Comms 351. Thanks to Center for News Literacy.

1. Week 4
Mission of the Press
Monday, September 19, 11

2. The U.S. News Media
Too Much Freedom?
Or Not Enough?
Monday, September 19, 11

3. When asked, ‘Overall, do you think the press in
America has too much freedom to do what it wants,
too little freedom to do what it wants, or is the amount
of freedom the press has about right?’
Too Much Freedom: 39%
Too Little Freedom: 7%
About Right: 48%
6% 39%
Don't Know: 6%
48% 7%
Source: The First Amendment Center, “State of the First Amendment, 2009”
Monday, September 19, 11

4. You and your peers in this course…
Too
Much
Freedom
21%
Too
Li6le
Freedom
10% 21.00%
Just
Enough
Freedom
39% 30.00%
I
Don’t
Know
30%
10.00%
39.00%
Source: Stony Brook University student survey/Center for News Literacy
Monday, September 19, 11

5. You Make the Call
Can the government or courts stop you
from publishing the following stories?
Monday, September 19, 11

6. You Make the Call
Can You Publish a Story About
Gadaffi’s Satellite Phone?
Monday, September 19, 11

7. The Right to Publish?
Can You Publish Information From This Document?
Monday, September 19, 11

8. You Make the Call
Can You Publish a Murder Confession?
Monday, September 19, 11

9. You Make the Call
Can You Name the Victims?
Monday, September 19, 11

10. You Make the Call
Free Speech on BART?
Monday, September 19, 11

11. What Is Freedom of the Press?
Monday, September 19, 11

12. The Bill of Rights
Ratified in 1791
Monday, September 19, 11

13. The First Amendment
“Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging the
freedom of speech, or of the press, or
the right of the people to peaceably
assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of
grievances.”
(Mnemonic: “P’RAPS”)
Monday, September 19, 11

14. Ben Franklin’s Apology for Printers
“Printers are educated in
the belief, that when men
differ in opinion, both sides
ought equally to have the
advantage of being heard
by the public; and when
truth and error have fair
play, the former is always
an overmatch for the
latter.”
Monday, September 19, 11

15. James Madison
English Common Law
allowed suppression of the
press, but in America, “the
people, not the government
possess the absolute
sovereignty.”
“Some degree of abuse is inseparable from the proper use
of everything , and in no instance is this more true than in
that of the press.”
Monday, September 19, 11

16. The Alien and Sedition Acts
President John Adams Signs Them
Into Law in 1798
Monday, September 19, 11

17. The Supreme Court’s
‘First Great Press Case’
1931: Near v. Minnesota
Monday, September 19, 11

18. Justice Pierce Butler
”Permitting a scandal sheet such as
Near’s to destroy the reputation, peace
of mind, and even personal safety of
other citizens, society is not only
encouraging malice and revenge but
could inflict distressing punishments
upon the weak, timid, and innocent.”
Monday, September 19, 11

19. Justice Louis Brandeis
‘Every man has a right to publish what he wishes, and if it be
defamatory or libelous suffer the consequences later.’
Monday, September 19, 11

20. Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes
Breaks the Tie
‘The fact that the liberty of the
press may be abused . . . by
purveyors of scandal does not
make any less necessary the
immunity of the press from
prior restraint in dealing with
official misconduct.’
Monday, September 19, 11

21. No Prior Restraint
Government cannot stop
something from being
published or broadcast or
posted on the Internet,
except in rare instances.
But, the author or organization can be
punished later.
Monday, September 19, 11

22. Libel vs. Slander
“Slander is spoken. In print, it's libel.”
Monday, September 19, 11

23. Defenses:
· Truth
· Privilege
· Fair Comment
Monday, September 19, 11

24. No Prior Restraint
‘Freedom of the Press is the Right of the Press to be Wrong’
– First Amendment Attorney Alan Dershowitz
Monday, September 19, 11

25. The Fourth Estate
Who is the “Watchdog”? You are.
Monday, September 19, 11

26. The Press As ‘Watchdog’
Saved From Death Row
Monday, September 19, 11

27. The Watchdog As Its Own Censor
The Bay of Pigs Invasion
Monday, September 19, 11

28. The Press As ‘Watchdog’
CBS’ Revealing Abu Ghraib Coverage
Monday, September 19, 11

29. There Are Two Exceptions to the
No Prior Restraint Rule
Obscenity
Monday, September 19, 11

30. Exceptions to the
No Prior Restraint Rule
National
Security
Monday, September 19, 11

31. The Pentagon Papers Case
Daniel Ellsberg
Leaks Secret
Defense Documents
Monday, September 19, 11

32. The Washington Post Exposes
Secret CIA Prisons
What Was the Impact of These Stories?
Monday, September 19, 11

33. The Role of the Press in National Security
Secret Documents Made Public
Monday, September 19, 11

34. The Role of the Press in War
Monday, September 19, 11

35. The Role of the Press in War
Keller Explains His Decision
Monday, September 19, 11

36. The Role of the Press in War
Long Island Congressman Peter King
Wants Reporters Jailed
Monday, September 19, 11

37. Other Conflicts
· The Right to Know
· The Right to Know vs. Privacy
· A Free Press vs. A Fair Trial
Monday, September 19, 11

38. Limitations on Press Freedom
The Right to Gather the News?
Monday, September 19, 11

39. The Right to Know?
1995: 3.5 Million Documents Classified
2010: 77 Million Documents Classified
Monday, September 19, 11

40. FOIA
Monday, September 19, 11

41. The Right to Know
vs. Privacy
A controversial decision to publish a photo of war
Monday, September 19, 11

42. A Free Press vs. A Fair Trial
“In all criminal prosecutions, the
accused shall enjoy the right to a
speedy and public trial, by an
impartial jury of the State and
district wherein the crime shall
have been committed . . . “
The Sixth Amendment
Monday, September 19, 11

43. A Free Press vs. A Fair Trial
Judges have other remedies :
•Change of venue
• Gag orders
• Jury selection
• Sequestering the Jury
Monday, September 19, 11