Instructor Resource
Trager, The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication 6e
CQ Press, 2018
Chapter 5: Libel: Defenses and Privileges
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following is not one of the requirements of the fair report/qualified
privilege?
a. The information must be obtained from a record, proceeding, or individual recognized
as “official.”
b. The news report must be concerning a matter of public controversy.
c. The news report must fairly and accurately reflect what is in the public record or what
was said during the official proceeding.
d. The source of the statement should be clearly noted in the news report.
2. Which libel defense is specifically meant to protect reviews of products and
services that are presented for public consumption?
a. fair report/qualified privilege
b. fair comment and criticism
c. neutral reportage
d. rhetorical hyperbole
3. What is the purpose of a SLAPP?
a. to harass one’s critics into silence
b. to place a restraining order on a media outlet
c. an unconstitutional limit on free speech
d. all of these
4. Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act ______.
a. requires the application of the actual malice standard in libel actions
b. prevents a libel action from moving forward when one party is anonymous
Instructor Resource
Trager, The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication 6e
CQ Press, 2018
c. protects internet service providers from liability in defamation cases if they are only
serving as distributors of information
d. all of these
5. In cases of anonymous speech, the courts will apply ______.
a. a SLAPP
b. the Dendrite test
c. actual malice
d. rhetorical hyperbole
6. Who was “Evans” in Ollman v. Evans?
a. a newspaper columnist
b. a newspaper reporter
c. a college professor
d. a political activist
7. The Milkovich v. Lorain Journal decision teaches that ______.
a. newspaper columns and columnists are immune from successful libel claims
b. in spite of being forums for opinion, newspaper columns and columnists may
be targets of successful libel claims
c. letters to the editor are protected by the opinion defense
d. neutral reportage is limited in its scope
8. In defending a lawsuit based on statements of opinion, a defendant may win
the case by arguing that the statements are ______.
a. rhetorical hyperbole
b. protected by the First Amendment
c. fair comment and criticism
d. all of these
9. The idea that material cannot be libelous when it is unbelievable relates to
which libel defense?
a. wire service
b. fair comment and criticism
c. neutral reportage
d. rhetorical hyperbole
10. Which of the following is not among the criteria for the successful application
of the neutral reportage libel defense?
a. The charges are made by a responsible and prominent source.
b. The charges are true.
c. The charges are reported accurately.
d. The charges focus on a public official or public figure.
11. What choice best describes the response of the nation’s courts to the neutral
reportage libel defense?
a. Nearly all courts have embraced it.
b. About half of the courts accept it.
c. Most courts have not adopted it.
d. No court has yet accepted it.
12. Which of the following is not among the criteria for the successful application
of the “wire service defense”?
a. The information was from a reputable news gathering agency.
b. The republisher did not know the story was false.
c. There was nothing to reasonably alert the defendant of a possible falsity.
d. The information was republished without any change.
13. According to the single-publication rule, ______.
a. subsequent sales or reissues of publications are not considered to be new
publications, and therefore are not susceptible to libel claims
b. subsequent sales or reissues of publications are considered to be new
publications, and therefore are susceptible to libel claims
c. the rule does not apply to internet publications
d. the rule applies only to daily publications such as newspapers
14. According to the libel-proof plaintiff doctrine, ______.
a. certain public officials are in such important positions that the media are
forbidden from libeling them
b. certain public officials are in such important positions that they cannot sue the
media for libel
c. people with already bad reputations have an easier time winning libel lawsuits
d. some people have reputations so bad that even false and defamatory claims
cannot harm their reputations any further
15. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act ______.
a. protects internet service providers from libel when others create potentially
libelous content, although the protection is not absolute
b. does not apply to libel law
c. protects anyone who posts libelous content online
d. provides absolute protection for internet service providers from libel when
others create potentially libelous content
16. Which of the following is not a libel defense?
a. opinion
b. rhetorical hyperbole
c. fair comment and criticism
d. actual malice
e. all these are libel defenses
17. What is the fair report privilege?
a. a privilege claimed by journalists
b. a privilege that can only be claimed when information comes from official
records
c. a privilege that can only be applied when the reporting fairly and accurately
reflects the content of an official record
d. all of these
18. When does the neutral reportage defense apply?
a. when a story is newsworthy and related to a public controversy
b. when an accusation is made by a responsible person or group
c. when the story is accurate, contains other views, and is reported in a neutral
way
d. all of these
19. Why did the Ninth Circuit court provide TheDirty.com Section 230 immunity?
a. because the website owner’s additional comments did not materially contribute
to the defamatory content of the third-party (user) statements
b. because the speech in question was anonymous
c. because there is no statute of limitations in these cases
d. all of these
20. When does Section 230 immunity apply to an ISP or website?
a. when the ISP/website is a content creator
b. when the ISP/website interacts directly with the content
c. when the ISP/website corrects, edits, adds, or removes content, as long as the
action doesn’t substantially alter the meaning of the content
d. all of these
21. What is a libel-proof plaintiff?
a. someone whose reputation cannot be lowered beyond its current level
b. someone whose reputation can be harmed only by false statements
c. a private person
d. a public person
1. A libel plaintiff has to prove only one element of his or her case in order to succeed,
whereas a libel defendant is required to prove every possible defense.
2. The fair report privilege is a qualified privilege.
3. The late U.S. Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia wrote the majority opinion for the
D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in Ollman v. Evans.
4. Letters to the editor are usually viewed as expressions of opinion and therefore
unlikely to be the target of successful libel claims.
5. Given a choice between using the fair comment defense or the opinion defense, a
libel defendant should use the opinion defense because it is based on the First
Amendment.
Instructor Resource
Trager, The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication 6e
CQ Press, 2018
6. The only requirement in using the fair report privilege as a libel defense is that the
report be fair.
7. The criteria for judging whether a statement was an expression of opinion was
established by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Ollman case.
8. Over time, the neutral reportage defense has become one of the most used libel
defenses because of its acceptance by courts nationwide.
9. The opinion defense is considered the constitutional equivalent of fair comment and
criticism.
10. Under the First Amendment, there is no such thing as a false idea.
11. Courts have determined that under Section 230 gossip websites like TheDirty.com
are protected the same as internet service providers.
12. The fair report privilege covers officials and proceedings in the executive, judicial,
and legislative branches of state, local, and federal governments and, often, private
individuals communicating with the government.
13. The libel defenses of fair comment and criticism and opinion are the same.
14. Rhetorical hyperbole is a libel defense.
15. The single publication rule limits libel victims to only one cause of action even with
multiple publications of the libel, which is common in the mass media and on websites.
1. When “qualified privilege” is mentioned, exactly what is it qualified on? In other
words, what characteristics must the story contain to maintain the privilege?
2. What is the name given to the libel defense that asserts the reputation of the person
suing is already so bad that a false report about him or her cannot damage it any
further?
3. Explain the concept of innocent construction.
Instructor Resource
Trager, The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication 6e
CQ Press, 2018
4. What is the neutral reportage defense? Does it apply in all states?
5. List all the elements of the Ollman v. Evans test for opinion.
6. A newspaper runs a column on the editorial page once a week written by Julie
James. The column is entitled “My Opinion.” One week, James writes a column about
animals, such as cats and dogs, being stolen from people’s yards and being sold to
medical and cosmetic testing laboratories. The column includes information from police
reports and statements from some people whose animals were stolen. The columnist
makes clear that she thinks stealing animals for experimental purposes is a terrible
thing to do. Then the column says, “Sam Jones, a deputy sheriff in Adams County, has
received some of these animals and sold them to George Smith. Smith, in turn, sold
them to the testing labs. While it is unclear whether Jones knew the animals were
stolen, he knew that he was being a rotten and repulsive person, and dealing with
people who—like himself—are among the lowest of the low.” Jones brings suit for libel
based on the words “rotten,” “repulsive,” and “lowest of the low.” Assuming Jones can
prove all the elements of the plaintiff’s case, what is the newspaper’s (and columnist’s)
one best defense? Will it be a successful defense? Why or why not?
7. Apply the jurisdiction test to the following scenario: Two Connecticut newspapers
were investigating conditions of confinement at a Virginia prison. The story was relevant
in Connecticut because some of the overflow prison population in Connecticut was
being transferred to a Virginia facility. Articles that included content critical of the
Virginia prison and its management appeared in the newspaper in both its print and
online editions. The Virginia prison warden sued in federal court in Virginia, claiming
that the online content was seen in Virginia and had defamed him there. How would the
court decide if Virginia has jurisdiction?
8. Explain how the courts are now interpreting Section 230 with the explosion in blogs
and social media—does Section 230 apply to more than just internet service providers?
How does Section 230 deal with user-generated content?
