Washington, D.C., February 20, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a Mississippi judge’s order that the Clarksdale Press Register, a weekly newspaper, remove an editorial from its website criticizing city officials.
“A Mississippi judge’s decision to compel The Clarksdale Press Register to remove an editorial raises serious concerns about a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment,” said CPJ U.S., Canada and Caribbean program coordinator Katherine Jacobsen. “This case strikes at the very core of why local journalism is important—it keeps the public informed about what is happening in their community and holds government officials to account.”
Chancery Judge Crystal Wise Martin on Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order against the Clarksdale Press Register in connection with a February 8 editorial titled, “Secrecy and Deception Erode Public Trust,” which criticized the city for not sending the newspaper notice about a City Council meeting about proposed taxes on alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco.
The Clarksdale Board of Mayor and Commissioners voted on February 13 to sue the newspaper for libel, alleging that the editorial “chilled and hindered” the group’s ability to lobby for its tax proposals.
Wyatt Emmerich, the president of Emmerich Newspapers, which owns the Press Register, told The New York Times that he planned to challenge the judge’s order.
The Chancery Court and Clarksdale’s Board of Mayor and Commissioners did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
CPJ Staff | Radio Free (2025-02-20T22:20:54+00:00) CPJ: Mississippi judge’s order to remove editorial raises First Amendment concerns. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2025/02/20/cpj-mississippi-judges-order-to-remove-editorial-raises-first-amendment-concerns/
Please log in to upload a file.
There are no updates yet.
Click the Upload button above to add an update.