Law of Mass Media, Part 1
Limits on the 1st Amendment:
Libel and Invasion of Privacy
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Schedule Update

This week: Media Law, Chapter 13
– Today: Libel & privacy
– Thursday: Study guide available on Web
– Friday: Free Press vs. Fair Trials
In-class review for exam, 2nd half of class
 Paper 2 will be returned, end of class
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Dec. 14: Study session (4 p.m.)
Dec. 16: Exam 4 (10 a.m.)
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Last Extra-Credit Opportunity
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JAMM 444: Mass Media & Public Opinion
– Poster session for research projects
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TODAY and Thursday, 3:30-4:45 p.m.
– SUB Vandal Lounge

Attend either day
– Write summary of three research posters
– Turn in Friday in class; 5 points maximum
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Update:
WikiLeaks


Julian Assange, founder and editor
Turns himself in to London police
– Awaits extradition to Sweden to face
criminal charges; bail denied

WikiLeaks released other secret
cables involving U.S.-NATO cables
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Clicker Quiz #1
All of the following freedoms are
protected by the First Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution EXCEPT:
a) Religion
b) Press
c) Fair and speedy trial
d) Speech
e) Petition
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Clicker Quiz #1
All of the following freedoms are protected by
the First Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution EXCEPT:
c) Fair and speedy trial
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The First Amendment: Goals
Promote the free exchange of ideas
 Create an informed public
 Allow citizens to criticize elected
officials

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Applying the 1st Amendment
Remedies still possible after
publication or broadcast for:
 defamation
 invasion of privacy
 copyright infringement
 VIDEO: Media Law
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Defamation
Media outlets cannot knowingly
make false statements that
damage someone’s reputation:
 slander = spoken word
 libel = written or printed
 libel = broadcast (from script)
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Elements of Libel
1.
2.
3.

Defamation: Does it damage someone’s
reputation?
Identification: Can other people
recognize the subject?
Publication: Is the story printed or
broadcast (seen by a 3rd party)?
VIDEO: Media Law, cont.
– NY Times v. Sullivan
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Landmark libel case
New York Times vs. Sullivan (1964)
 At issue: newspaper ad published
in 1960 in the Times
 Context: civil rights movement in
the South
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Landmark libel case
“The defense of Martin
Luther King, spiritual
leader of the student
sit-in movement,
clearly … is an integral
part of the total
struggle for freedom in
the South.”
--NY Times advertisement
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The Ad
New York Times
March 29, 1960
 64 signatures:
politicians,
educators,
entertainers
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The Lawsuit

Luther B. Sullivan
– Public safety commissioner
(police chief)
– Montgomery, Ala.


Sued for libel over factual
errors in ad
All-white jury awarded
him $500,000
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NY Times v. Sullivan
U.S. Supreme Court ruled:
 Alabama courts were wrong
 Sullivan not entitled to damages
 Different standard should apply to
public officials
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New Standard for Libel
Plaintiff must show actual malice:
 Damaging statements printed with
knowledge they were false
OR
 Reckless disregard for the truth
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Significance of Decision
New standard applies to elected
and appointed officials
 Rationale: Encourage public
discussion of their official duties
 Later court decision applied it to
“public figures” (celebrities)

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Libel law: Public figures
Absence of Malice (1981)

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Showed difficulty of
public figure (Newman)
in clearing his name
Raised ethical issues
about reporter’s (Field’s)
responsibility to find
‘truth’
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Libel: Public figures
1981: Carol Burnett v. National Enquirer
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Libel: Public figures
1981: Carol Burnett v. National Enquirer
 Judge ruled that Enquirer acted with
actual malice under California law
 Jury awarded Burnett $1.6 million in
damages; later reduced to $150,000
– Burnett gave money to University of Hawaii for
annual libel seminar
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Right to Privacy
Not explicit in the Constitution
 ‘Implied’ right = interpreted by courts

– Basis for Roe v. Wade ruling, 1973
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Video: Media Law, cont.
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Intrusion
Courts say journalists cannot:
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tap telephone lines
plant hidden microphones, cameras
peer with telephoto lenses into homes
break into homes, offices, hospital
rooms
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Paparazzi

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Freelance photographers who
pursue celebrities
La Dolce Vita
– Italian movie, 1960
– Photographer: Sr. Paparazza
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Invasion of Privacy

False light:
Untrue statements that change a
person’s public image

Similar to libel but easier to prove
Invasion of Privacy

Misappropriation:
Right to commercial use of name or
image

Examples:
– celebrity endorsements in advertising
– photos taken without permission and
used by magazines or websites (Jennifer
Aniston)
Clicker Quiz #2
The photographers who pursue celebrities in an
attempt to get candid pictures of them are
known as:
a. Muckrakers
b. Paparazzi
c. Carpetbaggers
d. Private investigators
e. Digital bandits
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