Com 250 Exam 6-

Front 1

The British attempted to suppress freedom of expression in the New World via (2)

Back 1

--courts that punished printers who produced materials offensive to the colonial government

--taxes on paper used to print newspapers and legal documents

Front 2

First Amendment
Limitations include (3):

Back 2

--prior restraint (legal censorship by the government to halt the dissemination of certain messages)

--necessary balancing of conflicting interests (e.g., journalists and sources, pretrial publicity and the need for impartial juries)

--post-publication remedies for individuals harmed by messages

Front 3

Prior restraint

Back 3

--legal censorship by the government to halt the dissemination of certain messages
--Important contexts
--when the country is at war
--when the setting is not a public forum (a high school newspaper)

Front 4

Near vs. Minnesota

Back 4

--unconstitutional a state law permitting injunctions to prohibit publication of newspapers considered to be public nuisances.

--The Court also held that prior restraint could occur only
(1) during war
(2) in cases of incitement to violence or overthrow of government
(3) in cases of obscenity (not defined)

--nationalized scope of the 1st Amend.

Front 5

New York Times vs. United States:

Back 5

--NYT and the Washington Post halt publication of “Pentagon Papers” installments.

--first time that a U.S. newspaper had been ordered to suppress a specific story.

--2 weeks later the Supreme Court lifted the district-court injunction against the Times and Post, reasoning that the government had not met the “heavy burden” standard of Near.

Front 6

THE PROMISE OF CONFIDENTIALITY

Back 6

--Reporters do not have unlimited freedom to act as independent sources of information for the public.

--The Court suggested that state legislatures create such a privilege via enactment of shield laws.

--32 states and the District of Columbia offer reporters some degree of protection via shield laws.

Front 7

state shield laws

Back 7

offer only a “qualified privilege,” meaning that journalists must justify why a source should remain confidential.

Front 8

Confidentiality may be recognized when:

Back 8

--journalists have been threatened or harassed

--grand juries have not operated in good faith

--only a remote connection exists between an investigation and the information sought from a reporter

Front 9

subpoena

Back 9

--Govt officials must obtain subpoena in order to access a reporter’s other records, besides phone records

--A subpoena could require a reporter to turn over certain documents, or to appear in court to give testimony.

Front 10

The Electronic Communication Privacy Act

Back 10

--requires government officials to obtain a search warrant in order to examine online or stored electronic messages intended to be private.

--After 9/11, government officials received additional power to access e-mail and telephone records via the USA Patriot Act.

Front 11

CAMERAS & MICS IN COURT

Back 11

--became a problem during the 1935 (Lindbergh kidnapping) trial of Bruno Hauptmann.
--degree of media restriction in courts varies with jurisdiction.

Front 12

Important Sixth Amendment safeguards include:

Back 12

sequestering of juries
change of venue
restrictive orders (gag rules)

Front 13

REPORTERS’ ACCESS laws

Back 13

Much information is available via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA, 1966) and the Electronic Freedom of Information Act (EFOIA, 1996); exceptions include protections of business trade secrets, files of law enforcement investigations, and maps of oil wells.

Front 14

reporters access to places

Back 14

--areas restricted to the public (e.g., in a prison), reporters have the same access rights as public.
--Access to specific news scenes by reporters varies (e.g., crimes committed on private property).
--must be given equal access (e.g., men and women reporters in locker rooms of sports teams).

Front 15

DEFAMATION

Back 15

-individual has post-publication legal recourse when defamatory messages damage his or her reputation.

-focuses on the content of a message, not on how the message was produced.

Front 16

DEFAMATION: Four important distinctions:

Back 16

-libel (written defamation)
-slander (spoken defamation)
-libel per se (words that are always libelous)
-libel per quod (words that may be libelous depending on context)

Front 17

To win a charge of libel in a mass-media setting, the plaintiff (one bringing the suit) must prove that:

Back 17

--harm resulted from defamatory

--plaintiff was identified in the defamatory statement (although not necessarily by name)

--statement was published

--gatekeepers were at fault when deciding to publish or broadcast the defamatory statement

--defamatory statement is false

Front 18

How is fault determined for plaintiffs who are private individuals vs. those who are public figures or officials.

Back 18

--private individuals-standard is negligence in preparing a news story.

--public figures-actual malice, meaning either the publication of material known to be false, or
the publication of material with reckless disregard for whether it is true or false.

Front 19

Libel defenses

Back 19

--truth (proof that a statement alleged to be defamatory is indeed an accurate representation of fact)

--privilege (in open court, the public’s right to know is more important than the protection of an individual’s reputation)

--fair comment and criticism (extends only to opinions that do not also contain misrepresentations of fact)

Front 20

The legal standard for violating a person’s privacy involves doing something_________

Back 20

--a “reasonable person” would find “highly offensive.”
--The legal standard for privacy invasion is easier to establish than the legal standard for libel.

Front 21

area of privacy
Unreasonable intrusion upon solitude

Back 21

Problems occur when reporters eavesdrop via hidden cameras and microphones, or use visual-enhancement devices.

Sometimes unreasonable intrusion is mixed with trespass (unauthorized entry into somebody’s territory).

Front 22

area of privacy
Publicity that depicts someone in a false light:

Back 22

creates a false impression (e.g., using stock footage to illustrate a current news event).

Front 23

area of privacy
Public disclosure of embarrassing facts about a person’s private life

Back 23

centers on private facts (e.g., medical records) that are not in the public record (e.g., marriages).

Front 24

area of privacy
appropriate a person’s identity (name or likeness) for commercial gain

Back 24

(e.g., use a person’s name or image in promotion or advertising without permission).

Front 25

In a mass-media setting, the defense to a charge of appropriation of identity is:

Back 25

consent

Front 26

Defamation and Privacy compared

Back 26

Defamation protects reputations.

Privacy protects peace of mind and feelings.

Defamation always involves publication of false information.

Privacy invasion can involve disclosure of truth.

Front 27

Copyright

Back 27

intellectual property
life of author plus 70 years for works created after 1977
(1) original work (2) by an author (3) in a fixed (tangible) medium of expression may be copyrighted.

Front 28

The public domain consists of

Back 28

(1) all works that never had copyright protection and (2) works for which the copyright has expired.

Front 29

Fair use
Factor #1

Back 29

What is the purpose and character of the use?
Have you transformed the work and created something new, or merely copied the original?

Favors fair use:nonprofit, teaching, criticism and comment, scholarship and research, news reporting

Favors permission:commercial (for profit), entertainment

Front 30

Fair use
Factor #2

Back 30

What is the nature of the work to be used?
Favors fair use: factual works that are published (e.g., biographies)

Favors permission:creative works (e.g., plays and novels), especially if unpublished

Front 31

Fair use: Factor Three

Back 31

How much of the work will be used?
Favors fair use: small amount
Favors permission: large amount, “heart of the work” (i.e. the most memorable part)

Front 32

Fair use: Factor Four

Back 32

What is the effect of the use on the market for the work?

Favors fair use: no effect, licensing or permission unavailable

Favors permission: major effect, work is made available to the world

Front 33

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act prohibits

Back 33

the advance posting of broadcast playlists (which would permit people to plan when to copy songs).

Front 34

Trademarks

Back 34

--can be renewed forever as long as being used in commerce
--ensure uniform quality from purchase to purchase.

Front 35

When products and services are ______, multiple businesses can use the same trademark

Back 35

sufficiently distinct

Front 36

A trade name is

Back 36

a proper noun that identifies a business (e.g., General Motors) and not an individual branded product (e.g., GM’s Buick Century).

Front 37

A service mark is

Back 37

a trademark used in advertising to identify a service rather than a product (e.g., the Travelers umbrella).

Front 38

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

Back 38

-- 2,000,000 trademarks are currently registered with the USPTO.
-- Registered trademarks are designated with the symbol ®.
-- Most companies designate unregistered but claimed words and symbols with TM.

Front 39

Forms of trademarks

Back 39

Dictionary words
Coined words: Kodak, Exxon, Kleenex
Personal names
Geographical names when used alone cannot be protected as trademarks, but can be protected when combined with dictionary words
Initials and numbers
Pictorials

Front 40

Obscenity and pornography

Back 40

Obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment.

Since the 1860s, legal definitions of obscenity have been difficult to interpret and apply.

Current restrictions on obscenity are determined by local jurisdictions applying both “reasonable person” and “contemporary community” standards.

Front 41

fairness doctrine (1949-1987)

Back 41

aimed to achieve balance in viewpoints on controversial matters of public importance broadcast over the public airwaves.

Front 42

The Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC, 1914)

Back 42

promotes competition among businesses via the regulation of deceptive or false advertising.