This issue of "Journalism Monographs" deals specifically with the state of newspaper journalism in Sri Lanka, formerly the Dominion of Ceylon. The country's literacy rate is about 81 percent. The first section of this article is a general discussion of newspaper journalism in Sri Lanka, examining historical background and such press…

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…

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…

Through a case study of Minnesota daily newspaper editorials, this paper examines the extent to which one state's newspapers championed the freedoms of speech and press during the national crisis of World War I. The historical relationship of the press and First Amendment defense is briefly reviewed. Guided by the question "How did the…

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

In theory, the Chinese Communist press is required to engage in criticism of other institutions and of Party or government bureaucrats through its news coverage and self-criticism of its own mistakes in response to criticism from readers. In practice, Party control of the press prevents any effective criticism or self-criticism. Basically, the…

The career of James Franklin, Benjamin Franklin's older brother, provides a case study in the use of polemics for a free press. A printer who actively courted controversy, Franklin found it necessary to use an unusual variety of strategies and justifications to evade or overcome potential legal, religious, and economic restraints. He demonstrated…

The Twentieth Century Fund is currently suggesting a National News Council (tentatively scheduled to be in operation by the end of 1973), which would be independent of both the government and the craft of journalism and would report to the public both on the accuracy of news coverage and on the threat, real and potential, against freedom of the…

The Scopes trial of 1925 drew many reporters to Dayton, Tennessee, to report on what they expected would be the final blow to ignorant fundamentalism. They came with many preconceived notions about Dayton, the people of Dayton, William Jennings Bryan, and creationism. Close examination of pretrial, trial, and posttrial coverage in eight…

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,…

Presents a brief overview of both the common law and constitutional privileges protecting the expression of opinion. Notes that, although the case of "Ollman v. Evans" provides a four-factor test to make the fact-opinion distinction, ambiguity is still evident in many cases. (MM)

Provides research and background materials on current cases and issues involving student editors, student media, and campus press freedom. (Editor)