Anonymous Speech is Protected Speech (Nat Hentoff)

Nat Hentoff is a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute. http://www.cato.org/people/nat-hentoff

In this clip, Hentoff discusses the importance of anonymous speech as protected speech. Video produced by Caleb O. Brown and Austin Bragg.

Nat Hentoff is one of the foremost authorities on the First Amendment. While his books and articles regularly defend the rights of Americans to think and speak freely, he also explores our freedoms under the rest of the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment by showing how Supreme Court and local legislative decisions affect the lives of ordinary Americans. Hentoff's column, Sweet Land of Liberty, has been distributed by the United Feature Syndicate since 1992.

Hentoff has earned numerous awards and is a widely acknowledged defender of civil liberties. In 1980, he was awarded an American Bar Association Silver Gavel Award for his coverage of the law and criminal justice in his columns. In 1983, the American Library Association awarded him the Imroth Award for Intellectual Freedom. In 1995, he received the National Press Foundation Award for Distinguished Contributions to Journalism, and in 1999, he was a Pulitzer finalist for commentary.

Hentoff was a columnist and staff writer with The Village Voice for 51 years, from 1957 until 2008. A jazz expert, Hentoff writes on music for The Wall Street Journal and Jazz Times.

Hentoff has lectured at many colleges, universities, law schools, elementary, middle and high schools, and has taught courses in journalism and the Constitution at Princeton University and New York University. Mr. Hentoff serves on the Board of Advisors of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (F.I.R.E.) and is on the steering committee of the Reporters' Committee for the Freedom of the Press. A native of Boston, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in education and was a Fulbright Fellow at the Sorbonne in Paris in 1950. He did graduate work at Harvard University, received his B.A. with highest honors from Northeastern University and was awarded an honorary doctorate of law from Northeastern in 1985.

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  News & Politics

[Wilsontheterrible]

Where did Cato find this guy? He's amazing!

[Wilsontheterrible]

Dude, I live in Michigan and it's been snowballing for a decade. I've been paying union dues for years and my rep won't even talk to me, I hope the measures pass. I'm sick of paying dues for no representation and I'm tired of living in a failed state.Even if Snyder messes up theres no way he could make it worse than Granholm did.

[1245123451245]

Did the Founding Fathers want to protect anonymous speech? Gee, let's ask Publius.

[clarkbailey1973]

Actually he had wrote for the Voice for 50 years in 2008 when he was fired. Nat is a legend and one of the most learned people I've ever heard on the topic of the constitution.

[httm241]

dont listen to them the kochs are trying to brain wash you while taking away your rights dont trust theese fuckers just look at what is happening in michigan and wisconsin . dont listen to theese fuckers

[maddingo12]

Actually dude, I was just doing the Han Solo quote from Star Wars when Princess Leia called him scruffy looking. I was being "funny".

[LeQuack147]

Doesn't the beard make him look a little unkempt? Half my professors look the same way, gray hair, large, usually raggedy beard

[Howard's Channel]

Nat has been writing at least since the 60's. He was a Village Voice columnist for many years.

[maddingo12]

Who's scruffy looking?

[LeQuack147]

...Why do "scruffy" and "very intelligent" seem to go together so often? Never understood that.

[goingalt]

You have to visit the Cato Website. He has tons of articles.