Spotlight in the spotlight, the trouble with tenure, and Super Tuesday: this week’s Fresh Powder Report

Martin Baron in the Spotlight:

Martin Baron, former editor of the Boston Globe, shares his experience viewing the Oscar’s this year as the film Spotlight – a film based on events Baron played a large part in – was nominated in a variety of categories. The film ultimately ended up taking home the Oscar for best film – arguably the biggest award of the evening. Baron reflects on the movie-making process, how accurate he found his own portrayal in the film, and the one thing he wishes would have been included in the final cut.

Your First Amendment rights in Philly:

Recent federal judge ruling in Philadelphia dictates that citizens do not have a First Amendment right to film police officers on their handheld devices – unless they are somehow challenging the police conduct. The judge argues that this ruling will not leave citizens helpless when it comes to capturing police misconduct, though; he claims that, in the case of a police officer seizing your phone and deleting the video/continuing to act with misconduct, the court can proceed to trial on Fourth Amendment claims instead of First Amendment.

To tenure or not to tenure:

A legal battle concerning teachers seeking tenure in California is making its way to an appeals court this week, as students continue to argue that protecting teachers this way help keep bad teachers in schools, while teachers unions argue that the tenure system helps retain teachers. The student plaintiffs in this trial claim that securing the jobs of bad teachers most negatively impacts poor and minority students, while the opposition argues that it is the district’s fault – not the law’s – that keeps poorly performing teachers in the classroom.

Book banning bill:

Virginia may be the first state that will allow parents to stop their children from reading books in school that contain sexually explicit material. The bill would require that all k-12 teachers identify content as sexual explicit, and then notify the parents of their students, giving the parents a chance to opt their children out of that particular lesson, and the teacher provides them with less “explicit” reading material. Those who oppose the bill believe it’s one step away from banning books, while those who support the bill argue it is the parent’s right to have a say in what their children are exposed to.

In non-journalism related news:

In case you missed it/boycotted it/don’t have cable, here’s a complete list of all the Oscar winners from this year’s Academy Awards.

It’s Super Tuesday – which means, if you live in one of the ten states participating in the primaries today, you should probably show up and vote. Here’s everything you need to know about Super Tuesday.

Daisy Ward – born on February 29th, 1916 – celebrated her 25th/100th birthday yesterday.