
  March 11, 2020
  Check out the latest photo in our Where in the World Are Our Chipsters series.
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• The First Amendment protects activities adjacent to voting, but stops short of voting itself
  February 27, 2020
  The right to express your political opinion is incredibly valuable and deserving of the utmost protection. But it’s strange that the same protection doesn’t extend to your ability to actually enact political change.
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• Reflection: Seth Prince, University of Oklahoma
  February 24, 2020
  Seth Prince (1999) reflects on the controversy involving an OU professor who used a racial slur in class.
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• Chipsters in the World: St. Petersburg, Fla.
  February 24, 2020
  Check out the latest photo in our Where in the World Are Our Chipsters series.
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• Google v. Oracle: Tech battle ultimately about free speech
  February 20, 2020
  Current Supreme Court case between Google and Oracle could limit our ability to communicate with each other, dampening the web’s potential for increasing public engagement in debate and decision on matters that affect us all.
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• Lifting Every Voice in Religious Freedom
  February 13, 2020
  It is important to explore religious freedom through the lens of African American perspectives because we must lift every voice that has been impacted by religious discrimination and bigotry.
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• Chips Watch: The Latest Alumni News
  February 12, 2020
  Chips Watch features the latest CQS alumni news.
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• ‘More Speech, Not Enforced Silence’
  February 07, 2020
  At times, it is most tempting to censor speech or to call for the censorship of speech we don’t like, but before engaging in those impulses, we should consider Justice Brandeis’s time-honored message of “more speech, not enforced silence.”
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• First Five Newsletter: February 6, 2020
  February 06, 2020
  False information about Iowa's voter rolls, fight to weaken internet platform shields, "First Amendment cynicism" and more.
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• Focus on when the First Amendment protects – and doesn’t
  February 06, 2020
  Online platforms and social media sites are free to set their own practices and rules on what we do see or post, but a proposed Arizona House bill " related to access to online content" could change that.
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• Chipsters in the World: Phoenix
  February 03, 2020
  Check out the latest photo in our Where in the World Are Our Chipsters series.
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• Power Shift Summit 2020 Report
  January 30, 2020
  The summit convened more than 100 leaders across journalism and the media industry to explore the critical role that individuals can play in fighting harassment and discrimination.
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• First Five Newsletter: January 30, 2020
  January 30, 2020
  Impact of media reports on the death of Kobe Bryant, misinformation on coronavirus, new law on punishing "pirate" radio stations and more.
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• ‘Getting It Right’ — on Kobe Bryant and Everything Else
  January 30, 2020
  “Getting it right” is one reliable defense for a free press in today’s media world against critics who often base objections and critiques more on political differences than factual error.
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• First Five Newsletter: January 23, 2020
  January 23, 2020
  Proposed rules and guidance to religion and public schools, arguments that could dramatically alter the line separating church and state and more.
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• Don’t Get Stuck on Prayers in Public Schools
  January 23, 2020
  It’s time we stop reducing complex questions of religion and education to political debates about prayer.
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• Famed Sculptor Stood Up for Civil Rights
  January 22, 2020
  When we appreciate the beauty and artistic genius of Frederick Hart, let’s also remember his commitment to justice and civil rights.
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• Chipsters in the World: Menlo Park, California
  January 20, 2020
  Check out the latest photo in our Where in the World are our Chipsters series.
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• First Five Newsletter: January 16, 2020
  January 16, 2020
  First Amendment-ish issues, posts of off the record interviews with political candidates, social media policies on political speech and more.
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• First Amendment-ish
  January 16, 2020
  The First Amendment prevents the government from censoring or punishing your speech, but it doesn't apply to private organizations.
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• Q&A: Talia Buford (2004)
  January 15, 2020
  This feature is part of an occasional series showcasing alumni of the Chips Quinn Scholars Program. The features were prepared by Chipsters in the 2019 class.
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• Q&A: Kellie Hwang (2007)
  January 14, 2020
  This feature is part of an occasional series showcasing alumni of the Chips Quinn Scholars Program. The features were prepared by Chipsters in the 2019 class.
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• First Five Newsletter: January 9, 2020
  January 09, 2020
  Libel lawsuit against California, 2020 resolutions, Facebook banning videos of deepfake content and more.
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• 2020: The year to support, defend – and trust – our free press
  January 09, 2020
  In 2020, in order to defend and support that core freedom, we will need to confront in real ways the storm of disinformation, news manipulation and dwindling ranks of journalism that’s been building for nearly a decade.
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• Federal Appeals Court: Plaintiffs Lack Standing to Challenge Removal of Confederate Monuments
  January 08, 2020
  The Sons of Confederate Veterans and concerned individuals lacked standing to pursue their First Amendment claims over the removal of Confederate monuments in Texas.
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• Q&A: Vernon Bryant (1999)
  January 01, 2020
  This feature is part of an occasional series showcasing alumni of the Chips Quinn Scholars Program. The features were prepared by Chipsters in the 2019 class.
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• The ‘Bedrock Principle’ of the First Amendment
  December 20, 2019
  The “bedrock principle” phrase from a 1989 flag-burning decision, has come to represent a cardinal principle of First Amendment law — that the First Amendment protects much offensive expression.
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• Power Shift Summit 2020: The Power of Allies
  December 19, 2019
  On Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020, the Freedom Forum’s Power Shift Project will convene Power Shift Summit 2020: The Power of Allies.
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• First Five Newsletter: December 19, 2019
  December 19, 2019
  Recap of 2019's First Amendment issues, Americans basic rights under siege, Reporters Without Borders annual round-up and more.
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• We’re divided in new ways over our core First Amendment freedoms
  December 19, 2019
  Recap the controversial and multi-faceted First Amendment issues of 2019, from a Black Lives Matter activist lawsuit, the Ukraine-Biden investigation controversy, regulatory threats over political advertising and beyond.
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• The Newseum: Countdown to Closing
  December 18, 2019
  “When I walked through the Newseum's doors on Dec. 11 for its final public program, I'm sure I wasn't the only one who had that feeling we get when we don't want to let someone go,” Rhina Guidos (1998) writes in an essay bidding the Newseum farewell.
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• First Five Newsletter: December 12, 2019
  December 17, 2019
  Public officials nationalist sentiments of religious holidays, visa applicants to submit social media handles, upcoming events and more.
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• ‘A Profound National Commitment’ to ‘Robust’ Debate
  December 16, 2019
  Public officials who sue for libel, must meet a high standard of proof and show that the publisher printed the statements knowing they were false or acted with “reckless disregard.”
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