CHAPTER ONE:
WE'RE ALL PUBLISHERS NOW

Now that the Internet and the World Wide Web have linked the globe, most people in industrial nations have the technical ability to publish virtually anything to the world.

Yet how many new publishers understand anything at all about media law? You may wonder:

How much can the law protect your right to free speech?
What can happen if I criticize the government or my school?
Can a student newspaper be censored?
Can a person be jailed for music "piracy"?

This chapter also discusses legal references, the structure of the courts, degrees of regulation and types and sources of law.

CHAPTER TWO:
COPYRIGHT AND PERSONAL RIGHTS

Your computer, your music, your movies and your information environment are affected by media law.Copyright law -- once the gray domain of corporate lawyers-- has become hotly contoversial with the advent of MP3 and P2P technologies. In this chapter we follow some famous copyright cases and present music, video and text examples of copyright issues.

Hot controversy over copyright
Copyright Laws / US and International
Music copyright cases
Film and video copyright cases
New Technology, copyright and "crippleware"
International domain names and trademark disputes

CHAPTER THREE:
YOUR CAREER AND YOUR ETHICS:

Understanding media law is not enough for students hoping to work in the media business. Many things that are legal are not ethical. Naming a rape victim or the witness to a crime, for example, is perfectly legal if the name was obtained from court records. However, ethical journalists usually withhold the names of innocent people who have been wronged in order to avoid hurting them even more. What are the guidelines for media and computer publishers? How will you weather the ethical stormsyou are likely to face?

Ethical Traditions (Philosophical and Religious)
Moral Principles
Community / Libertarian loyalties
Professional Ethics
Links

Part II
Protected media (print and internet)

CHAPTER FOUR:
FREE SPEECH IN HISTORY

History is the dressing room of political theater. Citing historical precedent can carry far more weight than arguing from a utilitarian or equity position. Understanding this history, then, is crucial in helping you defend your rights.

Early civilizations, Renaissance, English Enlightenment
English and French Enlightenment
American Revolution, US Constitution and Bill of Rights
Sedition Act and Virginia & Kentucky Resolutions
Civil War, WWI, WWII and the McCarthy Era
Prior restraint by government -- birth control, the Schenck case, the Pentagon Papers and other cases

CHAPTER FIVE:
DEFAMATION (libel & slander)

Starting with recent Web based defamation cases, we go back to some of the famous defamation cases in history (The artist James McNeill Whistler, for example, or the Cherry Sisters, or C.W. Post). The US Civil Rights movement provides the backdrop for the pivotal NY Times versus Sullivan case. Much of the subsequent law proceeds from interpretation of the case. This chapter also includes an overview of defamation on the World Wide Web and cases that have been pivotal in making the Web a protected medium (like print) rather than a regulated media (like broadcasting).

What is libel and how can you avoid it?
Famous Libel Cases -- The wailing of the Cherry Sisters; also Whistler, Oscar Wilde, C.W. Post
The modern libel standard: NY Times v. Sullivan and "actual malice"
Clarifying Sullivan (AP v. Walker, Curtis v. Butts, Gertz v. Welch)
Opinion and Emotional Distress -- Huslter Magazine and the Lynchburg preacher, and other cases
Veggie Libel and SLAPP cases -- Oprah and the Texas cowboys
Web and Internet libel cases -- Damned if you do
International libel cases -- The Georgia Professor and the Nazi apologist

CHAPTER SIX: PRIVACY

Privacy involves both the individual right to be left alone by the government and businesses as well as the questions about trespass by mass media companies to intrude when issues of public interest are at stake. Nobody loves the Papparazi but why do they have so much freedom? Personal privacy on the Web is also an issue.

What is invasion of privacy and how can you avoid it?
Intrusion by media and government
Misappropriation of likeness -- the Red Kimono case
Publication of Private Facts -- the reluctant hero and other cases
False Light -- the Black Panther and Hollywood

CHAPTER SEVEN: FREE PRESS AND FAIR TRIAL

From "Fugitive" Sam Sheppard to OJ Simpson, the First Amendment right to free press and the Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial have frequently been in conflict. This chapter examines the major cases and controversies.

Publicity before a trial: Ethical issues
The Sam Sheppard Trial
Search warrants, gag orders and closed courtrooms -- from Stanford to Richmond
Cameras in the Courtroom

CHAPTER EIGHT: ACCESS TO
AND PROTECTION OF SOURCES

State and national laws are designed to give the public reasonable access to public information through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). After Sept. 11, 2001, however, a good deal of government information may no longer be considered public.

What is the FOIA? How to write an FOIA letter
What is a Sunshine Law?
Shield laws and reporter privilege -- Kentucky marijuana farmers and the Branzburg case
Also Gonzales v. NBC, Shoen v. Shoen, Cohen v Cowles Media, Zucher v. Stanford Dailiy, Bauer v Kincaid

Part III
Regulated Media (broadcasting and advertising)

CHAPTER NINE: BROADCASTING

Radio and television are the most regulated forms of mass media. Unlike print, film or the internet, broadcast stations must obtain licenses from the Federal Communications Commission and abide by a host of regulations.

History of broadcast regulation
The right to a broadcast license -- Trinity Methodist Church v. FRC
Content Regulation and Equal Time -- The "commies" at the farmers co-operative
Content Regulation and the Fairness Doctrine
Right of reply?
Content Regulation and idecency
Children's programming
Cable regulation
Low Power FM

CHAPTER TEN: ADVERTISING

While moving rapidly in the direction of deregulating commercial speech, the legacy of the Valentine v. Christensen submarine case is still felt. Product and service advertising is regulated through the Federal Trade Commission. Originally, the FTC reg`ulated unfair methods of competition. However, by 1938 Congress expanded the FTC's powers to clearly include regulation of deceptive advertising and to to protect consumers.

Advertising regulations
Advertising as free speech
The Central Hudson test
The Posadas gambling case
Recent advertising cases and the trend towards deregulation

CHAPTER ELEVEN: PUBLIC RELATIONS

PR, corporate speech and government speech Ð The ability of a corporation or a public interest group to speak out has often been a point of contention.

The National Bank of Boston speaks out
The Consolidated Edison test
The right to advertise -- The Lehman rule and the Mayor of New York
Employee speech

CHAPTER TWELVE: OBSCENITY

Laws against obscenity and indecency are concerned with prohibiting lewd, filthy, or disgusting words or pictures, and there are major disagreements as to what is or isnt obscene and what role the government should play in enforcing social or cultural morays. The Supreme Court has consistently held that the First Amendment does not protect certain classes of materials, including those declared legally obscene. However the law does protect materials that may be indecent or offensive. The issue is, what exactly is the definition of obscene? If a work is legally obscene, it may be censored and its producers may be punished. If a work is not legally obscene it is protected by the First Amendment and can not be censored. The confusion from this issue begins with its foggy definition.

What is obscenity?
History of laws against obscenity
The modern era (1950s forward)
Community Standards and the Miller case
Obscenity on the Internet and Web

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
MEDIA STRUCTURE AND ANTI-TRUST LAW

Laws against monopolies were first passed on the federal level in 1890. This chapter notes the increasing concentration of media ownership and the changing nature of anti-trust law.

Busting the monopolies: History of Anti-Trust laws
Anti Trust and the Media: Splitting up NBC, AP and Barriers to Entry
Newspaper Mergers and JOAs
Broadcast Industry horizontal monopoly laws
Broadcast Industry vertical monopoly laws
Impact of the 1996 Telecommunications Act
Recent merger applications: No to DirecTV and EchoStar, OK to Time-Warner-AOL.
Media Ownership rules revised 2003

CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
CONVERGENCE OF GLOBAL MEDIA LAW

While the Australian courts allow lawsuits to proceed against US media companies, US courts are allowing lawsuits to proceed against Australian companies. In France, Yahoo is sued under anti-Nazi laws for selling Nazi paraphernalia on the Web. In England, libel suits are filed against Americans in the hope that laws favoring plaintiffs will lead to victory. In Canada, court proceedings in a Vancouver murder case are blocked from US-based cable channels.

History of international media regulation -- The McBryde Commission and the NWICO
International media regulatory agencies today
Points of conflict for international media law

Appendix A: Vital documents

• Virginia Declaration of Rights, US, June 12, 1776
• Declaration of Independence, US, July 4, 1776
• Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizen, France, Aug. 26, 1789
• Bill of Rights, US, Dec. 15, 1791
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights, United Nations, Dec. 10, 1948
• Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Europe, May 5, 1963

Appendix C: First Amendment information