Week 3 - AssignmentPublic No More The Ventura Defamation CaseAfte.docx

Week 3 - AssignmentPublic No More: The Ventura Defamation
Case
After reading The New York Times article, $1.8 Million for
Ventura in Defamation Case (Links to an external site.)Links to
an external site., respond to the following:
· Discuss the facts of the case (i.e., plaintiff, defendant,
publication, date).
· Discuss the concept of ‘identification’ in relation to libel in
this case.
· Discuss whether you believe the standard for the burden of
proof for Ventura should have been as a public figure or private
person.
The paper must be two to three pages in length (excluding title
and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style. You
must cite at least one reference from the textbook and at least
one reference from scholarly outside reading material.
References for each of the stories must also be included. Cite
your sources in text and on the reference page. For information
regarding APA samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing
Center, within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation
toolbar.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external
site.)Links to an external site. for the criteria that will be used
to evaluate your assignment.
Waypoint Assignment Submission
The assignments in this course will be submitted to Waypoint.
Please refer to the instructions below to submit your
assignment.
1. Click on the Assignment Submission button below. The

Waypoint "Student Dashboard" will open in a new browser
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2. Browse for your assignment.
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For more detailed instructions, refer to the Waypoint Tu
Archaeologists for Hire: An In-Class Activity
A new archaeological firm has recently been formed by Dr.
Cage and Dr. Rand. Archaeologists for Hire was going to lead a
series of new projects in the Marveloso Valley, focusing on
reevaluating the Salado Phase (200 – 600). Unfortunately,
before the two could get started they began to disagree over
where exactly to excavate. As a result, the two are excavating
separate sites.
You are working with Dr. Rand at MARV-39, a hilltop
fortress in the middle valley. Stay focused on your work or Dr.
Rand’s assistant Miss Wing will hurt you. Two excavations
units were put within the walled fortress. Unit I is in the
fortress’s main plaza, Unit II is in a large structure that may
have been a residence for a chief. Unit III is located on a
residential terrace located below the fortress.
Your goal will be to write a brief report summarizing your
findings for Dr. Rand so that he can justify continuing
excavations at the site. Some things you might want to consider
include what were the most significant aspects of the site’s
occupation, how the settlement changed over time and what that
tells us about the people who lived there. Your report must be a
minimum of 750 words (I’m actually counting on this one), it
should have a clear thesis that you support with specific
examples from the material excavated.
On profile drawings:
Profile drawings show the stratigraphy of a layer. Ideally an
archaeologist should draw all four profiles of each unit

excavated. The profiles are labeled by the direction that the
person drawing that profile is facing; so the northern profile is
the profile for the northern edge of the excavation unit. Here
are some tips to follow when looking at a drawing of a profile:
· The grids you see on the drawings usually are measured in
meters. The horizontal marks measure the length of the
excavation unit from left to right.
· The vertical measurements measure the depth of an
excavation. A length of string is run from one corner of the
excavation to the other, and this forms an equator of sort. Depth
is measured relative to this 0 marker. It should be noted that
you can measure above the 0 marker, if it is placed below the
surface.
· Units from the same sites may not have the stratigraphic
sequence. So Layer D in unit 1 may not be the same as layer D
in unit 2. So think if the stratigrphaphic sequences for two units
do correspond or not. If they don’t, does this mean something?
Sometimes it does, sometimes it does not.
Glossary
Phase
Description
Huaynac
1500
Inca Empire
1400
Chicha
1300
Collapse of Huari Empire; emergence of warring kingdoms in
highlands
1200

1100
1000
Cumba
900
Huari Empire conquers valley, creates regional administrative
centers
800
700
Salado
600
Establishment of several kingdoms ruled by priest-kings.
Warfare between coastal and highland kingdoms
500
400
300
200
Afero
100
Collapse of Chavin Horizon; emergence of numerous warring
chiefdoms

AD/BC
100
200
Roca
300
So-called Chavin Horizon; few major regional centers
400
500
600
Balda
700
Emergence of agriculture, ceramics, irrigation, permanent
settlements and monumental architecture
800
900
1000
1100

1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
Marina
1700
Hunter-gatherers that lived in seasonal camps; no ceramics
1800
1900
2000
BC
Here are some key terms that you may need to understand the
descriptions of layers you may have:
Bedrock – The hard rock surface of a mountain; archaeological
soils form on top of bedrock.
Camelid – An animal that pertains to the family Camelidae, this
includes llamas, alpacas, guanacos and vicuñas. Llamas and
alpacas can be domesticated or wild. Camelid bones can be

associated with herding or hunting.
Cervid – An animal that pertains to the family cervidae, these
are species of deer. In South America deer species were never
domesticated and these animals were hunted, usually by groups
that had not domesticated llamas and alpacas
Hearth – An area where a fire is built; in the archaeological
record it is identified by a large concentration of ash and burnt
soil; fragments of charcoal and other burnt objects are usually
found inside a hearth
Projectile points – Stone tools that have pointed ends and
worked edges that are hafted on to the ends of spears and
arrows; primarily used for hunting
Sand – A soil comprised of usually silica dioxide where grain
diameter is usually between 2 and 64 mm.
Sherd – A fragment of a ceramic vessel; or in plainer words, a
piece of a pot.
Soil – A loose sediment comprised of a mixture minerals,
ground rock, and organic material that serves as a matrix for
archaeological material
Sterile soil – A soil that is devoid of artifacts and represents the
time before people were at a site
Wattle and daub – A building material made from pressing reeds
into mud. Usually used for making walls or roofs.
Site map of MARV-39
MARV-39, unit I
MARV-39, unit II
MARV-39, unit III
Unit

Profile
Layer
Description
1
North
A
Coarse light gray gravel with Cumba and Salado Phase ceramics
1
North
B
Light brown soil with Cumba Phase decorated serving vessels
and camelid bones
1
North
C
Floor 1
1
North
D
Coarse brown sand with Salado Phase ceramics, obsidian flakes,
and human bone fragments
1
North
E
Floor 2
1
North
F
Corner of pit grave with disarticulated remains of five adult
males
1
North
G
Coarse yellow sand with a small quantity of Salado Phase
ceramics
1

North
H
Rocky brown soil with Salado Phase serving vessels and home
bone fragments
1
North
I
Floor 3
1
North
J
Coarse yellow sand with a small quantity of Salado Phase
ceramics
1
North
K
Light brown rocky soil with Cumba Phase decorated serving
vessels and camelid bones
1
North
L
Rocky brown soil with Salado Phase ceramics, corn cobs and
stone grinding tools
1
North
M
Compact brown soil with some Afero Phase ceramics and a
small quantity of cervid bones
1
North
N
Sterile soil
2
North
A
Light gray gravel with Salado Phase ceramics

2
North
B
Rocky brown soil with a few undecorated Cumba Phase
ceramics and corn cobs
2
North
C
Semi-compact brown soil with decorated Salado Phase ceramics
and camelid bones
Unit
Profile
Layer
Description
2
North
A
Light gray gravel with Salado Phase ceramics
2
North
B
Rocky brown soil with a few undecorated Cumba Phase
ceramics and corn cobs
2
North
C
Semi-compact brown soil with decorated Salado Phase ceramics
and camelid bones
2
North
D
Floor 1
2
North
E
Coarse yellow sand with no artifacts

2
North
F
Compact reddish brown soil with decorated Salado Phase
ceramics, camelid bones and corn cobs
2
North
G
Floor 2
2
North
H
Burnt soil with charcoal and camelid bones
2
North
I
2
North
J
Rocky light brown soil with a small quantity of Salado and
Afero Phase ceramics
2
North
K
Loose brown soil with Afero Phase ceramics and cervid bones
2
North
L
Compact light brown soil with Afero Phase ceramics and cervid
bones
2
North
M
Sterile soil
2

North
W
Wall 1, stone and mortar wall with plaster finish
2
North
W
Wall 2, stone and mortar wall with plaster finish
2
North
W
Wall 3, fragments of wattle and daub wall
2
North
W
2
North
W
3
East
A
Light gray gravel with Cumba Phase ceramics
3
East
B
Light brown semi-rocky soil with undecorated Cumba Phase
ceramics
3
East
C
Compact light brown soil with elaborately decorated Cumba
Phase ceramics, camelid bones, corn cobs and beads from
necklaces
3
East

D
Floor 1
3
East
E
Semi-compact light brown soil with elaborately decorated
Cumba Phase ceramics, camelid bones, corn cobs, peanut shells,
and obsidian flakes
3
East
F
Floor 2
3
East
G
Light reddish brown soil with Salado Phase ceramics, corn cobs
and peanut shells
3
East
H
Floor 3
3
East
I
3
East
J
Light brown soil with Salado Phase ceramics, corn cobs and
stone grinding tools
3
East
K
Light brown rocky soil with Salado Phase ceramics, corn cobs
and peanut shells
3

East
L
Rocky brown soil with Salado and Afero Phase ceramics
3
East
M
Compact brown soil with a few Afero Phase ceramics, corn cobs
and maize roots
3
East
N
3
East
W
Wall 1; stone and mortar wall with plaster finish
3
East
W
Wall 2, fragments of a wattle and daub wall
Marveloso Valley (Sector 2)
The Marveloso Valley is located on the central coast of Peru,
My group and I studied the second sector of the valley (MARV-
9). The second area is located on the south side of the valley.
The river also breaks through the second segment of the
Marveloso Valley and has a bunch of mountains, desert, and
Loma.
The first survey excavation has facts to identify that the
Huaynac (Inca Empire) was one of two of the early civilizations
to inhabit the area. The Chicha civilization is the second
civilization to occupy the second segment in the Marveloso
Valley. Artifacts like ceramics, corn cobs, and peanut shells
were in the first set of layers to back up the discussion that the
Huaynac and Chicha were the only civilizations to inhabit the

area.
However, surveys can lie or be misleading. The more in-depth
layers of the areas have artifacts and evidence that another
civilization inhabited the field before the two civilizations I
described earlier. In the deeper layers, there are artifacts like
broken human bones, projectile bones, and sling stones. All
three units have more and diverse objects the more in-depth the
dig.
The Afero Civilization occupied the area of study before the
Huaynac and Chicha. The Affero civilizations were a sum
chiefdoms that date back to 200 BC - 100 AD, while on the
other hand the Huaynac date back to 1400 - 1500 AD and the
Checha 1000 - 1300 AD. That shows about 1000 year of
inhabitants. That raises the question, why was MARV-9 not
inhabited for more than 1000 years? The first unit has broken
bones in layer E, plus cervid bones (animal bones) in layer I. In
the second unit also has camelid bone in layer J. These artifacts
are different from the objects in the earlier segments. Earlier
layers have sand with plaster, no artifacts, ceramics or wall
collapse. The various amount of artifact shows us the how a
civilization lived and how the same culture ended.
The deeper layers of the three units have artifacts such as
human and animal bones as found in the third unit tier J. And
Unit 3 M has semi-compact brown to the light brown soil, which
seems weird. Furthermore, my group and I hypothesized that the
Afero civilization was targeted and later on destroyed. Why
would a livable area be uninhabited for a thousand years? Other
civilization might have thought that it was an omen or bad luck
to live in an area that ended in such unfortunate circumstances.
With the color of sand and dust was reddish yellow, which
indicates that the district was exposed to fire. The attacker used
more the one strategy to attack the area; one of them was a
massive wildfire to eradicate the areas main resources to live.
The population effected the environment by putting their special
touches in the walls or buildings. In unit III there is a new
Palace that was probably built by the later civilizations. Every

civilization has artifacts in the area however, some artifacts are
gore while the other are simple ceramics.
Tolanda Carroll
WednesdayMar 7 at 8:43am
Manage Discussion EntryPublic Versus Private Figures and
Libel
The Portland Patriot is a newspaper that spoke about the
incident in Portland, Oregon during an ice and snow storm. The
workers that supposed to clear the roads and sideways are not
skillful at doing their duties. The workers want to bring the
newspaper to the court.
The court rule of argument on the Patriot’s defense is that the
First Amendment protects the defamatory statement the paper
made. Say, for instance, The Portland Patriot knew of false
information during the time the data reported. According to
Find Law (n.d.). “actual malice only occurs when the person
making the statement knew the statement was not true at the
time he made it or had a reckless disregard for whether it was
true or not.” The patriot did not mean to make a fuss despite,
and they want the public to know that the worker’s job is to
clear the roads, but why they are not doing it. The court would
want evidence that the workers did proceed their job duties.
The basis for the court ruling is that the statement is not
defamatory. Therefore, The Portland Patriots did not commit
censorship. As (Pember & Calvert, 2013, p.39) points out,
“freedom of expression can be simply defined as the absence of
censorship or freedom from government control.” The patriot
statement about the state workers is acceptable because it is
defending the state, which is the public. The public would agree
that the workers were not getting the job done. Furthermore, the
court would dismiss the case, and the public can file a
complaint with the workers. The state would have to hire more
competent workers to clear the roads.
Tolanda

References
Find Law, (n.d.). Defamation law: the basics. Retrieved from
http://injury.findlaw.com/torts-and-personal-
injuries/defamation-law-the-basics.html (Links to an external
site.)Links to an external site.
Pember, D. R. & Calvert, C. (2013). Mass media law. Retrieved
from https://www.amazon.com/Mass-Media-Law-Don-
Pember/dp/1259913902
Tolanda Carroll
TuesdayMar 6 at 4:25pm
Manage Discussion EntryIs This Libel?
A person who brings on a case against someone according to
Pember & Calvert (2013) suggested that “the party who
commences or brings a civil lawsuit is called the plaintiff
(p.33). In this specific scenario, the best proof of fault is
plaintiffs can make is Matt McCarthy, the author of the memoir
“Odd Man Out,” made false statements about other baseball
players on the team.
Matt McCarthy one best defense could be that he hears and sees
what the baseball players said and done during the season of
baseball, and he decided to write the what each player said in
private. Although, the baseball players are saying everything
written in the book is not right. For the consent, Matt could use
that the consent as the journals he kept during the season. The
truth is what one of the players stated, ‘some of this is true, and
some of it is made up’ (Hill & Schwarz, 2009).
The privilege of defense would be that the statement he made
was public, is that it was public the plaintiff can establish
judgments because McCarthy is entitled to his opinions.
The opinion is that if Matt thinks the players were on steroids,
abusive, taking advantage of the monetary gains and so forth
then it is his pre-judgments and proof of how he feels about
each person he wrote.
I do believe that Matt McCarthy committed defamation because

all the stories that are in the memoir are personal. For the
stories that are true and false that can interrupt personal lives
and relationships.
Tolanda
References
Hill, B., & Schwarz, A. (2009, March 2). Errors cast doubt on a
baseball memoir (Links to an external site.)Links to an external
site.. The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an
external site.
Pember, D. R. & Calvert, C. (2013). Mass media law. Retreived
from https://www.amazon.com/Mass-Media-Law-Don-
Pember/dp/1259913902
Troy Neal
WednesdayMar 7 at 5:38pm
Manage Discussion Entry
JRN410 – The Portland Patriot – Discussion 2 [Week 3]
Troy Neal
Everyone who lives in an area of the United States
that is susceptible to changing weather knows that when severe
weather hits everything and everyone slows down. The Portland
Patriot took exception to the fact that the roads in the city of
Portland weren’t being treated with the priority that they should
have been. “How many members of the road crews sat on their
duffs, in cafes, drinking coffee and eating donuts, while their
plows were parked for long periods on the streets outside, while
the rest of us struggled to go on with life? Their actions were
criminal, causing untold harm to hundreds of people.” Although
in the article the Patriot alluded to the workers being compared
to criminals that statement in of itself blurs the line of
defamation because the statement could be considered a matter
of opinion. Therefore, I believe that the courts would rule in
favor of the Portland Patriot.
The basis for the ruling would come on the fact that

the plaintiffs came together to form a large group and, “if the
group is very big it is improbable that a suit will stand.”
(Pember & Calvert, 2013) Being a large group is only part of
the reasoning, as explained before if plaintiffs claimed
defamation, then I believe the courts would rule in favor of the
Patriot due to protection of opinion. The plaintiffs could show
proof of schedule for their 16 hour work days and their
subsequent breaks which could help prove why some of them
were sitting down in a café while eating and drinking.
One aspect I have been taught since I was young and
proven over and over again is a widely known statement of fact,
“innocent until proven guilty,” this fact would come into play in
my eyes with this case. Even though the plaintiffs have
circumstantial evidence at best they need to prove without a
shadow of a doubt that the defendant acted in malice, and with
the evidence given I believe they would fall short of that
burden.
References
Pember, D. R. & Calvert, C. (2013). Mass media law (18th ed.).
New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Troy Neal
WednesdayMar 7 at 5:02pm
Manage Discussion Entry
JRN410 – The Odd Man Out – Discussion 1 [Week 3]
Troy Neal
The one best proof that the plaintiffs can make would
be that of falsity, however, there is a catch when it comes to
falsity. I believe that the plaintiffs can use falsity to show that
McCarthy was, in fact, untruthful in the majority of his book,
but the caveat here is that the plaintiffs wouldn’t need to show
much proof that McCarthy lied because both the plaintiffs and
the defendant would be considered a private-person. When the
courts consider it a private-person case then “the plaintiff in
most jurisdictions will have to demonstrate only that the
defendant failed to exercise reasonable care in preparing and

publishing the defamatory material.” (Pember & Calvert, 2013).
As far as the best defense for McCarthy he could
claim protection of opinion, because with protection of opinion,
“opinion-filled exchanges, often heated and exaggerated, are
part of the basic political and social discourse in the United
States.” (Pember & Calvert, 2013) Even though he made wild
accusations, he could claim that what he wrote down in his
journal was what he heard and that his perspective after that
was based on his opinion from those conversations.
I believe that McCarthy committed both libel and
defamation for the simple fact that his remarks were proven on
multiple occasions to be false according to the times and dates
he stands behind. Thanks to his publisher actually publishing
the book those remarks then became public which affected the
parties involved in more ways than just their professional
baseball careers. As Brad Allen, a pitcher that played with
McCarthy has said, “I’m looking for a job, and my wife is
worried sick – it makes me look lazy and sorry.” (Hill &
Schwarz, 2009) McCarthy’s comments in his book have now
affected the lives of people not directly involved, but for those
who are directly involved, it is changing their lives outside of
baseball as well.
References
Hill, B. & Schwarz, A. (2009) Errors Cast Doubt on a Baseball
Memoir. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/sports/baseball/03book.htm
l?_r=2 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Pember, D. R. & Calvert, C. (2013). Mass media law (18th ed.).
New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

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Week 3 - AssignmentPublic No More The Ventura Defamation CaseAfte.docx