Week 13: Audiences
(continued) / Law and Policy
- Wikipedia, Freedom of Speech, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech
- Wikipedia, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
- Wikipedia, Defamation, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defamation
What are different justifications for the idea of freedom of speech? What is the difference between a negative and a positive theory of rights? How was the free speech clause of the First Amendment interpreted for the first century of its existence? What changed in the twentieth century? What is the government action doctrine? What are exceptions to free speech under current law? What is libel law? How is it differently applied to public and non-public figures? Why is "absence of malice" important in some libel cases? Why are broadcasters treated differently than newspapers in the U.S?
- Schudson, Ch. 11, "Law, Democracy, News," pp. 197-212.
How well does Schudson think freedom of the press is protected in the US compared to other countries? What is a right-of-reply statute? What did the US Supreme Court say about such statutes in Miami Herald vs. Tornillo? In what ways does the US have a free press, and in what ways, according to some critics, could it be more free?