The State of Our Satirical Union
Join us for a two-day symposium, April 20-21, 2018
To read updates and see sketches from this event, visit #SatiricalUnion on Twitter.
Watch video coverage of the event.
Thirty years after this landmark decision, satirists of all stripes are working in an environment that presents challenges to freedom of speech unimaginable when the unanimous court decided Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell. There are calls to change libel laws to make it easier to sue the news media. Cartoonists and journalists face intimidation on social media platforms. Those same platforms make it possible for cartoons drawn in Buffalo, Copenhagen, or Paris to reach audiences in any corner of the world, including places where insult laws and prohibitions on hate speech are the norm. In the era of Trump and Charlie Hebdo, will Hustler's protections endure?
Held at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, on April 20 and 21, 2018, The State of Our Satirical Union symposium will explore the many dimensions of the Hustler decision, including the history of the case and participation by editorial cartoonists and other First Amendment advocates as “friends of the court.” Leading media law scholars and editorial cartoonists will interpret the legacy of the ruling in the context of major political events and legal developments of the last 30 years.
Friday, April 20, 2018
Courtyard Marriott Minneapolis Downtown
6-8 p.m.
Opening Reception
Light hors d'oeuvres; beer, wine and soft drinks
Welcome
Elisia Cohen, Director, Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication
The Power of Satire From Gillray to Trump
Panelists include:
- Ann Telnaes, Editorial Cartoonist, Washington Post
- Steve Sack, Editorial Cartoonist, Minneapolis Star-Tribune
- Moderator: Michael Kahn, Crowell & Moring, LLP
Cartoonists' Book Signing
Herb Block Foundation display
Saturday April 21, 2018
Cowles Auditorium, Humphrey School for Public Affairs
8:30-9 a.m.
Continental breakfast
9-9:15 a.m.
Welcome
Jane Kirtley, Director, Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law
Pat Bagley, Editorial Cartoonist, Salt Lake Tribune, President, Association of American Editorial Cartoonists
9:15-10:10 a.m.
Reverend Falwell Goes to Court
Roslyn A. Mazer, Counsel to AAEC in Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell
Ben Sargent, Editorial Cartoonist, Texas Observer
Mike Peters, Mother Goose and Grimm
10:10-11 a.m.
The Hustler Decision and its Impact
Len Niehoff, University of Michigan Law School
Erica Salkin, Associate Professor, Communication Studies, Whitworth University
Jonathan Peters, University of Georgia
Steve Breen, Editorial Cartoonist, San Diego Union
Moderator: George Freeman, Executive Director, Media Law Resource Center
11-11:15 a.m.
Break
11:15-11:45 a.m.
Why Satire is Good for Our Democracy
Speaker: Sophia McClennen, Professor of Comparative Literature and International Affairs, Penn State University; Satire Scholar; Writer for salon.com
11:45-12:45
Lunch provided
Cowles Atrium and Humphrey Forum
12:45-1:15 p.m.
Keynote Speaker: Jack Ohman, The Sacramento Bee
1:15-1:30 p.m.
Break
1:30-2:20 p.m.
Old and New Forms of Satire
Signe Wilkinson, Philadelphia Media Network
Cullum Rogers, Editorial Cartoonist, freelance
Genelle Belmas, Associate Professor, William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Kansas
Bastiaan Vanacker, Associate Professor, Program Director Center for Digital Ethics and Policy, Loyola University - Chicago
Moderator: Maggie Hennefeld, Assistant Professor of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, University of Minnesota
2:20-3:15 p.m.
Threats to Satire Here and Abroad
Ritu Khanduri, Associate Professor in Anthropology, University of Texas - Arlington
Andrew Pritchard, Iowa State University
Courtney Carstens, Iowa State University
Chip Bok, Creators Syndicate
Joel Pett, Editorial Cartoonist, Lexington Herald-Leader
Moderator: Giovanna Dell’Orto, Associate Professor, Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota
3:15-3:30 p.m.
Break
3:30-4:15 p.m.
Symposium Wrap Up: What Did We Learn?
Cartoonist rapporteurs report on symposium by narrating their session drawings.
Moderators: Matt Wuerker, Editorial Cartoonist, Politico
Jane Kirtley, Director, Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law
4:15-4:30 p.m.
Closing Remarks
Pat Bagley, Editorial Cartoonist, Salt Lake Tribune, President, Association of American Editorial Cartoonists
Roslyn A. Mazer, Counsel to AAEC in Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell
Symposium co-curators
Jane E. Kirtley, J.D. Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law, Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Director, Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law, Affiliated Faculty Member, University of Minnesota Law School; former Executive Director, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
Roslyn A. Mazer, Counsel to the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists et al. in Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell
Sponsored by the University of Minnesota’s Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law, The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, and the Minnesota Journalism Center.
