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participate in the JTM preconfer-ence and then avoid the lectures at the NCMR entirely.
    I don’t think I attended a single session of the conference, but the conversations I had just outside were more valuable than any lecture. I can only imagine the solutions we might find if the thousands of people at the conference simply stopped listening to what’s wrong with the media and started creating what’s possible.

    JOSH WOLF is a freelance journalist and documentary filmmaker who is best known for his fight for the reporter’s privilege that landed him in a federal prison for more than six months. A visionary writer and producer, he was recognized in 2006 as Journalist of the Year by the Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists “for upholding the principles of a free and independent press.” A 2011 graduate from the University of California–Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, Wolf has been a staff member, since 2013, at Journalism that Matters, a nonprofit that convenes diverse communities in conversations fostering collaboration, innovation, and action to develop thriving news and information ecologies.
    THE FIRE: ACADEMIC FREEDOM UNDER THREAT
    William Creely
    The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending core civil liberties at our nation’s colleges and universities—and since ourfounding in 1999, we have stayed very busy. FIRE’s work on behalf of student and faculty rights demonstrates, with depressing clarity, that academic freedom and freedom of expression remain under threat on far too many campuses nationwide.
    Two recent faculty cases provide ample demonstration of the continuing disregard for academic freedom and free speech.
    In March of 2012, North Carolina’s Appalachian State University placed tenured sociology professor Jammie Price on administrative leave following complaints from students in her “Introduction to Sociology” course. Professor Price’s offense? Offending students. According to the suspension letter Price received from Appalachian State’s vice provost, four of her students objected to her in-class criticism of the university administration for its response to student allegations of sexual assault and its treatment of student athletes. According to the letter, the students also complained about Price’s screening of a documentary that critically examined the adult film industry without “introduc[ing] the film or explaining] that the material may be objectionable or upsetting to students.”
    Shockingly, Price was investigated and found guilty of creating a “hostile environment,” despite the fact that the allegedly harassing behavior did not remotely approach the standard for hostile environment harassment in the educational context and should have been protected by any reasonable conception of academic freedom. The university’s disciplinary response included imposing a development plan that required “corrective actions,” such as specific requirements for how to teach “sensitive topics” and “controversial materials.” Both the Faculty Due Process Committee and the Faculty Grievance Committee issued reports objecting to Price’s punishment, and FIRE sent letters of protest to Appalachian State administrators. Nevertheless, the university chancellor and the board of trustees each rejected Price’s appeals. The lesson for Appalachian State faculty could not have been clearer: have the temerity to criticize the university or offend your students’ delicate sensibilities, and you will be subject to sanction, academic freedom be damned.
    Like Price, Professor Arthur Gilbert of the University of Denver was disciplined for the content of his classroom lectures in contravention of long-established understandings of academic freedom. Gilbert, afifty-year teaching