Media Law & Ethics
MC 6300-001
Spring 2024
Thursday, 4:30-7:30
BRAGG 151
Thursday, 4:30-7:30
BRAGG 151
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Thursday, 4:30-7:30 BRAGG 151 |
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| COURSE: | JOUR/EMC 4250-002 (Media Law) |
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| TEXT: |
None. But see reading assignments below. |
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| INSTRUCTOR: | Dr. Larry Burriss, Ph.D., J.D. | |||||
| OFFICE: | Bragg 204 | |||||
| PHONE: | 615-898-2983 (office) | |||||
| E-Mail: | LBURRISS@MTSU.EDU | |||||
| OFFICE HOURS: | Monday 11-2, Wednesday 10-2, Friday 10-12. Other hours by appointment | |||||
Dr. Burriss is a professor in the School of Journalism, a former president of the MTSU Faculty Senate and a former member of the Tennessee Board of Regents. He has served as dean of the college of mass communication and director of the School of Journalism. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from The Ohio State University, where he majored in broadcast journalism. He also has a master's degree in human relations from the University of Oklahoma.
Dr. Burriss received his Ph.D. in communication from Ohio University, where he minored in law, and his J.D. from the Concord Law School.
He is particularly interested in issues dealing with new technology and with government-media relations.
Dr. Burriss has worked in both print and broadcast news, and in public relations. He has published extensively in professional research journals, as well as in popular magazines.
He was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force and the Tennessee Air National Guard. He served in Mali, Bosnia, Somalia, Central America, England, Germany and the Pentagon.
Dr. Burriss enjoys travel, reading, and was ranked 3rd in the Tennessee Division, American Fencing Association.
The case study approach is used but the emphasis is on the principles and philosophy underlying the various aspects of communication law.
The principle aim is to accelerate the trend toward making the student more of a participant and collaborator in the learning process and less of a stenographer.
Regular participation is essential and it is important to read the cases and assignments on a timely basis.
1. Regular attendance and participation
2. Three exams
3. Project
4. Class participation
The tests will be objective, multiple choice and true/false. The exams will
cover material from readings and lectures. Exams will include a number of "closed universe" story problems
requiring you to analyze a factual situation and apply the law to reach a conclusion.
The final exam is not comprehensive.
There will be no extra credit assignments. Make-up tests will be given only
due to documented personal illness or death in the family, are essay in nature,
and are more difficult than the regular test material.
We will discuss the project in class.
Students should come to class prepared to discuss each of the assigned cases. Discussions should include the background to the case, the legal issues involved, the court's decision, and implications for current legal issues
| Exam #1 | 1/5 | |
| Exam #2 | 1/5 | |
| Exam #3 (Thursday, May 2, 6:00-8:00) | 1/5 | |
| Project | 1/5 | |
| Class discussions | 1/5 | |
All exams will be taken using the large (8.5 x 11), blue Scantron sheet. Please note that part of any job is getting the job done correctly. Therefore, points will be deducted for incorrectly completed test forms.
If you type (or copy or link to) the entire address (URL), you will end up at a page produced by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office titled "Trademark Basics," which discusses, appropriately enough, trademarks.
But, and this is the great part, if you use only this part of the address . . .
. . . you will be taken to an index of articles about trademarks. If you keep going further and further "back" in the URL, to, for example . . .
. . . you will eventually get to the USPTO homepage. Note, however, that as you "back through" the URL, you will also come to links that say "Server Error," and then a statement about an "internal error." This is a problem at the server (in this case, USPTO) end. When you encounter one of these, just go back another step.
So as you are going through the various readings, you might want to "back through" the current URL to see what you get.
By enrolling in this course, you are indicating your recognition and acceptance of your responsibility to read, understand and meet the course requirements set forth, both in written and spoken form, and that you will not be exempted from these requirements because of ignorance, negligence or contradictory advice from any source.
Plagiarism, cheating and other forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited. Students guilty of academic misconduct, either directly or indirectly through participation or assistance, are immediately responsible to the instructor of the class. In addition to other possible disciplinary sanctions which may be imposed through the regular institutional procedures as a result of academic misconduct, the instructor has the authority to assign an F or a zero for the exercise or examination; or to assign an F in the course. If the student believes he or she has been erroneously accused of academic misconduct, and if his or her final grade has been lowered as a result, the student may appeal the case through the appropriate institutional procedures.
Middle Tennessee State University is committed to campus access in accordance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Any student interested in reasonable accommodations can consult the Disability & Access Center (DAC) for assistance at 615-898-2783 or the Disability & Access Center with questions about such services.
MTSU comprises students, faculty and staff from a variety of diverse backgrounds. Please be mindful and respectful of these differences, and recognize that debate and discussion on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that the debate and discussion may well be vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasant. To quote one of my favorite philosophers, Lt. Nyota Uhura of the Starship Enterprise, "We've learned not to fear words."
This course and its associated web site, readings, exercises, notes, etc., are designed to provide classroom instruction. However, the materials related to the course were not necessarily prepared by persons licensed to practice law in a particular jurisdiction. Those persons connected with the preparation of this web site and delivery of course content are not engaged in the practice of law or in rendering legal or other professional advice, and this course and web site are not substitutes for the advice of an attorney. If you require legal or other expert advice, you should seek the services of a competent attorney or other professional.
This document and related course materials provide information about mass media law in the United States. However, legal information is not the same as legal advice, which is the application of relevant laws to particular circumstances. Although we strive to provide accurate and useful information, you should consult a lawyer if you want or need specific legal advice about a particular situation.
This course outline provides links to copyrighted material which is provided for classroom use only. Access to these readings does not give you permission to reproduce or transmit this material in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. I suggest you review the copyright restrictions for each site you visit.
This course site does not request or collect any information, identifiable or otherwise, from you. Some external sites linked to this page do ask for personal information such as name and address, and may require registration (always free). If you find a site is requesting personal information, and you are concerned about this request, please contact me immediately.
This site contains links to many government agencies and other public sector resources. Once you link to another site, you are subject to the privacy policy of the new site. I suggest you carefully review the privacy policies of each site you visit.
Here are some sites that may prove useful, fun, etc., as we go through the
course. ![[IMAGE: Road
Signs]](search.gif)
![[IMAGE: Back
to Top]](back_to.gif){kind=small}
We will cover a new topic each week. In the first half of the class we will discuss theory and philosophy. The second half will be devoted to case law as related to the topic of the week.
An overview of ethical theories and their application to Constitutional analysis, particularly the First Amendment
A review of the American legal system, the law, and federal and state judicial systems.
| Glossary of Legal Terms | ![[IMAGE: U.S. Supreme Court]](scotus.jpg)
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| District Courts | |
| Courts of Appeals | |
| Supreme Court of the United States | |
| Map of Federal Courts |
The beginnings of freedom of expression in America, the Alien and Sedition Acts, Abolition Period, Civil War, World War I, the Gitlow decision and other court fights, modern sedition laws, Libertarian theory, recent restraint cases, and new challenges to press freedom.
Cases:
Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919)
Gitlow v. New York, 268 U.S. 652 (1925)
Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927)
Smith Act, 18 U.S.C. 2385 (2000).
Dennis v. United States, 341 US 494 (1951)
Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969)
Near v. Minnesota, 283 U.S. 697 (1931)
Organization for a Better Austin v. Keefe, 402 U.S. 415 (1971)
New York Times v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (1971)
United States v. Progressive, 467 F. Supp. 990 (W.D. Wis., 1979)
The basis for regulation, Radio Act of l927, Communications Act of 1934, growth of FCC powers and subsequent lessening of those powers, equal opportunity provisions, fairness doctrine, deregulation and CATV.
![[IMAGE: Federal Communications
Commission]](fcc.gif)
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47 USC 303(m)(1)(D) Powers and Duties of Commission
47 USC 312(a)(7) Administrative Sanctions
47 USC 315 Candidates for Public Office
47 USC 326 Censorship
47 USC 544(d)(1) and (d)(2) Regulation of Services, Facilities, and
Equipment
47 USC 558 Criminal and Civil Liability
47 USC 559 Obscene Programming
Note, although sections of the U.S. Code are available in numerous places, one of the easiest to use is the U.S. Code Collection at the Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute. The main page provides links to the code itself. Once you reach a particular section a "notes" link on the right side of the page provides access to legislative history, annotations, etc.
Cases:
Kovacs v. Cooper, 336 U.S. 77 (1949)
United States v. O'Brien, 391 U.S. 367 (1968)
Southeastern Promotions v. Conrad, 420 U.S. 546 (1975)
Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989)
Barnes v. Glenn Theatre, 491 U.S. 397 (1991)
Krishna Consciousness v. Lee, 505 U.S. 672 (1992); Lee v. Krishna Consciousness,
505 U.S. 672 (1992)
Capitol Square Review and Advisory Bd. v. Pinette, 515 U.S. 753
(1995)
We Are Coming: Nazis, Skokie and the First Amendment
Tinker v. Des Moines School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969)
Island Trees School District v. Pico, 457 U.S. 853 (1982)
Bethel School District v. Fraser, 478 US 675 (1986)
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260 (1988)
Westside Community Schools v. Mergens, 496 U.S. 226 (1990)
Libel and libel defenses, including right of reply, malice, post publication defenses.
Cases:
New York Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
Curtis Publishing v. Butts and Associated Press v. Walker, 388 U.S. 130 (1967)
Rosenbloom v. Metromedia, 403 U.S. 29 (1971)
Gertz v. Welch, 418 U.S. 323 (1974)
Time v. Firestone, 424 U.S. 448 (1976)
Herbert v. Lando, 441 U.S. 153 (1976)
Constitutional aspects of privacy. Appropriation, Intrusion, Publication of Private Facts, False Light. Also: Intentional Infliction of Mental Injury. Defenses: Newsworthiness, Consent, N.Y. Times Rule.
"You mean I have to get permission from everyone in the stadium if I take a photo for commmercial use?" No, so long as everyone has given "implied permission." Here's a pix illustrating how this works.
Cases:
Time v. Hill, 385 U.S. 374 (1967)
The Lone Ranger
Columbia Broadcasting System v. DeCosta, 377 F.2d 315 (1st Cir., 1967)
Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard, 433 U.S. 562 (1977)
Carson v. Here's Johnny Portable Toilets, 698 F.2d 831 (6th Cir CA,
1983)
Who Owns
Michael Jackson?
![[IMAGE:
Declaration of Independence]](dec_ind.gif)
Freedom of information, access to government information, sunshine Laws
Laws:
5 USC 552 Federal Freedom
of Information Act
TCA 8-44-101 and TCA 8-44-102. Tennessee Open Meeting Laws
TCA 10-7-503. Tennessee Open Records Laws
For those of you who want to delve a bit more into the Tennessee Open Records Law, TCA 10-7-504 provides an outline of the many exemptions to TCA 10-7-503. See, in particular, the section titled "Notes: Cross-References."
Cases and Laws:
New York Times v. United States, 403 US 713 (1971)
United States v. Marchetti, 466 F.2d 1309 (4th Cir. 1972)
Phillippi v. CIA, 178 US App. D.C. 243 (1976)
United States v. Progressive, 467 F. Supp. 990 (W.D. Wis. 1979)
Morland v. Sprecher, 443 US 709 (1979)
Snepp v. United States, 444 US 507 (1980)
United States v. Morison, 604 F. Supp. 655 (D.C.Md. 1985)
Nation Magazine v. Department of Defense, 762 F. Supp. 1558 (S.D.N.Y 1991)
Flynt v. Rumsfeld, 355 F.3d 697 (C.A.D.C. 2004)
Doe v. Gonzales, 500 F. Supp. 2d 379 (S.D.N.Y. 2007)
18 USCA 2709(c) - Counterintelligence Access to Telephone Toll and Transactional Records - Prohibition of Certain Disclosure
Developing issues of how the law applies to the Internet
| CDA | Communications Decency Act | Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 US 844 (1997) |
| COPPA | Children's On-Line Privacy Protection Act of 1998 | 15 USC §§ 6501-6506 (2005) |
| COPA | Children's On-Line Protection Act | American Civil Liberties Union v. Reno (Reno III), 217 F.3d 162 (3d Cir. 2000) |
| CPPA | Child Pornography Protection Act |
Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, 535 U.S. 234 (2002) |
| CIPA | Children's Internet Protection Act | United States v. American Library Association, 539 U.S. 194 (2003) |
Censorship, the early years, Comstockery, the Roth standard and indecision since l957; the Miller case and local standards; motion picture, postal, customs and broadcast censorship. The "Meese Report."
Cases
Reg. v. Hicklin, L. R. 3 Q.B. 360 (1868)
Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476 (1957)
A Book Named "John Cleland's Memoirs of A Woman of Pleasure" v. Attorney General
of Massachusetts (Memoirs v. Massachusetts), 383 U.S. 413 (1966)
Ginzburg v. United States, 383 U.S. 463 (1966)
Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973)
Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, 535 U.S. 234 (2002)
Protecting literary property. Fair Use.
Cases:
Baker v. Selden, 517 U.S. 484 (1879)
International News Service v. Associated Press, 248 U.S. 215 (1918)
Fortnightly v. United Artists, 392 U.S. 390 (1968)
Teleprompter v. CBS, 415 U.S. 394 (1974)
Sony v. Universal City, 464 U.S. 417 (1984)
Mills Music v. Snyder, 469 U.S. 153 (1985)
Basic Books v. Kinkos, 758 F. Supp. 1522 (S.D.N.Y 1991)
Campbell v. Acuff-Rose, 510 U.S. 569 (1994)
Articles
Development of advertising regulation; the right to refuse service, constitutional protection for advertising, current deregulation trends and the Federal Trade Commission.
![[IMAGE: Federal Trade Commission]](ftc.gif)
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Valentine v. Christensen, 316 U.S. 52(1942)
Bigelow v. Virginia, 421 U.S. 809 (1975)
Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Citizens Consumer Council, 425 U.S. 748
(1976)
Warner Lambert v. Federal Trade Commission, 562 F.2d 749 (D.C. Cir. 1977)
First National Bank v. Bellotti, 435 U.S. 765 (1978)
44 Liquormart v. Rhode Island, 517 U.S. 484 (1996)
The Pepsi Jet Commercial (just for fun)
The television commercial
The lawsuit
Pentagon:
Pepsi ad 'not the real thing'
The problem: how important is it? Proposed solutions, including contempt, trial level remedies, press-bar codes, gag orders, courtroom closings, sealing of records. Access to judicial proceedings.
Cases and Laws:
Sheppard v. Maxwell, 384 U.S. 333 (1966)
Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart, 427 U.S. 539 (1976)
Richmond Newspapers v. Virginia, 448 U.S. 555 (1980)
Chandler v. Florida, 449 U.S. 560 (1981)
TCA 24-1-208. Persons Gathering Information for Publication or Broadcast - Disclosure
