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…

While the typical pantheon of journalism history heroes is made up almost entirely of individuals who campaigned for more governmental regulation and increased social liberalism, there is also an opposing tradition in American journalism, one based on the premise that governmental cures are in most cases worse than the diseases they are designed…

Conference proceedings on the Native American Press in Wisconsin and the Nation present speeches and presentations pertaining to current American Indian publications and examples of analysis and synthesis created by Indian scholars. Topics of speeches presented include: an interpretive framework for Native American discourse; the early years of…

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 absolutist approach to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution--argued for many years by Supreme Court Justices Hugo L. Black and William O. Douglas--is regarded as the most libertarian interpretation by most mass communication law students. However, the two justices found agreement difficult in some First Amendment cases,…

Argues that the advertising industry's influence on the press is primarily indirect and that journalism educators should divert student attention from the negative aspects of advertising's role in the press. (RL)

Based on the criticism made by the Philadelphia newspaper "North American," this paper examines the passage of the anti-cartoon bill by the Pennsylvania legislature in 1903. The paper notes that the law served not to silence political criticism but to motivate vehement attacks by newspapers throughout the country on the law, on Samuel…

Since "New York Times Co. versus Sullivan," the amount of money spent on libel suits brought against the media, and the amount of money awarded to litigants, has skyrocketed. Most people who file such suits against the media are not seeking monetary damages, but only vindication for damage to their name and reputation. However, they may…

The legal problems faced by publishers of alternative newspapers are often compounded by the limited availability of the funds they have either for legal defense or for initiating lawsuits. Although both the courts and journalism's professional associations theoretically support the position that the alternative press possesses rights identical to…

A journalism faculty member at Baylor University (Waco, Texas), who later resigned in protest of the administration's actions against the student newspaper editors, tells how the controversy started. (RL)

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…

Intended to summarize the ideals underlying the struggle for freedom of the press and to reinforce the basic Constitutional principles upon which the United States functions, this collection of quotations reflects the beliefs of prominent people throughout history who have championed press freedom, as well as the ideas of some who have opposed it.…

Prepared by members of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Committee of the Associated Press Managing Editors (AMPE), this collection of articles deals with a variety of issues concerning freedom of the press. Following a list of members of the committee, the major articles in the collection are: (1) "Massive Libel Suits Threaten Freedom of All…

Highlights the development of objective news reporting in commercial newspapers and the rise of journalism as a profession, legitimating its major institutional role as the self-announced protector of the public good. (JMF)

The press and public should have access to pretrial discovery documents in civil litigation when matters of public concern are at issue. Recently, the Supreme Court expanded the public's First Amendment right of access to criminal proceedings, and based on that, some lower courts have granted access to civil trials. In its decisions establishing…