Nat Hentoff, Champion of Civil Liberties, Laid Off by Village Voice

As 2008 ended, the Village Voice announced that it was laying off columnist Nat Hentoff, whose articles about civil liberties issues had gained much praise during his long career. In 1980, Hentoff had been honored with the Silver Gavel Award by the ABA for his work examining rights abuses in New York correctional and mental health facilities and for his examiniation of secrecy provisions of the Atomic Energy Act. Hentoff's book, "Free Speech for Me -- But Not for Thee: How the American Left and Right Relentlessly Censor Each Other", also reflected his concern about First Amendment issues. As the New York Times noted in its article on Hentoff's departure from the Voice, he will still publish a weekly column for the United Media syndicate and serve as a contributor to The Wall Street Journal.   

HT to Legal Blog Watch for this item.

JFB