Presents an annotated bibliography of 19 items from ERIC identifying troublesome paradoxes regarding the media and freedom of expression. Items are categorized by issues identified as relevant to radio and television, commercial advertising, and the press. (JMF)

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…

Examines the media's response to Utah Congressional Representative Allan T. Howe's arrest for the misdemeanor charge of soliciting. (KS)

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

Discusses two decisions of the United States Supreme Court that elevated the public's First Amendment rights over those of the press: Red Lion Broadcasting v FCC (1969) and Miami Herald v Tornillo (1974). (AEA)

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…

Article evaluated the merits and faults of the news media and attempted to illustrate the ominously growing conflict between American society and its communication media. (Author/RK)

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,…

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…

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)

The following 12 papers, on a variety of topics, were given at the 1990 meeting of the American Journalism Historians' Association: (1) "'Let Jim Handle It': President Dwight D. Eisenhower's First Heart Attack and Jim Hagerty's Handling of the Media" (Joseph V. Trahan, III); (2) "Eisenhower's Pyrrhic Victory in 1956: Mixed Lessons…

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…

Established in the early 1970s to respond to complaints about and from the media, the four press councils in Canada (the Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and Windsor Press Councils) have been accepted, but not overwhelmingly so by either newspapers or the public. The success and acceptability of the councils seems to be related to the kinds of complaints…

In the United States Supreme Court's only decision on the question of journalists' protecting their confidential sources (the "Branzburg trilogy" of cases decided in 1972), Justice Lewis Powell emphasized the importance of "striking a proper balance between freedom of the press and the obligation of all citizens to give relevant…