Quiz for Chapter 8
1. Define libel. ___________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
2. List the four elements of libel:
a. _______________________________________________________
b. _______________________________________________________
c. _______________________________________________________
d. _______________________________________________________
3. The most important libel decision in the history of the United States was ___________
_____________________________________.
4. Define the actual malice rule. _____________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________.
5. The Court in Curtis Publishing v. Butts set the fault standard for public figures. What
did the Court decide?__________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
6. List the media’s defenses against libel:
a. __________________________________________________________________
b. __________________________________________________________________
c. __________________________________________________________________
d. __________________________________________________________________
e. __________________________________________________________________
7. Justice Brennan’s decision in New York Times v. Sullivan relied upon the concept of
the marketplace of ideas as First Amendment doctrine. Explain the marketplace of
ideas and why it was so important in this case. ____________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
8. The test the Supreme Court created to identify a limited-purpose public figure has
three parts:
a. ________________________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________________________
c. ________________________________________________________________
True/False
__ 9. Libel lawsuits are primarily filed against smaller media who make careless mistakes
and rarely against major outlets.
__10. The media win the vast majority of libel cases, either through dismissals, favorable
verdicts, or verdicts overturned on appeal.
__11. No libel award against a media outlet has ever exceeded $1 million.
__12. Congress passed the SPEECH Act to stop libel judgments against U.S. citizens or
corporations that fail to meet American constitutional standards of due process and
First Amendment protections.
__13. The Supreme Court ruled in New York Times v. Sullivan that state libel laws did not
have to incorporate the First Amendment protection provided the media.
__14. Justice Hugo Black, in his concurring opinion, wrote that state libel laws threaten
the existence of a media strong enough to criticize the conduct of public officials.
__15. The Supreme Court ruled that altering quotes is not evidence of actual malice
unless the alteration is a deliberate attempt to change the meaning.