Tag: Matthew Giffin

Middle Tennessee State University Earns ‘Green Light’ FIRE Rating for Respecting Free Speech

Tom Pappert

Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) last week earned a “green light” rating from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Freedom (FIRE), a nonprofit organization that gained fame by defending freedom of speech on college campuses.

A FIRE press release confirms MTSU became the latest university to receive the rating, with the organization noting just 68 other institutions throughout the country have qualified for the “green light” rating it explains” is reserved for institutions with no written policies that seriously imperil student free speech rights.”

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Phil Williams’ Use of Phone Call Recorded by ‘Someone in the Room’ Not a Party to the Call in NewsChannel 5 Report Raises Questions About His Journalistic Credibility

Kaitlin Housler
Phil Williams, Todd Warner, Tori Venable

Matthew Giffin, a reporter for The Tennessee Star, and Michael Patrick Leahy, editor-in-chief and CEO of The Star, questioned the legality of News Channel 5’s airing of a so-called secret recording of a call between Tennessee State Representative Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) and Americans for Prosperity – Tennessee (AFP-TN) State Director Tori Venable.

On Monday, the news outlet ran investigative reporter Phil Williams’ 8-minute anti-school choice hit piece focused on AFP-TN’s push for state lawmakers to advance the governor’s bill.

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Matthew Giffin: Jon Meacham and Liz Cheney Refused to Take Questions at Polarizing Vanderbilt Event That Claimed to Be About ‘Unity’

Kaitlin Housler
Liz Cheney

Matthew Giffin, reporter at The Tennessee Star and student at Middle Tennessee State University, joined Wednesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss former Wyoming U.S. Representative Liz Cheney’s appearance at an event at Vanderbilt University this week.

On Tuesday, Cheney joined Jon Meacham, former MSNBC contributor and current co-chair of the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy, for an event titled “Defending Our Democracy” where the pair discussed Cheney’s work on the January 6th Committee and the “health of democracy and the presidency.”

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Matthew Giffin Details Socialist Group’s Fight with East Tennessee State University over Upcoming Event Featuring Kyle Rittenhouse

Kaitlin Housler
Kyle Rittenhouse

Matthew Giffin, reporter at The Tennessee Star and student at Middle Tennessee State University, joined Wednesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss a socialist group’s response to an event scheduled at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) next week featuring Kyle Rittenhouse.

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