Look Up Under 'Library Nanny'

Sun, 06 Jul 2003 16:22:56 GMT

by J.R. Labbe

29 Jun 03

The highest court in the land decided last week that libraries can lose government funding if they don't make it harder for patrons to view constitutionally protected material.

Say what?

The Supremes ruled that the federal government -- translation: Congress -- can withhold money from libraries that choose not to install porn blocking computer programs. Attorneys for the libraries had argued -- rightfully -- that the law will turn their clients into censors. They lost anyway. The First Amendment be damned.

Only the naive would think that government hasn't been in the business of social engineering for a long, long time. One look at the tax code reveals that Congress thinks selected behaviors are good for society, so citizens are rewarded for participating in them. Home ownership. Tithing. Not growing certain crops. Growing children.

It also is clear that government has attempted to manipulate behavior by withholding funds from legal activities that it deems unseemly. Must we revisit the issue of National Endowment for the Arts funding and the Robert Mapplethorpe exhibit?

Grown people should not have to explain their reading interests to anyone, not even librarians. That much, the high court did recognize. Last week's decision instructs libraries that do install the software to be prepared to disable it 'without significant delay' upon the request of an adult user.

Unfortunately, adult users still have to go to a librarian to ask for access to the entire World Wide Web. How embarrassing.

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist said the Constitution 'does not guarantee the right to acquire information at a public library without any risk of embarrassment.'

Can't that logic be turned around? Is there a right that guarantees you'll never be offended by anything you read or see in a public library? Methinks not. Congress and a majority of Supremes, however, think otherwise. [Star-Telegram]

The 2003 European Online Journalism Award Winners

Sat, 05 Jul 2003 01:39:27 GMT

03 Jul 03

BARCELONA. War and peace and corporate corruption and greed were the two stand-out story themes in the shortlists for the 2003 European Online Journalism awards, and eight of the winning entries featured one of these themes.

For the second year running, journalists from BBC News Online have dominated the proceedings, winning eight of the 21 prizes on offer.

The most coveted prize, the Internet Journalist of the Year, went to Vincent Landon, science correspondent of Swiss Radio International for his contribution to 'The Malaria Business', a remarkable investigation of a largely neglected story – the devastating impact of malaria on the health of children in developing countries.

Best Overall Journalism Service went to Lamalla.net, the news and current affairs portal for the Barcelona region.

Transitions Online, the Prague-based online news magazine which covers the post-communist region of Eastern and Central Europe, the Balkans and the former Soviet Union, won the Best Innovation in Online Journalism category. [NetMedia]

Kirk Smith: Media/Journalism/Communications

Look Up Under 'Library Nanny'

The 2003 European Online Journalism Award Winners