law of mass comm exam #3

what happened in shulman v. group w productions?

a family was in a bad car crash

a tv crew went with the rescue team in a helicopter and secretly filmed the mom getting helped by paramedics

they recorded her private medical talk

they showed it on TV without asking

what did the court say in shulman v group w productions?

the accident itself is public scene, however the conversation with doctors in an ambulance is PRIVATE

secretly recording the scene can also be intrusion upon seclusion

why does shulman v group w productions matter?

news crews can film big public events, but they can’t sneak into someone’s private medical moments

what happened in duncan v wjla-tv?

a tv station did a story about genital herpes

they showed a random woman’s face up close while talking about the STD and make it look like she had it even though she didn’t

what did the court say in duncan v wjla-tv?

that the use of the woman’s face as an invasion of privacy –– painted her in a false light

why does duncan v wjla-tv matter?

the media can’t make innocent people look guilty or sick just by showing their face next to bad news

what happened in bowens v ary?

city officials met with concert promoters and said, “don’t play this video, it’s inappropriate”

they asked for no recording

the promoters secretly recorded the meeting anyway and put it on a DVD as backstage footage

what did the court say in bowens v ary?

secretly recording a private meeting can break eavesdropping laws

some claims got thrown out but the secret recording part was looked at more

why does bowens v ary matter?

you can’t secretly tape private talks and sell them as entertainment

what happened in fields v city of philadelphia?

regular people tried to film police doing their jobs in public

cops stopped/arrested them

what did the court say in fields v city of philadelphia?

citizens have a first amendment right to record police in public doing official work

government rules against it have to pass super strict tests

why does fields v city of philadelphia matter?

you can legally film cops in public — it’s protected free speech

what happened in project veritas action fund v rollins?

a group wanted to secretly audio-record police and government officials in public to expose stuff

massachusetts had a law banning secret recordings

what did the court say in project veritas action fund v rollins?

the law is unconstitutional when it stops secret recordings of police doing public duties

why does project veritas action fund v rollins matter?

secretly recording officials in public can be protected speech if its for accountability

what happened in richmond newspapers v virginia?

a judge closed a murder trial to the public and press after some mistrials

what did the court say in richmond newspapers v virginia?

the public and press have a first amendment right to watch criminal trials

transparency in court is super important

why does richmond newspapers v virginia matter?

courts cant just lock out the public or media unless there’s a really good reason

what happened in houchens v kqed?

a tv station wanted to film inside a county jail to investigate a suicide

the sheriff said no

what did the court say in houchens v kqed?

the first amendment doesnt give the media a special right to go inside government places like jails beyond what regular people get

why does houchens v kqed matter?

the media doesnt get a free pass to snoop everywhere just because its news

what happened in dietemann v time?

life magazine reporters lied, pretended to be patients, sneaked into a guy’s home office, secretly recorded and photographed him then wrote a story calling him a quack

what did the court say in dietemann v time?

the court said this was intrusion upon seclusion

press freedom doesnt mean you deceive people or break in

why does dietemann v time matter?

newsgathering cant include trespassing or lying to get the story

privacy beats sneaky journalism

what happened in cox broadcasting v cohn?

a tv station got an SA victim’s name from public court records and broadcast it

georgia had a law saying you cant publish SA victims’ names

what did the court say in cox broadcasting v cohn?

the first amendment protects the media when they publish truthful info from public records

you cant punish them for it

why does cox broadcasting v cohn matter?

if the government already made the info public, the press can report it — even if its embarrassing

freedom of information act

you can ask the federal government for documents and they usually have to give them to you

process: send a request — they search — they give or deny it

key foia exemptions

national security

boring office rules

things other laws already protect

company trade secrets

early drafts, memos and lawyer stuff

personal privacy (medical records etc)

police investigation files

bank/financial records

geology maps

first amendment access to criminal trials

the public and press get to watch trials (thanks for richmond newspaper)

sunshine laws = fairness

first amendment right to record

you can film police in public (thanks to fields)

the government cant easily stop you

access to court documents and proceedings

courts should be open and accessible

access to private information

normal laws still apply

you cant just break into someone’s house or hack their phone

privacy torts

intrusion upon seclusion

public discourse of private facts

intrusion upon seclusion

you secretly spy or sneak into someone’s private space

public discourse of private facts

you tell the whole world something private about someone

the first amendment often protects if the info came from government records

needs of instrusion upon seclusion

intent + private place + super offensive

needs for public disclosure of private facts

it was really private + super embarrassing + not newsworthy + not a public concern

misappropriation

using someone’s name, face or voice to make money without asking

two big parts of misappropriation

name or likeness

for commercial purposes — selling stuff

privacy v publicity

regular people get privacy protection

famous people get right of publicity — their own brand

first amendment limits

expressive works — movies, art

newsworthy stories

transformative use — you changed it a lot

incidental use — it was in the background

booth rule — if its not the reason people buy it

false light

like defamation, its making someone look bad in a false wayn

necessary elements for false light

you publicized it

it was about the person

it gave a false impression

super offensive to a normal person

the media was at fault — careless or malice

sometimes you have to prove damages

false light v defamation

defamation is “you said im a thief”

false light is “you made it look like im a thief”`

trademark

a word, logo or symbol that says “this is my company’s stuff”

trademark ranking

generic — descriptive — suggestive — arbitray/fanciful

infringement

someone uses your trademark and it confuses consumersd

dilution

there are two kinds: blurring and tarnishment

blurring

makes your trademark less special

tarnishment

makes your trademark look bad

copyright

per constitution, congress can give creators exclusive rights so people keep making cool stuff

what can be copyrighted?

original expression, not just ideas or facts

fixed in some way — written down, recorded, etc

owner’s exclusive rights

copy it

sell/distribute it

show or perform it publicly

make new versions — derivative works

DMCA

rules for websites — they have to take down copyrighted stuff when told

monkey selfie and AI cases

animals or ai cant own copyright, only humans

AI debates

using AI to create new stuff or training AI on old stuff is still being figured out

fair use

4 factors:

purpose — educational or nonprofit? good. commercial? bad.

nature of the work — facts are easier to borrow than creative art

amount used — tiny bit? good. whole thing? bad

effect on the market — does it hurt the original creators sales? bad

advertising law

commercial speech — ads trying to sell stuff

less protection than regular news

bigelow rule

some commercial speech still gets first amendment help

protection level

intermediate scrutiny

the government has to have a good reason and the rule has to fit

false/misleading ads

lanham act — competitors can sue each other

ftc rules — government can punish deceptive ads

little ftc acts — states can also go after unfair ads

who can sue — sometimes competitors or sometimes anyone

what else does the ftc do?

protects consumers, make rules and investigates

jen king advice on stories

you dont need to buy someone’s life story, but participation may cost money

defamation and privacy laws…

can derail an episode

product placement

in the EU, you have to put a bug in the scenes with placement

high risk legal liability situations

clearance counsel reviews all cuts and expects lawsuits or threats

AI use according to jen king

used backstage to create transcripts and find footage

still considering how and whether to disclose

there is no first amendment right of access…

to nonpublic government forums or to answers to questions from government officials

freedom of information act scope

applies only to federal agencies

not congress, courts or state/local governments

foia records

covers documents, emails, photographs and electronic records created or obtained by an agency

foia process

requests must be made in writing, reasonably describing the information sought, often submitted through the FOIA portal

foia response time

agencies typically have 20 working days to respond to a request

foia transparency

agencies are required to proactively disclose frequently requested records online

what exemption applies?

professor requests the EPA records that contained the proprietary formula for an insecticide produced by a chemical company

trade secrets

what exemption applies?

professor requests records filed by oil and gas companies that can be used to understand whether there might be a rich oil reserve under her own land

geological data

what exemption applies?

the NYT requested the IP addresses, time stamps and header data for all comments submitted to the FCC as part of their public notice on net neutrality

personal privacy

what exemption applies?

the aclu requested all records related to newly-acquired surveillance tech that are used by federal law enforcement agencies

law enforcement records

what exemption applies?

milner requested personal handbooks and org charts for a federal agency

housekeeping materials

what exemption applies?

the aclu requested records describing the basis for killing 3 americans in yemen who were suspected of engaging in terrorist activities

national security measures

what exemption applies?

charles requested copies of a preliminary autopsy report in order to understand what authorities had initially believed was the cause of death for particular individuals

working papers, preliminary memos and attorney-client privileged materials

what exemption applies?

gavin requests records compiled by major national banks and filed with the securities and exchange commission

financial institution records

what exemption applies?

epic requested trump’s tax returns even though the internal revenue code requires the IRS to keep all tax filings confidential

materials exempted by statute

while eating at a public restaurant, fitz a reporter overhears a celebrity discussing their next projects. fitz reports what he learned

if celebrity sues fritz for intrusion upon seclusion, which element is hardest to prove?

seclusion

while walking past a stall in a bathroom, fitz accidentally glimpsed through the gaps to see marcel committing a crime. fitz reported to the authorities

if marcel sues fritz for intrusion upon seclusion, which element is hardest to prove?

intent

fitz took a picture of bingo and nadia while they were out in public in a park. nadia sued fitz for instrusion upon seclusion

will nadia win?

on intent, yes

for seclusion, no

public disclosure of private facts

one who gives publicity to a matter concerning the private life of another is subject to liablity to the other for invasion of his privacy if the matter publicized is highly offensive or not of legitimate concern to the public

whats newsworthy?

weird private habits and lifestyles of public figures

names of crime victims

sexual orientation of public figures

incidental involvement with newsworthy eventsw

whats not newsworthy?

images of dead people

photo or video of sexual acts

which element is missing?

oliver saves president fords life. later, papers say oliver was gay leader and this is the reason ford delayed a thank you. as a result, oliver’s family disowns him

oliver sues for public disclosure of private facts

private life

no public concern

which element is missing?

margaret found out her friends husband is having an affair. she tells her friend

the husband sues for public disclosure of private facts

publicity

misappropriation of name or likeness is

the defendant appropriated the plaintiff’s name or likeness for commercial purposes

a history magazine has a feature story about the life and political impact of elvis presley. the story features a detailed account of his upbringing, his interaction with black artists and his visits to the white house. it includes photo

if presley estate sued based on the feature story, the estate would lose because

expressive/newsworthy works

a history magazine has a feature story about the life and political impact of elvis presley. the story features a detailed account of his upbringing, his interaction with black artists and his visits to the white house. it includes photo

if the magazine used elvis’ name and photo on the front cover and in ads that try to induce people to purchase the issue, the magazine is protected from misappropriation claims by

the booth rule

a history magazine has a feature story about the life and political impact of elvis presley. the story features a detailed account of his upbringing, his interaction with black artists and his visits to the white house. it includes photo

if the magazine used chuck berrys name in the feature story to describe other artists in elvis’s time, the magazine is protected from berry’s misappropriation claims by

incidental use

how does a plaintiff fail in false light

if they fail to allege or prove a single element

elements of defamation

publication of a statement to a 3rd person

identifying the plaintiff

includes a defamatory and false statement of fact

fault

sometimes proof of damage

elements of false light

publicity

identifying plaintiff

highly offensive

false impression

fault — malice

proof of damages

the defendant produced a story about medical treatment for genital herpes. At the 6:00 p.m. broadcast, between segments, there was footage of several people on a busy city street and the camera zoomed in on linda. the image then cut away to the reporter, who began talking about herpes. at the11:00 p.m. broadcast, the audio of the reporter talking about herpes was overlaid onto the video footage of linda. the court decided that only the 11:00 broadcast was a good case for false light

which element was missing for the 6:00 broadcast?

false impression

a newspaper published an article about the death of a school teacher who had been convicted of murder. the photo accompanying the story was accidentally replace with a photograph of the plaintiff. the mix up was unintentional

which element of false light is lacking?

fault — malice