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Make it stop

Posted at 12:42 PM on March 21, 2006 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)

Stories have particular phases they go through in newsrooms, the Dean Johnson story has reached the "let's write letters to the newsroom asking what the big deal is here" stage. The Republican CD story reached the same stage. Of course, they all actually know what the story is, they just don't like that it's getting airtime. Just like when the shoe was on the other foot a few weeks ago.

My favorite e-mail of the day on the subject:

You might want to pull the tape that Brent Waldemarsen secretly made of Dean Johnson.
If the person who secretly recorded Pastor and Senator Johnson at the pastors' meeting was NOT the same person who asked him the questions about the anti-gay marriage bill, then it would appear that the recording was illegal.

Minnesota State Law holds that secretly taping a conversation is illegal unless one of the parties involved in the conversation is doing the taping.

Now, while Pastor Brent Waldemarsen was the person who did the recording at this private event, I have yet to find out who actually asked the question to which Senator Johnson was responding. The news stories seem to indicate that the person who actually asked the question was not in fact Pastor Waldemarsen. If this is indeed the case, then the taping is illegal, and its use in stories on websites is also illegal.

There's something in my mind about prying the 1st Amendment from my cold, dead fingers but I can't quite get the sentenced formed right now...

Comments (3)

Right on to that email! I am just flabbergasted that illegal taping is getting no play. Who cares what Dean Johnson thought a justice said. The taping is the crime.

Posted by sharonkathleen | March 21, 2006 1:09 PM

I don't think the law applies to an open forum. The law is about intercepting electronic communications, not recording open speeches.

You're right Bob, may this phase pass.

Posted by RJohnson | March 21, 2006 3:22 PM

There is also fairly recent court decisions relating to this statute, it's not illegal, if one party (recording person) consents all conversation is fair game.

Posted by Doug J | March 22, 2006 12:45 PM

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