Instructor Resource
Trager, The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication 6e
CQ Press, 2018
Class Activities
Chapter 8: Overseeing the Courts
1. The following hypothetical needs to be tailored according to the law in your state, or any
state that you choose. The structure of the situation and a proper response depend on whether
the state has a shield law and, if so, how that law is structured.
Protections for information gathering in the courts vary widely state to state depending on the
particulars of the state’s shield law. Divide the class into half-a-dozen groups and have each
research one state’s shield law. These are widely available on sites like the digital media law
project. It is often most useful to have groups research their “home” state as well as
neighboring states to and from which newsgathering often flows. Work with the class to
predetermine a list of details each team should gather about their law. For example, you
might ask students to determine the following:
News media defined: Y/N
News media broad: Y/N
Privilege defined: Y/N
Privilege broadly applied: Y/N
Exceptions to privilege mandated: Y/N
Exceptions to privilege permitted: Y/N
Other: (here it’s often good to have them make note of an interesting or surprising element of
their state’s law)
Then, in class, compare and contrast the laws.
2. A fruitful class discussion likely will occur when you provide (and ask students to bring)
anecdotes about subpoenas, search warrants, and perhaps forms of intimidation of journalists
who wish to protect the confidentiality of both their sources and their work product. Given
discussions about the rights of privacy of corporations, have students discuss how those
concepts should apply to the massive multimedia corporations that own many news
Instructor Resource
Trager, The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication 6e
CQ Press, 2018
organizations today? Do newsrooms and news workers have a legitimate interest in the
privacy of their materials? Is there a legitimate First Amendment case for their protection?
Why/not? The goal is not to produce the “correct” answer but to encourage students to
explore uncomfortable questions about whether today’s purveyors of entertainment and “fake
news” deserve a privilege. If so, then what precisely should it protect and to what purpose?
3. Hypothetical: You live and work in City, State. One afternoon on your way to work as a
reporter, you go into a local drugstore to buy a pack of gum. Instead of giving you gum,
however, the clerk offers you a bag of crack cocaine. You refuse politely and continue on to
the newsroom. Once there, you decide to write up the story for its unusual news value, but
without using the name of either the drugstore or the clerk. After the story is printed, the
drugstore clerk is arrested for selling drugs – a felony. You get a subpoena to appear at trial.
In court, you are asked to reveal the clerk’s name. You refuse, citing your state’s shield law.
Will you have protection not to reveal the information?
Sample Answer
The answer depends on whether your state has a shield law and, if so, how it is structured. A
4. If you are in a state that has a shield law, it is a worthwhile exercise to present the law to
students. They should learn what and whom it does and does not protect. In addition, find
cases in which the law has been tested. Locate people involved in those cases. Consider
inviting them to appear in your class as guest speakers.
Instructor Resource
Trager, The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication 6e
CQ Press, 2018
5. Consider assigning students to research the status of federal shield law legislation. What is the
history of such legislation? The results of this research then can be a topic for discussions or a
written exercise or quiz.