First Amendment Watch (NYU)

Overview

First Amendment Watch is a nonprofit news and educational resource housed at New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. Founded in 2017, it documents contemporary threats to the First Amendment freedoms of speech, press, assembly and petition, and provides legal and historical context intended for journalists, educators, students and the public.

Key functions and role

The site posts daily updates on First Amendment controversies alongside original explanatory content, excerpts from historical documents and case decisions, and links to varying commentary and analysis. It produces teacher guides and educational modules on First Amendment issues for secondary and college-level students, including a citizen's guide to recording police, and maintains a repository tracking litigation over executive power and the First Amendment. First Amendment Watch operates with a small staff of two full-time employees supplemented by affiliated scholars and researchers.

History

NYU journalism professor Stephen D. Solomon, author of "Revolutionary Dissent: How the Founding Generation Created the Freedom of Speech," founded First Amendment Watch in October 2017 amid national debate over free-expression controversies including the Charlottesville rally and campus speaker protests. In 2022, the site partnered with Middle Tennessee State University's Free Speech Center to co-produce educational videos on First Amendment topics.

Political positions

First Amendment Watch describes its approach as nonpartisan, stating that it aims to provide measured, non-ideological legal and historical context for First Amendment controversies rather than advocate a particular position, and that it links to commentary representing varying viewpoints on the free-speech disputes it covers.

Leadership

Stephen D. Solomon serves as founding editor of First Amendment Watch and has also served as Interim Director of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute.

Location and contact info

Address
NYU Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute
20 Cooper Square, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10003, USA
Phone
(212) 998-7980
Website
https://firstamendmentwatch.org