Tears of Media 1

Common law

Court based English tradition

Constitutional Law

Amendment based, interpreted by court

Statutory Law

Legislative based, interpreted by court

Administrative Regulations

Executive based, interpreted by court

4 Sources of Law

Common law, Constitutional Law, Statuatory Law, Administrative Regulations

Judicial Review

The right of any court to declare a law or governmental action unconstitutional

Trial Court

Deals with questions of facts

Appeallate Court

Deals with questions of law

Absolutist Theory

No restraints or limits on freedom

Ad Hoc Balancing Theory

Case by case basis to decide freedom

Preferred Position Balancing Theory

Certain rights carry more weight than others, constitutional rights most important, most common theory

Meiklejohnian Theory

Certain kinds of speech (political speech) have absolute protection whereas others require more restrictions (commercial speech)

Marketplace of Ideas Theory

Citizens have the opportunity to judge all ideas good from bad, no one makes that decision for them

Access Theory

All should have access to media to get message out

Self-Realization Theory

The right to express what you believe in (sports jersey)

John Peter Zenger 1734

Criticized royal governor of NY, used defense that the statement was true

Sedition

Advocating to overthrow/undermine the government

Prior Restraint

Government may establish this form to eliminate a potential threat of seditious speech

Near v Minnesota

Burden of proof on government, prior restraint is the exception, not the rule, publication was considered a nuisance

Pentagon Papers, US v Progressive

National security, government v media

Age, Time, Location, Manner

Prior restraints for reasons other than content

Traditional Public Forum (Park)

Highest level of 1st Amendment Protection

Designated Public Forum (Auditorium)

Government has greater power to place restrictions on use, created for expressive activites

Non-Public Forum Public Property (Airport)

Restrictions on access and use

Private Property (Home)

No 1st Amendment guarantees of free expression

Guidelines on Time, Place and Manner

Rules must be content neutral, narrowly tailored, not constitute complete ban on communication, and be justified by substantial state interest

Net Neutrality

All content should be treated the same by Internet Service Providers

Pros to Net Neutrality

Avoid discrimination of content, ensures minimal cost, open network leads to innovation

Cons to Net Neutrality

Market, not government, is better at ensuring service, regulation stiffles innovation, light users pay heavy users increasing costs

Living people and corporations

Who is eligible for libel?

Criteria for Libel

Must be published, defamatory, false, of and concerned the plaintiff, and the defendant was at fault

Libel per se

Use of obvious words (murderer, thief)

Libel per quod

Words only libelous when other information is known (blonde woman)

Rhetorical Hyperbole

Does the truth leave a different impression in people's minds than the falsehood?

Negligence

For private people, failure to exercise reasonable care

Actual Malice

For public people, knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for the truth

Defenses against libel

Privilege, Opinion, Consent, Retraction, Right of Reply

Ollman test for opinion

Can the statment be proven true or false? What is the common meaning for words? What is the journalistic context of the remark? What is the social context of the remark?

SLAPP suit

Suing to punish and bankrupt the party, not to win. Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation

Appropriation

The illegal use of an individual's likeness for commerical or trade purposes

Right to Privacy

Prevent commercial exploitation of a person's likeness, must prove humiliation

Right to Publicity

A property right that can be passed on to descendants, prevent exploitation of celebrity's identity

Transformative Use

If the reproduction has elements that transform it into a parody or vehicle of expression for ideas/opinions, rights of free expression take precedence over rights to publicity

Newsworthiness or public interest

Booth rule, intent of person who's likeness is being used, Main defense against privacy suit

Publishing Private Facts

Publisher susceptible to suit if: material is highly offensive, is not a legitimate public concern, and leads to publicity of private facts about individual

False Light Privacy

Publisher susceptible if they're at fault, material is highly offensive, or it puts individual in false light

Gertz v Welch

Limited purpose public figure

Roberson v Rochester Folding Box Co

Privacy Law

NY v Sullivan

Actual Malice