A speech presented at the Galaxy Conference, December 1969, concerns the need for both constructive criticism of the press and freedom of expression for the mass media. (MF)

Unlike most of the regulatory constraints which have impact on the media, libel, slander, and invasion of privacy are common law concepts developed from the precedents of previous court decisions and from reasoning employed in the written judicial opinions of appellate courts. Since common law is thus both traditional in nature and subject to…

This document focuses on freedom of information during 1975. The first section focuses on possible threats to First Amendment freedoms during 1976. The second section focuses on the problems and threats to journalists of S.1, the Senate legislation introduced at the start of the new Congress which aims to revise American criminal law. The third…

This book provides a collection of major cases and selected reprints of important articles from leading law journals, about obscenity, censorship, rights of privacy, and other First Amendment problems. The 50 Supreme Court decisions and 17 interpretive articles examine the legal activism of the Warren and Burger courts, from the 1960s through the…

Suggests that the Campaign Act of 1971 may be in conflict with the First Amendment because restrictions and criminal penalties apply to media as well as to politicians. (TO)

Since the 1974 Supreme Court dicta in "Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.," many courts have held that statement of opinion is constitutionally protected. However, statements that appear to be opinion based on undisclosed facts or knowledge not generally known to the public can be an exception. For instance, courts have protected specific…

This report considers the feasibility of establishing a press council or councils in the United States. The purpose of this council would be to report to the public both on the accuracy of news coverage and on threats, real and potential, against the freedom of the press to fulfill its responsibility of providing information to its readers and…

This dissertation is a descriptive, comparative study of press-government relationships in the 34 nations of independent Black Africa south of the Sahara. Excluded from consideration are territories under European administration and those nations that have white minority governments. The 34 sovereign states are analyzed and systematically…

This paper examines the Arab press under Israeli occupation and presents two hypotheses: freedom of the press under occupation serves both Israeli interests and the Arab population, and freedom of the Arab press under occupation is "relative" and "controlled." By allowing freedom of expression, the Israelis achieve several…

Restricted to books on freedom of speech, this annotated bibliography offers a list of 38 references pertinent to the subject. Also included is a list of 18 ERIC documents on freedom of speech, and information on how to order them. (JC)

The objective of the Aspen Program on Communication and Society is to identify issues dealing with communication in a free society and to develop policy and actions in four areas: 1) government and media; 2) public broadcasting; 3) television and social behavior; and 4) cable television and other new technologies. In accordance with this goal, a…

The objective of this study was to contribute a quantitative aspect to the Social Responsibility Theory of the Press which will make possible explanation and prediction of relationships between key elements of society and news-opinion media. The 31 tenets of the Social Responsibility Theory were isolated and categorized. Using these tenets, an…

This selection of readings, primarily intended for a college journalism course, discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the major sources of the public news--the wire services, newspapers, and television. The first part of the book deals with the context of mass news and serves as an introduction to some of the crucial ideas shaping thinking…

This research report assesses the state of the press and the needs for journalism training in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. It is based upon discussions in these countries during 1992 and 1993 with reporters, editors, publishers, broadcasters, broadcast owners, government officials, business people, and scholars. Separate chapters provide…

Because modern terrorism threatens democratic values such as personal liberty, free expression, and the limitation of institutional authority, it raises ethical problems for journalists who are drawn into a symbiotic relationship with those who threaten or use violence against a community. Recent terrorist incidents in the United States involving…