Government restriction of speech before it is made
Education
National Security
Clear and Present Danger to Public Safety
Commercial Speech
Obscenity
Speech or content offensive to accepted standards of decency or modesty
“Material which deals with sex in a manner appealing to prurient interests”
Portrays in a “clearly offensive manner”
Sexual conduct, as defined by state law
In its entirety, not just an excerpt…
An average person, applying contemporary community standards…would find the work, taken as a whole reflects an obsessive interest in sex
The work lacks serious literary, artistic, scientific, or political value
Indecency
Pertains specifically to broadcasting
Graphic language that pertains to sexual or excretory organs or activities
Applies only when children are likely to be in the audience
Safe harbor for “unfettered speech,” usually 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM
Copyright
The legal protection of a creator’s right to a work
Congress shall “promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries”
Authors ought to be able to control how their work—their intellectual property—is used
Authors should be paid fairly for the use of their work.
Copyright Act of 1976
Fair Use
One exception involves writers, documentary producers, artists, or academics who want to quote from copyrighted material in order to carry out critical analyses
Fair Use Regulations
Provisions under which a person or company may use small portions of copyrighted work without asking permission.
Nonprofit, educational purposes have more leeway than for-profit ventures.
What commercial damage that might the use cause
Transformative use of the copyrighted material: when use of copyrighted material presents the work in a way that adds interpretation to it so that some people might see it in a new light
Time Shifting
Parodies
Defamation
A highly disreputable or false statement about a living person or an organization that causes injury to the reputation that a substantial group of people hold for that person or entity
Slander
Libel
Libel per se
Libel per quod
Libel Plaintiffs
Public Figure
Private Person
False and defamatory statements made about public officials are protected if the false statements were not published with actual malice
First Amendment requires proof of simple negligence—lack of reasonable care—when even private persons sue the mass media for libel
Invasion of Privacy
False Light
Appropriation
Intrusion
Public Disclosure
Economic Regulations
rules set by the government about how firms are allowed to compete with one another
Antitrust Laws
limit excessive market control by mass media corporations.
Excessive market control is behavior by one company or a few companies that makes it nearly impossible for new companies to enter the marketplace and compete.
Monopoly
Oligopoly
Antitrust Policies
Through the passage of laws
Through enforcement of the laws by the U.S. Department of Justice and by state attorneys general
Through federal court decisions that determine how far the government ought to go in encouraging competition and forcing companies to break themselves up into a number of smaller companies
Government Regulatory Agencies
Federal Trade Commission
Federal Communications Commission
Main Duties of Executive Regulatory Commissions
Creating Technical Order
Encouraging Competition
Consumer Protection
Internal Self-Regulation
Editorial Standards
Policy Books
Operating Policies
Editorial Policies
Ombudspersons, or Public Editor
Professional Code of Ethics
a formal list of guidelines and standards designed to establish standards of professionalism within an industry
Society of Professional Journalists
American Society of Newspaper Editors
Radio-Television News Directors Association
American Advertising Federation
Public Relations Society of America
Content Ratings
Ratings designated by self-regulatory board to provide guidance about the age-appropriateness of the content