Major Media Companies Join Mark Boal in His First Amendment Fight Against the Government
Mark Boal‘s lawsuit against the United States Government now has several prominent backers. ABC, CNN, Fox News, NPR, NBCUniversal and the Washington Post are among 36 journalism groups, nonprofits and other media companies supporting the Academy Award–winning screenwriter of “The Hurt Locker” and “Zero Dark Thirty” in his First Amendment case.
The suit concerns Boal’s interviews with Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. Army soldier whose controversial desertion case inspired the second season of “Serial” and an upcoming film Boal is writing for Kathryn Bigelow, who also directed “Hurt Locker” and “Zero Dark Thirty.” Boal is fighting against prosecutors seeking to obtain the roughly 25 hours of interviews he conducted with Bergdahl.
Katie Townsend of Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, which is likewise backing Boal, said it is ” important not just to establish that Boal, specifically, is entitled to protection, but because as the definition of what constitutes journalism and what form it takes continues to advance at a rapid pace, established protections for journalists must continue to evolve to encompass a wide variety of forms and formats.”
Boal himself called the groups backing him “a dream team of media — from across the political spectrum. When was the last time Fox and NPR agreed on an issue? I’m honored to have their support.”
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