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© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
Chapter 14 – Law and Regulation: Reforming
the Rules
Chapter Outline
• U.S. Constitution Sets Free Press Precedent
• Government Tries to Restrict Free Expression
The Alien and Sedition Laws of 1798
The Espionage Act of 1918
The Smith Act of 1940
HUAC and the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
• Prior Restraint Rarely Used
Near v. Minnesota
The Pentagon Papers
The Progressive Case
Government Manages War Coverage
Restricting Press Access in Grenada
News Blackouts and Press Pools During the Gulf War
War in Afghanistan
“Embedded” Reporters During Iraq War
Photographs of War Fatalities
• WikiLeaks Challenges Government Secrecy
• USA PATRIOT Act Meets Public Resistance
• What Is the Standard for Obscenity?
Local Efforts
U.S. Supreme Court Writes Obscenity Criteria
School Boards as Censors
The Hazelwood Case
• Libel Law Outlines the Media’s Public Responsibility
Sullivan Case Establishes a Libel Landmark
Redefining the Sullivan Decision
Charges and Defenses for Libel
Legal Outcomes Reflect Mixed Results
Internet Comments Bring SLAPP Suits
• Invasion of Privacy Defined Four Ways
Physical or Mental Solitude
Embarrassing Personal Facts
False Light
Right of Publicity
Bartnicki v. Vopper
© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
accessible website, in whole or in part. 128
• Debate Continues over Fair Trial, Courtroom Access and Shield
Laws
Fair Trial
Courtroom Access
Shield Laws
• FCC Regulates Broadcast and Cable
• Telecommunications Act of 1996 Changes the Marketplace
Goal: To Sell Consumers “The Bundle”
Targeting the Power User
• Deregulation Unleashes the Media
Created a Goal of Universal Service
Deregulated Free Media
Relaxed Ownership and Licensing Rules
Encouraged Local Phone Competition
Ends Cable Rate Regulation TV Industry Agrees to Ratings and the
V-Chip
• Congress Attempts to Control Access to Indecent Content
Supreme Court Upholds Internet Filters for Public Libraries
Government Monitors Broadcast Indecency
• Intellectual Property Rights Affirmed
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
New York Times Co. v. Tasini
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. v. Grokster Ltd. and Arista Records
LLC v. Lime Group LLC
• FCC Adopts Open Internet Rules
• Courts and Regulators Govern Advertising and PR
Central Hudson Case
Texas Gulf Sulphur Case
Federal Government Regulates Advertisers
• Law Must Balance Rights and Responsibilities
© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
Suggested Activities, Discussions, and Exercises
1. Ask your students to write a short position paper on “Freedom of the Press
versus the Right to Privacy.” Discuss the students’ positions in class.
2. Ask your students to keep a log of the television shows they watch for one
week, noting the name of the show, the hour it’s on, and the TV rating
code. Do they see a pattern among the ratings of their favorite shows?
What does this indicate about their viewing habits? Use this to launch a
class or small group discussion or as a writing exercise.
3. Have students do an inventory of cross-media offerings in their community
from telephone, cable, satellite and power companies. Ask students to
discuss where they get their television, telephone, and Internet services
and whether they have been approached recently with “bundle” offers. Ask
them to discuss in class whether they find the competition for customers
helpful in acquiring services, or merely confusing.
4. Ask students to investigate whether their state or adjoining states have or
have considered enacting shield laws to protect reporters from court
orders to reveal news sources. Assign students to two groups to function
as debate teams, and ask them to debate the value of shield laws versus
the interests of the government and the courts in learning the reporter’s
information sources.
5. Ask students to each find a different court case—current or historical—
involving communication rights. Have each summarize the issue and the
court findings and present to each other in class or in an online discussion
forum.
Activity Pages
Use the following activity pages as class handouts for exercises and to
accompany some of the classroom Ideas described above.
© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
Television Ratings Exercise
Keep a log of the television shows you watch for one week, noting the name of the
show, the hour it’s on, and the TV rating code. Find the code from a reliable
source. (Make as many copies of this page as you need to accurately record your
viewing.) Do you see a pattern among the ratings of your favorite shows? What
does this indicate about your viewing habits? As directed by your instructor, use
this information for a class discussion or to write about your findings.
Name of show:
When it’s on:
Rating of show:
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Name of show:
When it’s on:
Rating of show:
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Name of show:
When it’s on:
Rating of show:
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Name of show:
When it’s on:
Rating of show:
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Name of show:
When it’s on:
Rating of show:
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Name of show:
When it’s on:
Rating of show:
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Name of show:
When it’s on:
Rating of show:
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Name of show:
When it’s on:
Rating of show:
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Name of show:
When it’s on:
Rating of show:
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Name of show:
When it’s on:
Rating of show:
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Name of show:
When it’s on:
Rating of show:
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Name of show:
When it’s on:
Rating of show:
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© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
Researching Recent Media Law Decisions
Using Questia, online databases, or the college library, research the topic of
Media Law. Locate and actual recent media law case. Read the case and then
answer the following questions. Bring the information to class for a discussion or
write a short paper, as directed by your instructor.
1. What is the actual name of the case? (John Doe v. Jane Doe)
2. What are the issues of the case?
3. Does the case cite any precedent in the law? If so, what is the precedent?
4. What are the major arguments on both sides?
5. Without looking at the outcome, which side do you believe is correct, based on the
historical precedent established in these issues of media law? (For example, privacy or
freedom of expression?
6. What was the outcome of the case? Did the outcome agree with your previous
conclusion? Discuss.
© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
Media Lawyer Guest Speaker
Invite a local lawyer who specializes in media law to speak to your class. Make up
a list of questions (these are only suggestions), and be sure to write down the
answers. Be prepared to discuss the answers or to write a brief paper about your
findings.
•What is the proper spelling of your
name?
• What is your title and the name of your
firm?
• How long have you been practicing
law? How long have you been working
in media law?
• (To students: choose a famous media
case that you’ve studied in class—the
Carol Burnett suit, the New York Times
Co. v. Tasini or another—and ask the
lawyer to offer his/her opinion of the
case’s outcome.)
• How can the country accommodate
both the First Amendment concept of a
free press and the right of the nation’s
citizens to keep their reputations from
being unnecessarily damaged?
• Can you tell us about some of the
media cases you’ve worked on? What
were their outcomes?
• What kinds of monetary awards have
been given in your cases?
• Do you think the courts tend to side
more often with the media or with
plaintiffs in media cases today?
Explain.
• What should reporters do if asked to
identify their sources or give up their
notes and recordings of interviews? Can
you discuss some of the cases of
reporters who have gone to jail over this
issue?
• The major costs for many libel cases
are the lawyers’ fees, not the judgments.
Why do lawyers’ fees get so high? What
does a lawyer have to do to defend or
prosecute a libel case?
• What, if any, changes would you like to
see made to American media laws and
regulations?
• Have you been involved in any privacy
cases? Can you give any local
examples of privacy cases and their
outcomes?
• What can reporters do to ensure that
their stories are not libelous?
• Have you been involved in any First
Amendment or freedom of speech
cases? Can you describe them, and tell
us about their outcomes?
© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
Chapter 14 Quiz
Multiple Choice
1. The belief that the U.S. press should be free from government control
originated with the:
a. First Amendment.
b. Sixth Amendment.
c. Magna Carta.
d. Declaration of Independence.
2. Joseph McCarthy did all but which of the following?
a. presided over the Army-McCarthy hearings
b. aggressively hunted communists in the United States
c. created the voluntary Code of Wartime Practices for American Broadcasters
d. was eventually censured by his colleagues in the Senate
3. The broadcast media:
a. are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission.
b. are regulated by state communications boards.
c. are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission.
d. have complete freedom over content they place on their websites.
4. After the Roth and Miller cases, determining obscenity is the
responsibility of:
a. the U.S. Supreme Court.
b. local school boards.
c. state censorship boards.
d. local courts.
© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
5. To prove libel, someone must show that:
a. the statement injured the person’s reputation or income or caused mental
anguish.
b. the statement was communicated to a third party.
c. people who read or saw the statement would be able to identify the person,
even if that person was not actually named.
d. All of these are correct.
6. In the New York Times v. Sullivan decision, the Supreme Court held that:
a. reporters are protected from naming sources in a court of law.
b. the plaintiff in a loss of privacy lawsuit cannot be a celebrity.
c. a public official must prove that the story was published with a reckless
disregard for the truth.
d. obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment.
7. The media can invade privacy by:
a. disclosing embarrassing personal facts.
b. placing someone in a false light.
c. using someone’s name or likeness for commercial benefit.
d. All of these are correct.
8. The law designed to prevent illegal copying of material on the Internet is:
a. the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
b. the Communications Decency Act.
c. the Smith Act of 1940.
d. the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
9. Changes in 2003 in FCC regulations concerning ownership of broadcast
stations:
a. were intended to restrict competition.
b. allowed a company to own stations that reach more than half of the U.S.
population.
c. allowed companies to expand the number of radio and TV stations they could
own.
d. have since been overturned and reversed by the FCC.
© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
10. Which legislation led to a conflict between the FBI and libraries over
government access to library records?
a. Communications Decency Act
b. The PATRIOT Act
c. The Privacy Act
d. The Federal Shield Law
11. Which Supreme Court case forms the basis for commercial speech
protection today?
a. Cantrell v. Forest City Publishing Co.
b. Bartnicki v. Vopper
c. Time, Inc. v. Hill
d. Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission
12. According to the Impact/Society box, “Excerpts from the 1943 Code of
Wartime Practices for American Broadcasters,” which of the following was
not censored by the Office of War Information?
a. weather forecasts
b. quiz programs
c. reports of troop movements
d. situation comedies
13. According to the Impact / Audience box, “Cameras in the Courtroom: A State-
by-State Guide,” which statement is true of cameras in the courtroom today?
a. The U.S. Supreme Court allows video coverage of court proceedings.
b. Only 3 states allow some camera access to courtroom proceedings.
c. California and New York allow video coverage of most courtroom proceedings.
d. Most states allow at least some camera access to courtroom proceedings.
14. The Communications Decency Act:
a. regulated print media for the first time.
b. allowed sex-oriented programming on cable TV.
c. attempted to define and control user access to specific programs and content.
d. applied only to children’s materials.
© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
15. Which of the following is not true of efforts to censor books,
magazines, and films?
a. Most reported book challenges take place in schools and public libraries.
b. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has never been targeted by censors.
c. A school district in Little Rock, Ark., removed Harry Potter books from its
library because the school board claimed the tales of wizards and spells could
harm schoolchildren.
d. The State of Alabama based censorship efforts on a federal judge’s ruling that
certain books promoted “secular humanism.”
True/False
1. Beginning in 2003, the U.S. government adopted a system for war reporting
called “embedding.”
2. The press was required to submit news stories for government review during
World War II.
3. The Pentagon Papers were prevented from ever being printed in The
Washington Post and The New York Times by the U.S. Supreme Court.
4. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that obscenity is protected by the First
Amendment.
5. Right of privacy laws provide little protection for public officials.
ANS: T
Essay Questions
1. How is the V-chip designed to protect children? Explain with specific
details. Do you think it works? Why? Why not?
2. Why are Roth v. United States and Miller v. California important in the
history of censorship in America?
© 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
3. Discuss briefly the ongoing controversy concerning confidentiality of
reporter’s sources and shield laws. Mention at least one recent case of
conflict between a reporter and the courts over protection of a source’s
identity.
4. Discuss the concept of “The Bundle” as the basis of a telecommunications
battlefield, and identify the provision of law that underlies the battle over
“The Bundle.”
5. How is the right of ownership of intellectual property rights legally
protected in the digital age? Discuss the role the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act played in establishing rules to protect intellectual property
rights.
