Journ 1100 1st Edition Lecture 24 Outline of Last Lecture I II III IV V VI First Amendment NY Times vs Sullivan Important Concepts a Prior restraint b Sedition c Defamation d Libel e Actual malice What ethical principles apply to libel Virtual realities Code of Ethics a SPJ Code of Ethics b 9 steps with ethical decisions c St Louis news story at Kirkwood elementary Outline of Current Lecture I II III IV V VI Congresses Regulation of the Press a Schenck vs U S b 14th Amendment c Gitlow vs New York d Red Scare e Yates vs U S f Brandenberg vs Ohio Difference between Advocacy and Incitement New York Times vs Sullivan Libel Law Prior Restraint Pentagon Papers Current Lecture I Congresses Regulation of the Press Congress shall make no law Congress started regulating the press almost as soon as we became a nation These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute II III Alien Sedition Act 1798 criminalized criticism of the government Sedition crime of revolting or inciting revolt against the government Under 1 st amendment doctrine it is rare but sedition remains in U S criminal code The law died off but came back again in WWI Schenck vs U S 1919 Whether the words are used in circumstances related to creating a clear present danger that will bring substantive evils that U S congress has the right to prevent can t interfere with war th 14 Amendment extended federal protection of individual liberties to state governments state had to follow federal law Gitlow vs New York 1925 Supreme Court ruled the 1st Amendment applies to state and local laws Red Scare New sedition laws after WWII targeted suspected Communist sympathizers Yates vs U S 1957 Supreme Court raised bar ruling that speech must advocate specific violent overthrow of the government to be unconstitutional Brandenberg vs Ohio 1969 Brandenberg was a KKK leader Raised bar more saying that Advocacy of unlawful conduct is allowed Speech incited imminent lawless action is unconstitutional Difference between Advocacy and Incitement Speaking and actually doing something are two very different things New York Times vs Sullivan Civil rights libel case Supreme court applied 1st amendment to libel law for 1st time Case is a study of civil rights movement Featured a political ad not a news article Established actual malice standard with public officials Case Summary In Montgomery Alabama after students sang My Country Tis of Thee on State Capitol steps leaders were expelled from school Trucks of police with shotguns tear gas stormed Alabama State College Campus Entire student body protested to state authorities with refusal to register The dining hall was padlocked in attempt to starve students to submission Supporters of civil rights bought ad in NY Times criticizing police action in Montgomery Some inaccurate info was in the ad Lawsuit was viewed as a way to prevent coverage of civil rights movements in the south These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute IV Libel Law All libel plaintiffs must prove Defamatory statement was made Defamatory statement is false Defamatory statement is about of and concerning the plaintiff Defamatory statement was published with essential degree of fault Public officials must prove Actual malice either Defendant knew the statement was false OR defendant had serious doubts about the statement s truth Private officials must prove V VI Varies by state Minimum standard defendant was negligent or less careful than a journalist would expect For private individuals of public concern some states have a gross negligence standard State laws vary depending on who is a public official private individual of public concern or a private individual Prior Restraint Government prohibition of speech in advance of publication Pentagon Papers New York Times vs U S 1971 made it clear that prior restraint would be incredibly rare Limits on free speech began to emerge in the case law that followed These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute