3. Rest of Year
Today: Law II

4. Rest of Year
Today: Law II
4/10: Ethics

5. Rest of Year Today: Law II 4/10: Ethics
4/17, 4/27, 5/1: Public Relations

6. Rest of Year Today: Law II 4/10: Ethics
4/17, 4/27, 5/1: Public Relations
5/8: Final class!

7. There is no MOAT in Journalism…
Sorry David

8. Things we won’t get to Media bias Covering public meetings
Media convergence
Statistics (sob)

10. Libel

15. What is libel?

16. What is libel?
Libel: the damage to a person’s reputation caused by making the person an object of hatred, contempt or ridicule in the eyes of a substantial and respectable group
Dictionary: “Defamation by written or printed words, pictures or in any form other than by spoken words or gestures…”

17. What is libel?
Libel: the damage to a person’s reputation caused by making the person an object of hatred, contempt or ridicule in the eyes of a substantial and respectable group
Dictionary: “Defamation by written or printed words, pictures or in any form other than by spoken words or gestures…”
Spoken word defamation is “slander”

18. How do courts determine?

19. How do courts determine?
Did it damage reputation?
Was the accusation false?
Published with “actual malice”?

20. defenses

21. defenses The truth Privilege: absolute and qualified
Fair comment and criticism

22. defenses The truth Privilege: absolute and qualified
Fair comment and criticism
And consent: did they say you could print/broadcast that?

23. Print it or pull it?
Take quiz on Page 141 of Inside Reporting

24. Invasion of privacy

25. Invasion of privacy
Violating someone’s right to be left alone

26. Invasion of privacy Violating someone’s right to be left alone
Courts do recognize the right to cover newsworthy situations… so you can report on private citizens such as George Zimmerman

27. Types of invasion of privacy
Intruding into private areas to get story or video: trespassing, putting secret camera on private property, going through garbage, hacking phones/computers/facebook

28. Types of invasion of privacy
Intruding into private areas to get story or video: trespassing, putting secret camera on private property, going through garbage, hacking phones/computers/facebook
Portray someone in ‘false light’

29. Teenage rappers terrorizing downtown shoppers

30. Types of invasion of privacy
Intruding into private areas to get story or video: trespassing, putting secret camera on private property, going through garbage, hacking phones/computers/facebook
Portray someone in ‘false light’
Disclosing something about a person that while true, shows them in highly offensive manner: picking nose in public, hemorrhoids, etc.

31. Protecting your sources

32. Protecting your sources
Courts have determined in most cases you have a right to protect your confidential sources

33. Protecting your sources
Courts have determined in most cases you have a right to protect your confidential sources
Most states including Florida have “shield” laws: protects you against testifying. But Feds do not.

35. Protecting your sources
Courts have determined in most cases you have a right to protect your confidential sources
Most states including Florida have “shield” laws: protects you against testifying. But Feds do not.
However, where there is a grand jury in a criminal case you may not be able to keep sources secret

36. Access to courts
Can a judge close his/her courtroom to the media?

37. Access to courts
Can a judge close his/her courtroom to the media? Only when there is an “overriding” interest to justify it

38. Access to courts
Can a judge close his/her courtroom to the media? Only when there is an “overriding” interest to justify it
Judges may tell you to not publish names of jurors in controversial cases

41. Access to courts
Can a judge close his/her courtroom to the media? Only when there is an “overriding” interest to justify it
Judges may tell you to not publish names of jurors in controversial cases
Can you have cameras in courts?

42. Access to courts
Can a judge close his/her courtroom to the media? Only when there is an “overriding” interest to justify it
Judges may tell you to not publish names of jurors in controversial cases
Can you have cameras in courts? 47 states allow it… SCOTUS does not!

43. Copyright law

45. Copyright
Legal protection for all forms of creative expression: stories, books, images, songs, websites

47. Copyright
Legal protection for all forms of creative expression: stories, books, images, songs, websites
You get that legal protection for varying lengths of time (minimum of 70 years) and then it become “public domain”

48. Copyright
Legal protection for all forms of creative expression: stories, books, images, songs, websites
You get that legal protection for varying lengths of time (minimum of 70 years) and then it become “public domain”
You can reprint small excerpts of books or song if you’re doing a review or a story about a controversy… a sentence or two tops

49. Copyright
Legal protection for all forms of creative expression: stories, books, images, songs, websites
You get that legal protection for varying lengths of time (minimum of 70 years) and then it become “public domain”
You can reprint small excerpts of books or song if you’re doing a review or a story about a controversy… a sentence or two tops
Just don’t diminish the value of work

50. obscenity
Is there anything you can print/say that will get you in legal trouble?

51. obscenity
Is there anything you can print/say that will get you in legal trouble?
Most of the restrictions are up to the publication and the Federal Communications Commission (which regulates broadcast…but not cable)

53. obscenity
Is there anything you can print/say that will get you in legal trouble?
Most of the restrictions are up to the publication and the Federal Communications Commission (which regulates broadcast…but not cable)
What about student newspapers?

54. obscenity
Is there anything you can print/say that will get you in legal trouble?
Most of the restrictions are up to the publication and the Federal Communications Commission (which regulates broadcast…but not cable)
What about student newspapers? At private schools like LAF, administrators have basically complete control. At public schools, depends on precedent and whether it’s high school or college.

56. Assignment 4/10 Pages 329-344 “Telling the Story”
Re-read pages “Inside Reporting”

57. Assignment 4/10 Pages 329-344 “Telling the Story”
Re-read pages “Inside Reporting”
Take the ethics survey on pages of “Inside Reporting.” Will not be graded.

58. Assignment 4/10 Pages 329-344 “Telling the Story”
Re-read pages “Inside Reporting”
Take the ethics survey on pages of “Inside Reporting.” Will not be graded.
Update your blogs. Post your ABC 7 story and incorporate my edits. Add one photo and a cutline to your story. I’ll post them on my page so you can grab from there.