Journalism Law and Ethics Notes

Freedom of speech and press are guaranteed by the First Amendment. This freedom is not absolute.

Legal Restrictions: 1. Libel: false printed defamation of a person’s character (on purpose or by accident)  Exposes a person to hatred, hurt feelings, loss of job, loss of reputation  Photos and cartoons can be libelous

2. Slander: false spoken defamation

3. Invasion of Privacy: people have the right to a private life a)Intrusion b)False Light c)Disclosure of Embarrassing Private Facts

Protection=Good reporting and checking facts! 1. Truth (best defense against libel) 2. Attribution (giving credit) 3. Fair Comment (o.k. to criticize public performances) 4. Qualified Privilege (information came from public record, therefore you believed it to true 5. Retractions (printed apologies)

Other Factors: 1. Careless layout 2. Public Figure (people who put themselves into the public’s eye intentionally like celebrities and politicians)

School Court Cases Affecting Freedom of Speech: 1. Tinker v. Des Moines John F. Tinker (15 years old), his sister Mary Beth Tinker (13 years old, and Christopher Eckhardt (16 years old) wore black arm bands to their schools to protest Vietnam War Principals of Des Moines schools said no and suspended violating students for doing so

Tinker v. Des Moines Cont.: Went all the way to Supreme Court with help of American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Court held that in order for schools to justify censoring speech, they must prove it could substantially interfere (cause a SUBSTANTIAL DISTRUPTION) with discipline requirements and the operation of the school (not just because it is an unpopular point of view) Wearing armbands did NOT cause disruption

School Court Cases Affecting Freedom of Speech: 2. Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier High school paper, “The Spectrum” from Hazelwood East High in Missouri Wanted to print stories about teenage pregnancy and divorce Principal reviewed the paper before it was published (PRIOR REVIEW)

Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier Cont.: Principal said to pull pregnancy story because although the students in the articles had been assigned pseudonyms, it might be possible to guess their identities He said to pull the divorce story that used a real name of a student and did not give the father an opportunity to respond to his daughter’s criticism He was also concerned that it was not appropriate content for younger students

Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier Cont.: Cathy Kuhlmeier and two fellow students took school to court based on violation of freedom of speech and press Went to Supreme Court in 1988 Case determined that schools have a lower level of First Amendment protection if they are school-financed/sponsored and/or are not considered to be a public forum (not open by policy to student opinion)

Truth Yellow journalism Libel Prior review Public figure Qualified privilege Retraction Slander Defamation Invasion of privacy Substantial disruption Attribution Ethics Fair comment Plagiarism Conflict of interest Credibility Editorializing Objectivity