Jane E. Kirtley
Jane Kirtley is an internationally-known expert and lecturer on issues of media law and freedom of information. Prior to joining the SJMC in 1999, Professor Kirtley was the executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and a columnist for American Journalism Review. Having received numerous awards and recognition for her work, Professor Kirtley received the Edith Wortman First Amendment Matrix Foundation Award from the Association for Women in Communications in 2004.
Education
J.D., Vanderbilt University School of Law
M.S.J., Journalism, Northwestern University
Current Research Interests
- Media law
Courses Taught
JOUR 3776, Mass Communication Law
JOUR 4552, Internet Law
JOUR 4731H, Honors Course: Communications Problems and Issues (Comparative Media Law)
JOUR 5777, Contemporary Problems in Freedom of Speech and Press
Professional Experience
- Executive Director of The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
- Columnist for American Journalism Review
- Lecturer on media law and freedom of information issues nationally and internationally
- Lawyer at Nixon, Hargrave, Devans, & Doyle law firm in Rochester, N.Y. and Washington, D.C.
Publications
"Criminal Defamation: An 'Instrument of Destruction," in Ending the Chilling Effect: Working to Repeal Criminal Libel and Insult Laws, Ana Karsreiter and Hanna Vuokko, eds., OSCE, Vienna 2004.
"The American Executive Branch: A Culture of Secrecy," The Long Term View, Fall 2003.
"Bloggers and Their First Amendment Protection," Nieman Reports, Fall 2003.
Amicus Brief, Office of Independent Counsel v. Favish, Supreme Court of the United States, August 2003.
"Coming of Age in Minnesota," Federal Communications Law Journal, May 2003.
"What's in a Name? Privacy, Property Rights and Free Expression in the New Communications Media," in JoAssurnalism and the Debate Over Privacy, Craig L. LaMay, ed., Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ 2003.
"Enough is Enough," Media Studies Journal, Summer 2001.
"Privacy and the Press in the New Millennium," University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review, Fall 2000.
"Is it a Crime? An Overview of Recent Legal Actions Stemming from Investigative Reports," The Big Chill: Corporate Media and Investigative Reporting, 1999.
"Is Implementing the EU Data Protection Directive in the United States Irreconcilable with the First Amendment?" Government Information Quarterly, 1999.
"No Place for Secrecy," Dispute Resolution Magazine, Winter 1998.
"Freedom of the Press: An Inalienable Right or Privilege to be Earned?" University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy, Spring 1998.
"Lessons from the Timothy McVeigh Trial I," Media Studies Journal, Winter 1998.
Awards & Recognition
Edith Wortman First Amendment Matrix Foundation Award, Association for Women in Communications, 2004
Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law, Suffolk University Law School, Boston, Massachusetts, Spring Semester 2004
Memberships
New York , District of Columbia and Virginia bars
board member, SDX Foundation
editorial board, Communications Law and Policy