Legal Controls

1
Legal Controls

• Brief History

2
Print

• Alien and Sedition Acts
• first effort to control press led to Supreme
  Court protections
• you can speak against government
• Prior Restraintgovernment prevents something
  from being written or spoken
• Protected by First Amendment

3
Broadcasting

• FCC Communications Act of 1934
• Public interest, convenience, and necessity
• License renewal depends upon it
• Section 315
• Candidates receive equal amounts, billing, and
  costs
• Excludes certain news programs

4
Broadcasting

• Fairness Doctrine
• 1949 FCC encourages stations to speak of
  controversial issues and give equal time to
  opposing viewpoints
• Dissolved in 1987
• Censorship
• Carlin 1978 (see video)

5
Court Regulations

• Closed Hearings
• Gag Orders
• Disclosing Sources
• Televising Trials

6
Obscenity

• Reasonable Person Standard 1987
• Meese 1986 Report on Pornography

7
Protecting the Public

• Libelthe defamation on a persons character
  through the print or broadcast media
• Truthabsolute defense
• Privileged Statementslegislative, judicial,
  other public proceedings are exempt
• Fair comment and criticismcriticism ok as long
  as it is marked as opinion

8
Protecting the Public

• Absence of malicepublic officials must prove
  malice/intent for libel
• Punitive damagesmonetary settlement for libel

9
Privacy

• Intrusionprivate property without
  permission--paparazzi
• Public disclosurereveal embarrassing personal
  information
• False lightincorrectly placing person in
  situation
• Commercial exploitationname or image without
  consentSpike TV

10
Invasion of Privacy Defense

• Newsworthinessin the public interest
• Consentsigned contract
• Truthnot necessary
• FOIA1966 government must declassify information
  that is not sensitive to public safety