JOURNALISM ETHICS and FIRST AMENDMENT LAW
Spring 2016
Mondays, 620-850 pm (Silver Building, Room 411)
Instructor:
David A. Kaplan
E-mail: dkaplan007@gmail.com
Phone:
917-324-8915
Office hours: Mons, 5-6 pm (Room TBA, 20 Cooper Square). Or by appointment.
T.A. Graders: Rui Miao, rm3804@nyu.edu
Rahmah Pauzi, rmp425@nyu.edu
Julie Pimentel, jrp419@nyu.edu
________________________________________________________________________
ABOUT THE COURSE:
Welcome. This course is an introduction to how American constitutional law affects
journalists and why that matters. It’s also a course about journalistic ethics and how such
professional notions as fairness, objectivity, responsibility, and credibility intersect with law
– and how they don’t. Other journalism coursework is about how journalists do things – how
to report, write, edit; this course will often be about how they avoid problems.
I aim for the material to be intellectual and practical and historical; I aim to raise more
questions than we wind up answering; and I aim for us to work hard and enjoy class. A
few of the topics we will cover have bright-line do’s and don’ts – most do not; critical,
skeptical thinking about the topics is essential in this class.
We will cover the law of the First Amendment, the values our system places on free
expression, the imprecision of legal principles and the problem this poses for journalists
(and their lawyers), the changing nature of journalism and the changing nature of law in the
digital age. This is not a law course as such, but a survey of the protections and restrictions
that the legal system places on journalists. And we will be mindful that legal constraints
alone do not govern how a good journalist behaves. Careful and honorable and valuable
journalism comes not only from mere compliance with civil and criminal requirements, but
attention to ethical principles that transcend law or are outside its boundaries.
READING:
The main textbook is The Law of Journalism & Mass Communication, by Trager & others
(5th edition, Sage/CQ Press); no, the 4th and 3rd editions aren’t OK – they’re not current
and the page assignments below will not correspond. The other three books are: Thinking
Clearly: Cases in Journalistic Decision-Making, by Rosenstiel & Mitchell (Columbia
Univ. Press, 2003); The Journalist and the Murderer, by Janet Malcolm (1990)(various
editions); and Make No Law, by Anthony Lewis (1991(various editions). The important
ethics issues in Thinking Clearly and The Journalist and the Murderer do not correlate with
material assigned in the textbook; rather, I’ve assigned them to promote ongoing discussion
in class.
There’s no need to bring books to class. The electronic version of the casebook is fine, but
only if it’s identical to the printed version – I have no idea if it is.
There will be other short reading assignments. Most are listed in this syllabus with an
online link. Some may be assigned based on topicality and news developments. I
encourage everyone daily to read the New York Times – and to be on the lookout for
relevant legal issues, and to bring them up in class.
Optional Readings: I’ve listed a bunch of optional readings in the syllabus. It’s not a
trick – they’re really optional. But they’re also interesting and often topical. Your choice.
REQUIREMENTS:
Preparation for class and participation is essential for the class to work well – much of
good journalism and good decisions come from collaboration and debate – and I highly
value everyone’s efforts in class. Readings should be completed before class and you
should come prepared to discuss the material. I will try to do my part to facilitate
discussion – including calling on you! In matters of law and journalism, there are rarely
“right answers”—only thoughtful questions and intelligent, reasonable choices. I like
asking questions!
MEAN-TEACHER PARAGRAPH: Class attendance is mandatory. I understand that
internships and such can compete for time, but we meet only weekly and class takes
precedence. If it doesn’t take precedence for you, this isn’t the right course! Also, please
arrive on time (and with cellphones turned off – ringing, singing and beeping gadgets will
be tossed out the window, David-Letterman-style; laptop computers are of course OK).
The Journalism Department tells me that more than one unexcused absence can result in
failing the course. Please don’t hand in assignments late. There will be no “incompletes”
offered in the course.
Grades will be based on the following:
Papers (two, each 500-600 words)
Midterm (in class, closed-book):
Class Attendance and Participation:
Final Exam (take-home):
30 percent
20 percent
20 percent
30 percent
There will be four graduate students who will assist in grading papers and exams. They
will be available for consultation. After each paper, consultations with them will be
mandatory – the better to facilitate interaction, even though the course doesn’t include
separate discussion groups with them.
PAPERS:
Papers are intended to be opportunities for you to synthesize legal and ethical issues
covered in our class discussions and in the reading materials. They are not intended as
2
research extravaganzas. You’ll submit papers by email. Please make sure to include
your names and email addresses on papers.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
You are a member of a community of scholars, and I expect integrity in your work. All
work for the class must be your own. Quotations and ideas of other individuals most be
properly noted. Academic dishonesty – including but not limited to plagiarism,
fabrication, the use of other students’ materials and the use of commercial term papers—
will result in failing the course and referral of the matter both to the Journalism
Department’s ethics committee and to the CAS dean’s office.
SYLLABUS
Week 1 (Jan. 25))
Introduction: The Legal System, the First Amendment and its
Constitutional Limits, the Values of Free Expression, and How
to Read a Legal Opinion—and How Do Ethics Fit In?
All the Week 1 readings below should be done in advance of this first class:
Textbook:
Book:
2-8 (skim); 8-34; 34-41 (skim); 44-50 (skim); 51-81
Janet Malcolm: 1-41
Articles:
1a) “Should The New York Times Have Published the Charlie Hebdo
Cover Image?,”
http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/publiceditor/2015/01/14/with-newcharlie-hebdo-cover-news-value-should-have-prevailed/
AND
1b) “Charlie Hebdo Attack Shows Need for Press Limits, China’s Official
News Agency Says,”
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2015/01/12/charlie-hebdo-attackshows-need-for-press-limits-xinhua-says/?mod=e2fb
2) “With Time Running Short, Jobs Managed His Farewells,”
nytimes.com/2011/10/07/technology/with-time-running-short-steve-jobsmanaged-his-farewells.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
3a) “Sony Pictures Demands That News Agencies Delete ‘Stolen’ Data,”
nytimes.com/2014/12/15/business/sony-pictures-demands-that-newsorganizations-delete-stolendata.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=secondcolumn-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
AND
3b) “Why Journalists Shouldn’t Help the Sony Hackers,”
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/15/opinion/aaron-sorkin-journalistsshouldnt-help-the-sonyhackers.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=c-columntop-span-region&region=c-column-top-span-region&WT.nav=c-columntop-span-region&_r=0
3
4) Arthur Ashe and AIDS:
http://j397massmediaethics.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/asheassignment.pdf [The “Case Study Questions” at the end are just food-forthought! They are not a writing assignment for this course.]
5) 6) Missouri On-Campus Protest:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/us/university-missouri-protestersblock-journalists-press-freedom.html?ref=us [especially the embedded
video]
6) “All That Glitters,” a profile of Michael Lewis in Vanity Fair, June
1997 [I’ll distribute by email]
Images:
1) “The War Photo No One Would Publish”:
http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/08/the-war-photo-noone-would-publish/375762/
2a) Death of a Diver: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/21/sports/readersreact-to-a-divers-rise-and-swift-death.html; and
2b) Doomed:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2012/04/19/controversial-photosu-s-soldiers-with-taliban-bodies-whitney-houstons-death-and-more.html
3) Falling Man:
http://www.esquire.com/features/ESQ0903-SEP_FALLINGMAN
4) Execution of a Viet Cong prisoner in Saigon:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nguyen.jpg (won the Pulitzer Prize)
5) ISIS Beheadings:
https://twitter.com/nypost/status/502047091225817088
and
https://twitter.com/elliosch/status/502050313436942336
Optional:
a) First Amendment, ‘Patron Saint’ of Protesters, Is Embraced by
Corporations
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/24/us/first-amendment-patron-saint-ofprotesters-is-embraced-by-corporations.html?mwrsm=Email
b) The Fall of Jonah Lehrer:
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/30/jonah-lehrer-resignsfrom-new-yorker-after-making-up-dylan-quotes-for-his-book/
and
http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/204005/jonah-lehrer-talksabout-plagiarism-at-knight-lunch/
c) Why Sam Bacile Deserves Arrest:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/story/2012-09-12/Sam-BacileAnthea-Butler/57769732/1
e) The Dr. V. Story: A Letter From the Editor
http://grantland.com/features/the-dr-v-story-a-letter-from-the-editor/
f) The Durst Case and HBO:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/17/nyregion/irresistible-tv-but-durstfilm-tests-ethics-too.html
g) 6) Rolling Stone and the UVA Fraternity:
4
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/a-rape-on-campus-whatwent-wrong-20150405
Video (in class): “Absence of Malice” excerpt
Week 2:
Wherefrom Ethics, Means and Ends, Conflicts of Interest,
Motive, Independence, Dual Hats, Plagiarism and Fabrication;
The Myth of Objectivity
Janet Malcolm:
41-end
A Coda to the “Fatal Vision” case (optional):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/since-1979-brian-murtagh-hasfought-to-keep-convicted-murderer-jeffrey-macdonald-in-prison/2012/12/05/3c8bc1c62da8-11e2-89d4040c9330702a_print.html?src=longreads&utm_source=buffer&buffer_share=35194
[Note the author of this story is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize]
Textbook:
81-95 (optional); 95-97; 318-320 (the Food Lion case)
The Court Case:
http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=7337535200357880881&hl=en&as_sdt=2
&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr (Food Lion, Inc. v. Capital Cities/ABC, Inc., 194 F. 3d 505 (4th
Cir. 1999)
3 Codes of Journalistic Ethics:
The New York Times:
http://www.nytco.com/wp-content/uploads/NYT_Ethical_Journalism_0904-1.pdf
Society of Professional Journalists: http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
The Radio-Television News Directors Association:
http://www.rtdna.org/article/rtdna_code_of_ethics#.Uki9rus46DY
Playing Quotation Footsie With the White House:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/11/a-journalist-with-rare-access-to-obamahad-to-play-by-quote-rule/?hp
Video (in class): “Primetime Live” excerpt
Week 3:
Distinctions in Speech: Disruptions, Dangers and Threats;
“A Clear and Present Danger”; Media Incitement to Harm;
Negligence; Hate Speech and “Fighting Words”; Harmful
Images; Symbolic Speech
Textbook: 98-127; 127-142 (optional); 146-151
Rosenstiel and Mitchell:
Case Studies on McCarthyism (6-22) and the Starr Investigation (23-56)
5
Article: “ISIS Influence on Web Prompts Second Thoughts on First Amendment”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/28/us/isis-influence-on-web-prompts-secondthoughts-on-first-amendment.html?_r=0
Article: “Why Tolerate Terrorist Publications?”
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/01/24/opinion/why-tolerate-terroristpublications.html
Article: The H-Bomb and the First Amendment
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/24/science/hydrogen-bomb-physicists-bookruns-afoul-of-energy-department.html
Article: Justices Look for Reasoning Behind Texas Ban on Confederate License Plate
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/24/us/politics/justices-look-for-reasoningbehind-texas-ban-on-confederate-license-plate.html?mwrsm=Email
Optional: Progressive Magazine: The H-Bomb Secret: How We Got IT – Why We’re Telling It
https://www.progressive.org/images/pdf/1179.pdf
First Paper Assigned (due Oct. 5, by 5 p.m., by email to your T.A. grader)
Audio (in class): Idaho Hockey Referee (http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radioarchives/episode/344/the-competition)
Optional:
http://freakonomics.com/2015/06/10/making-sex-offenders-pay-and-pay-and-pay-andpay-a-new-freakonomics-radio-podcast/ (relating to sex offenders)
David A. Kaplan, Fortune:
http://fortune.com/2013/05/15/ap-justice-dept-fallout-the-press-should-quit-itsbellyaching/ (relating to leaks and government prosecution of them)
Week 4:
Libel I: The Plaintiff’s Case: Elements of Libel and
Defamation; Why Plaintiffs Really Get Mad; Chilling Effects
First Paper Due (emailed to your TA)
Textbook: 153-191; 202-204
Book: Anthony Lewis, Make No Law, Chapters 1-5
Week 5:
Libel II: Defenses to Libel and the Role of the First
Amendment; and
Libel III: Opinion, Satire and “Neutral Reportage”
Textbook: 208-237; 238-243; 243-246 (optional)
6
Anthony Lewis, Make No Law, Chapters 8-13
Video (in class):
“Emergency One” Roadside Crash
Week 6:
Invasion of Privacy: The Problem of Truth Rather Than Falsity
Text: 248-294; 295-298 (optional); 298-304 (skim)
Anthony Lewis, Make No Law, Chapters 14-end
Articles: Rethinking Anonymity—“Name the Accuser and the Accused”:
www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=54&aid=42260
“Gawker's Outing Of Condé Nast's CFO Is Gay-Shaming, Not Journalism”:
www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gawker-conde-nast-davidgeithner_55a90c56e4b0c5f0322d0b2c
Bill Keller, “Invasion of the Data Snatchers,”
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/14/opinion/keller-invasion-of-the-datasnatchers.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
“Ten Years Later, Infamous Cubs Fan Remains Invisible”:
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/10/14/sports/baseball/10-years-later-a-cubs-fanremains-invisible.html?from=homepage
Privacy and Google:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/07/technology/personaltech/google-glass-picksup-early-signal-keep-out.html?hp
Case: Shulman v. Group W Productions:
www.eejlaw.com/materials/Shulman_v_Group_W_T08.pdf
Optional:
David A. Kaplan, “Remove That Blue Dot”:
http://www.newsweek.com/remove-blue-dot-200840
Penn State: “Name Withheld, but Not His Identity”:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/opinion/sunday/name-withheld-but- not-hisidentity.html?pagewanted=all
“We Strenuously Factchecked the Entire Premise of Sex Tape: An Investigation”:
http://www.gq.com/blogs/the-feed/2014/07/sex-tape-movie-cloud.html
Video (in class): “Shoot the Moon” excerpt
S P R I N G
B R E A K
7
Week 7:
Emotional Distress: When Words and Pictures Wound;
Newsgathering Torts; Newsgathering Protections
Text: 191-201; 204-206; 306-329; 329-351 (very lightly skim)
284-314; 314-316 (skim); 317-323; 324-335; 338-341; 341-346 (skim); 346-351 (skim,
except read 349)
Review for Midterm: Tix Fix Nix Dix
Rosenstiel and Mitchell:
Minnesota Basketball Cheating Case (82-109)
Video (in class): “The People vs. Larry Flynt” excerpt
Week 8:
MIDTERM EXAM (in-class, closed-book)
Week 9:
Media and the Courts—Preserving Public Trials and
Preventing Prejudice: The First and Sixth Amendments Collide
Text: 398-429; 429-422 (skim); 434-448 (skim)
Also:
Rosenstiel and Mitchell: Times-Picayune Series on Racism (183-219)
Racist Chant at University of Oklahoma fraternity (YouTube clip)(2015):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG-wq6SJqjU
Second Paper Assigned (due a week later, by 5 p.m., emailed to your T.A. grader)
THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE OPTIONAL THIS WEEK:
:
Video (in class):
http://www.historicfilms.com/tapes/15618
OR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CsptPbZCgg&feature=relmfu
(the Sam Sheppard trial)
Week 10:
Obscenity, Pornography, Indecency and Violence: What Does
the First Amendment Protect and What’s Outside the Bounds?
Second Paper Due (emailed to your TA)
Text: 496-532; 533-541 (skim)
Is The New York Times Full of…Slop?:
http://publiceditor.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/23/is-times-vulgarity-policy-wise-or-fullof-slop/
8
THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE OPTIONAL THIS WEEK:
Janet Jackson and the Super Bowl “slip”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npF1lkKEM9o
AND
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/nipple-ripples-10-years-of-fallout-from-janetjacksons-halftime-show-20140130
George Carlin and “7 Dirty Words”:
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/filthywords.html (transcript)
OR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqvLTJfYnik (video) OR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbZhpf3sQxQ
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/05/the-7-dirty-words-turn-40but-theyre-still-dirty/257374/
“Revenge Porn”:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/24/us/victims-push-laws-to-end-online-revengeposts.html?pagewanted=2&hp&_r=0&pagewanted=all
AND
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/20/hunter_moore_guilty_plea_revenge_p
orn_king_pleads_guilty_to_hacking_faces.html
http://www.volokh.com/2013/04/10/florida-revenge-porn-bill/
Week 11:
Reporter’s Privilege: Do The Watchdogs Deserve Protection?;
Shield Laws and Confidential Sources
Text: 362-382; 383-396 (skim)
When is It Right to Break a Confidence?:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,147296,00.html
The Challenge of Anonymous Sources
http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/publiceditor/2015/01/13/new-york-time-public-editoranonymous-sources/
Videos (in class):
Clips from “The Newsroom” (Season 3 (2015); Episodes 1,3,4)
“Anatomy of a Murder” excerpt:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFklAxtrjr4&feature=related
Week 12:
Intellectual Property: Copyright, Trademark, Advertising and
Other Issues
9
Textbook: 542-561; 561-564 (skim); 565-576; 576-580 (skim); 580-585 (skim); 585-590
(skim); 591-599 (optional); 600-613 (skim)
The banned Dr. Seuss parody—online at https://www.law.georgetown.edu/system/login.cfm
(user name: intellecprop; password: guest_2005. You may have to enter this information
twice. Then search the database for “Seuss” and you’ll find the forbidden parody as a
PowerPoint presentation. You’ll also find other Seuss parodies and affronts—feel free to
browse. Please do not give out copies of the Seuss parody or the above password).
The Seuss judicial opinion:
Dr. Seuss Enterprises v. Penguin Books USA, 109 F.3d
1294 (9th Cir. 1996). Read:
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/communicatio
ns/Seuss.html
Monkey See, Monkey Sue:
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwoway/2016/01/07/462245189/federal-judge-says-monkeycant-own-copyright-to-his-selfie
Ted Kennedy/VW/National Lampoon Ad:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TeddyVWad.jpg and
http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,944
670,00.html
More Parody:
http://money.cnn.com/2004/07/26/commentary/wastler/wastler/
(with apologies to Woody Guthrie)
“Subconscious” Plagiarism”: “My Sweet Lord” vs. He’s So Fine”
Watch: youtube.com/watch?v=sYiEesMbe2I
Read: Why We Steal Other People’s Ideas:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-grant/thebiggest-reason-we-ste_b_6393346.html
Skim both of the following:
*http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?xmldoc=197
6597420FSupp177_1568.xml&docbase=CSLWAR1-19501985
*http://abbeyrd.best.vwh.net/mysweet.htm
In-class bonus: L.L. Bean parody catalog
Optional:
Pillsbury “Poppin-Fresh” Doughboy and “Poppie Fresh” Engaged in…Well,
Read On!
http://www.yalelawtech.org/wp-content/uploads/215_USPQ_124.pdf (1981)
“When Does Duplication of Words Become Theft?”:
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/29/us/when-does-duplication-of-wordsbecome-theft.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
10
“What’s So Fair About Fair Use?”:
http://alex.kozinski.com/articles/Whats_So_Fair_About_Fair_Use.pdf
Week 13:
Electronic (Non-Print) Media: TV, Cable and the Web;
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act
Text:
450-461; 461-470 (skim); 470-473 (optional); 472-476; 481-484; 485-494
(optional—two U.S. Supreme Court cases)
Article:
“Bye-bye, Bile”: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/bye-bye-bile-websites-trynix-nasty-comments
Rosenstiel and Mitchell:
The Columbine School Shooting (57-81)
Videos (in class):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_0CLDuKJvI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_lBgaUpmu4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0vLT_oXsBA&feature=related
or
Clips from “Nightcrawler” (2014)
Week 14 (May 11): A Final Look at Ethics: What Do I Do Now?
The Strange Cases of Three Journalists:
Janet Cooke:
http://academics.smcvt.edu/dmindich/Jimmy%27s%20World.htm
Jayson Blair:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/11/national/11PAPE.html?pagewanted=all
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/18/opinion/18public.html?pagewanted=all
Judith Miller:
www.nytimes.com/2005/10/16/national/16leak.html?pagewanted=all
New York Times Policy on Confidential News Sources:
http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/0726_nyt.pdf
Washington Post Policy on Sources, Quotations, Attribution and Datelines:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/62578204/Credibility-of-Sources
A TAKE-HOME FINAL WILL BE DISTRIBUTED MONDAY EVENING,
DECEMBER 14, AFTER THE LAST CLASS—AND WILL BE DUE BY FRIDAY
NIGHT (DECEMBER 18, FOUR DAYS LATER) BY 11:59 p.m., submitted by email to your TA. LATE PAPERS WON’T BE ACCEPTED.
11