Sundance Channel at 8pm CT ; Fox, Franken, 9-11

[babylonsister]

THE FIRST AMENDMENT PROJECT: FOX VS. FRANKEN
directed by Chris Hegedus and Nick Doob
When comedian Al Franken "appropriated" Fox News's phrase "Fair and Balanced" on his satiric book about TV news, the network took him to court. Documentarians Chris Hegedus and Nick Doob consider what happens when corporations trademark common phrases and how the First Amendment protects the right to parody. Fox v. Franken was co-produced by Sundance Channel and Court TV(r) as part of "The First Amendment Project," a series of documentary films by independent filmmakers examining freedom of speech and expression in contemporary America.

THE FIRST AMENDMENT PROJECT: POETIC LICENSE
directed by Mario Van Peebles
The implications of state-sponsored art come into focus in this documentary film by Mario Van Peebles (Baadasssss), which tells the story of New Jersey Poet Laureate Amiri Baraka and the calls for his resignation after a performance of his controversial poem "Somebody Blew Up America," about 9/11. Poetic License was co-produced by Sundance Channel and Court TV(r) as part of "The First Amendment Project," a series of documentary films by independent filmmakers examining freedom of speech and expression in contemporary America.