Legal Controls Review

SMAD 150 Final

indecency

The government may punish broadcasters for _____ after the fact, and over the years a handful of radio stations have had their licenses suspended or denied over this kind of programming

authoritarian model

A model for journalism and speech that tolerates little criticism of government or public dissent; it holds that the general public needs guidance from an elite and educated ruling class.

Fairness Doctrine

Repealed in 1987, this FCC rule required broadcast stations to both air and engage in controversial issue programs that affected their communities and, when offering such programs, to provide competing points of view.

prior restraint

The legal definition of censorship in the United States; it involves blocking any publication or speech before it actually occurs.

libel

In law, the defamation of character in written expression.

social responsibility model

A model for journalism and speech, influenced by the libertarian model, that encourages the free flow of information so they can make wise decisions regarding political and social issues.

obscenity

Expression that is not protected as speech if these three legal tests are all met: 1) the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the material as a whole appeals to the prurient interest; 2) the material depicts or describes sexually conduct in a patently offensive way; and 3) the material, as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

right to privacy

A person's right to be left alone, without his or her name, image, or daily activities becoming public property.

slander

In law, spoken language that defames a person's character.

actual malice

In law, a reckless disregard for the truth, such a when a reporter or editor knows that a statement is false and prints or airs it anyway.

communist or state model

A model for journalism and speech that places control in the hands of the government, which speaks for ordinary citizens and workers in service of the common goals of the state.

copyright

The legal right of authors and producers to own and control the use of their writing, music, lyrics, TV programs, movies, or graphic art designs.

libertarian model

A model for journalism or speech that encourages vigorous government criticism and supports the highest degree of freedom for individual speech and the news media.

public domain

The end of a copyright period for a work, at which point the public may begin to access it for free.