Communication Law in America / Edition 4
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ISBN-10:
1442226226
ISBN-13:
9781442226227
Pub. Date:
03/16/2014
Publisher:
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Communication Law in America / Edition 4

Communication Law in America / Edition 4

by Paul SiegelPaul Siegel

Overview

Communication Law in America is a comprehensive, easy-to-follow overview of the complicated ways in which U.S. law determines who may say what to (and about) whom. It covers the usual content- libel, invasion of privacy, copyright and trademark, access to government information, advertising, electronic media- all the while giving readers a sense of how and why this country has come to weigh freedom of speech above competing freedoms far more often than in other Western democracies.

This fourth edition of the well-received text boasts over 300 new citations, including discussion of a dozen U. S. Supreme Court decisions handed down since the previous edition.
The nearly 200 still photos and over 80 videos on the author-maintained website - generally not images of litigants but of the actual artifacts (TV and movie scenes, advertisements, news reports) that led to the law suits- have always represented dramatic added value to students and professors alike. The new edition includes 35 new visual elements, including 20 videos.

The text also offers a new section on how the First Amendment applies to special populations, including students, government employees in general, and the military in particular.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781442226227
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date: 03/16/2014
Edition description: Fourth Edition
Pages: 540
Product dimensions: 8.80(w) x 11.10(h) x 2.30(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Paul Siegel is professor of communication at the University of Hartford. He has been teaching course work in media law for over 30 years—at American University, Catholic University, Gallaudet University, George Mason University, Illinois State University, Keene State College, Tulane University, the University of Connecticut, the University of Missouri, and the University of North Carolina. He has also published dozens of book chapters and law review and communication journal articles on various subjects related to communication law. Siegel was the founding executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas and Western Missouri.

Table of Contents

Preface 1 Introducing the American Legal System An Overview of the American Judiciary A Three-Tiered Hierarchy The Scope of a Precedent The Current U.S. Supreme Court Going to Court: Civil or Criminal The Appeals Process Decisions and Opinions Legal Citations- How to Find the Cases Sources of Communication Law Constitutions The First Amendment Other Sources of Communication Law in the Federal Constitution State Constitutions and Communication Law Statutes Executive Orders Administrative Agency Decisions Common Law and the Law of Equity Chapter Summary 2 The Development of Freedom of Speech Speech as the American Freedom? Freedom of Speech from the Colonial Period through World War I Freedom of Speech Doctrine Emerges The Early 20th Century Cases The Brandenburg Test: Imminent Lawless Action After 9/11 Theories of First Amendment Adjudication Free Speech as the Absence of Prior Restraint? First Amendment Absolutism Access Theory Balancing Theories The Value of Freedom of Expression Truth-Seeking Self-Governing Checking on Government Abuse Letting Off Steam Self-Fulfillment Is Freedom of Expression Overrated? Some Transcendent First Amendment Doctrines A Right to Hear (and Read) A Right not to Speak Symbolic Conduct Time, Place and Manner Restrictions Public Forum Analysis Quintessential Public Forums Limited Public Forums Nonpublic Forums Regulating the Business of Communication Antitrust Laws Taxation Workplace Law Communication Law in Special Settings Students Government Employees Soldiers Chapter Summary 3 Defamation: Common Law Elements Elements of a Libel Suit Defamation Libel Per Se, Libel Per Quod, and Implied Libel Who Has to Believe? What Does It All Mean? Headlines and Captions Defaming People, Corporations, and Products How Much Does It Hurt? Publication Identification Naming and Identifying Identification in Fiction The Numbers Game Fault Some Common Law and Statutory Defenses to Libel Chapter Summary 4 Defamation: First Amendment Limitations Introducing New York Times v. Sullivan The Birth of the Actual Malice Rule Applying the Rule Libel and Sedition Two Famous Metaphors Some Unanswered Questions from Sullivan Who is a "Public Official?" What is "Official Conduct?" Who Else Should Be Required to Prove Actual Malice? What Are Sullivan's Implications for the Truth Defense? A Legal or Factual Question? What Journalistic Excesses Constitute Actual Malice? Is There Such a Thing as a Defamatory Opinion? Can Libel Plaintiffs Sue for Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress? Is a Reporter's "State of Mind" Relevant? In what other ways has the Court "Fine Tuned" the Actual Malice Rule? Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.: The Other Landmark Libel Decision A Reaffirmation of the "Who Is the Plaintiff?" Question Two Kinds of Public Figures The Fault Element and Private Plaintiffs Punitive or Presumed Damages and Actual Malice Proof of Damages Chapter Summary 5 Invasion of Privacy A Tale of Two Law Review Articles Misappropriation Two Actions or One? What is a Likeness? Look-Alikes and Sound-Alikes The Political Figures Exception Newsworthiness The Booth Rule Consent Intrusion Ride-Along Intrusions Intrusions and Fraud Wiretapping False Light The Hill family Distortion Fictionalization Public Disclosure Publicly Disclosing Information Previously Private Information Highly Offensive Revelations A Defense Swallowing the Tort? The Supreme Court and Public Disclosure Chapter Summary 6 Copyright and Trademark The Law of Copyright Scope ...

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