Staggered by some recent libel verdicts, many journalists are neglecting lessons about press freedom learned at great cost during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Journalists then learned that state power over the press, residing in the hands of either censors or judges, leads to a decrease in press freedom. In 1986, though, many media…

A descriptive study based on Egyptian law, printed sources, and interviews clarifies our picture of the Egyptian Press by examining its status as a constitutionally mandated "Fourth Estate." The constitutional amendment, the resultant Egyptian Press Law, and the "Law Of Shame" (all passed in 1980), are designed to create a…

Notes that, when in 1956-58, the government of Taiwan relaxed its press controls, it experienced results similar to those on mainland China. (FL)

Since, in most cases, sequestration is no longer an option for judges to insure an impartial jury, judicial restraints or suppression orders directed at trial participants have become increasingly attractive. The problem is that the press has a desire to disseminate information about the judicial process to the public. Silence orders prohibiting…

Although libel has remained the major legal problem of the press for 40 years, little empirical research has been conducted concerning its impact. Various methods for conducting this type of needed research include traditional legal research, surveys of practitioners, and surveys of persons outside the media who are directly affected by mass…

The constitutionality of punitive damage awards in media defamation litigation was examined through a review of federal and state libel case law since the 1964 Supreme Court decision in "New York Times v. Sullivan." Using the opinions of various courts and justices and studies of libel litigation, a number of areas bearing on the issue…

In the "United States v. the 'Progressive'," the United States government took a small left-wing magazine to court to prevent publication of an article on how a hydrogen bomb works. Amidst great controversy over what the article described and what data were secret and what were not, a federal judge granted an injunction against the…

The purpose of this paper is: (1) to present and analyze the most important laws, along with the most prominent court cases, that affected free expression and the press in post-junta Greece (1974-1977), and (2) to describe the media system of Greece for the same period in order to offer a better perspective on the Greek press in those crucial…

Recounts the controversy at Baylor University (Waco, Texas) between the school administration and three school newspaper editors who were forced to resign. (RL)

A brief account of the controversy at Baylor University (Waco, Texas) that led to the forced resignation and revocation of scholarships of student newspaper staff members. (RL)

The repercussions of a controversy between the administration and student newspaper staff at Baylor University (Waco, Texas) included the loss of scholarships. (RL)

Criticisms of the one-way flow of international information were first voiced in the 1940s, when, in the name of free flow of information and worldwide access to news, the United States launched an offensive to dismantle European news cartels. At a UNESCO conference in 1945, the United States was chiefly responsible for making the free flow of…

Since 1939, legal recognition of the public forum concept has been gradually extended to include the public schools. This expansion of the free speech right has been accompanied by a movement of similar intensity aimed at narrowing the scope of regulatory action that might inhibit First Amendment freedoms. Ultimately, recognition of the public…

Freedom of the press and the extent of constraints upon that freedom are examined. Some recent Supreme Court rulings are discussed. (RM)

The 11 articles in this collection deal with theoretical and practical freedom of speech issues. The topics covered are (1) the United States Supreme Court and communication theory; (2) truth, knowledge, and a democratic respect for diversity; (3) denial of freedom of speech in Jock Yablonski's campaign for the presidency of the United Mine…