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Media law exam 2 Flashcards

(55 cards)

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1
Q

Protected Speech

A
  • content neutral
  • content based
  • military speech
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2
Q

Protected speech: Content neutral

A

Speech are laws that limit when, where, or how speech can take place, but not what the speech says
- time place and manner

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3
Q

Protected speech: Content based

A

Restrictions are laws that discriminate against speech based on what it says.

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4
Q

Unprotected speech

A

Incitement of violence
Libel
Obscenity
Fighting words
Commercial advertising

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5
Q

Parties in a lawsuit: Civil

A

Plaintiff - person suing
Defendant - person being sued

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6
Q

Parties in a lawsuit: Criminal

A

Prosecutor - person bringing charges against
Defendant - person being charged

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7
Q

Public versus Private people

A

“public person” is someone who actively seeks out public attention and is well-known by a large group of people, often including celebrities, politicians, or prominent business leaders.

“private person” is someone who does not actively seek the spotlight and prefers to keep their personal life out of the public eye, essentially being an ordinary citizen who maintains a low profile

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8
Q

Public Person

A
  • Someone who has voluntarily entered a public controversy in an effort to influence public opinion in order to generate a resolution of the issue
  • highly recognized by the public
  • Limited - someone who voluntary becomes involved in a public controversy - well known in topic area, even if they are not a celebrity - ex. the spokesperson for a well known charity

Involuntary - becoming a public figure without intentionally seeking the spotlight - ex. Crime victim, witness in a high profile case

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9
Q

Private persons

A

Refers who anyone who is not a public individual of some sort

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10
Q

Actual Malice

A

Publishing with the knowledge that the libelous assertion is false

Or with reckless disregard for where the material is true or false

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11
Q

Negligence

A
  • When a defendant fails to exercise reasonable care in publishing a defamatory statement
  • Defendant didn’t do everything necessary to determine if the statement was true
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12
Q

Reckless disregard for the truth

A

Publishing or stating information without any concern for whether it is accurate or not, implies conscious choice to not verify information before sharing it, potentially knowing it could be untrue

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13
Q

Libel

A
  • Written defamatory statement
  • publishing false information that harms a person’s reputation
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14
Q

Slander

A
  • Oral defamatory statement
  • the act of making a false statement that harms someone’s reputation. It’s usually spoken, but can also be written in a way that defames someone.
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15
Q

Tort

A
  • Civil wrongdoing
  • In terms of libel, it is a tort that can bring about civil lawsuits by affected parties
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16
Q

Character

A

Is what you are/who you really are

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17
Q

Reputation

A

What people think you are, libel protects only reputation of a person

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18
Q

Scienter

A

-knowledge or intent to do something wrong.
- Indicates that a person acted with the correct knowledge but published libelous statement anyway

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19
Q

Implicit identificaiton

A

boiling it down to a smaller group of people, ex. “Someone named john did this”

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20
Q

Explicit identification

A

naming someone directly, ex. “John h. smith did this”

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21
Q

Group identification

A

Refers to whether or not a statement made about a group of people can be interpreted as referring to a specific person in that group

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22
Q

Libel pe se

A

statement that is considered harmful on its face, without needed any additional context and proof to be considered libelous

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23
Q

Libel Per Qou

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A

Type of libel that requires additional evidence/context to prove defamation occurred not clear on its face

24
Q

Definitions of defamation

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A

Communication that holds a person up to contempt, hatred, ridicule or scorn and lowers the reputation of the individual defamed

Damages the reputation of a person, but not necessarily the person’s character

25
Anatomy of a libel suit (requirements for each step)
- Elements of defamation - Status of the plaintiff - Public or private, burden of proof\ - Liability standard -Malicious intent or negligence -defenses -damages
26
SLAPPs
Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation
27
SLAPPs: Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation
- Used as a weapon to silence a critic and warn other potential critics that they might suffer the same fate if they attack -Can be used to punish activism - discourage future activism - Plaintiff’s goal is to force defendant to spend time defending themselves that they stop their criticism altogether
28
Anti-SLAPPs
- Many states have passed anti-slapp laws in order to prevent - These laws allow defendants to to counter sue in order to dismiss original slapp suit
29
Evidence
- Has to be beyond a reasonable doubt - Clear and convincing - Preponderance of evidence - Prima facie (on its face)
30
Damages
What you win if you win a libel case (more later in key terms)
31
Summary judgement
- Plaintiffs make written allegation claiming defamation - Before case goes to trial, defendants can argue that the elements of libel do not exist or there is a legal defense what will block lawsuit -If the two parties cannot agree on the facts, court must side with plaintiff - If court determines that a reasonable juror could not find in favor of the plaintiff, summary judgement is issued -Judge dismisses case before going to trial
32
Prima facie
Minimum evidence required to establish a defamation/libel claim
33
Statute of limitations for libel
Refers to a law that requires that a legal action must begin within a specified period of time (usually 1-3 years for a civil case) after the legal wrong was committed
34
Statute of limitations for libel: When does statute begin?
- newspaper/broadcast - day it is published - Magazine - from the day it is most readily available to the public - Internet - from the date it is originally posted
35
Privilege (types):Absolute privilege
Protects people from being sued for defamation in certain situations - Legislators during legislative proceedings - Statements by government officials in the course of their duties -Statements made by clients and witnesses to their lawyers
36
Privilege (types):Qualified privilege
Protects people from defamation lawsuits when they make statements that would otherwise be considered defamatory - Statement made in good faith - Made without malice - Made in defense of a reputation - Made about a matter of public interest
37
Neutral reportage
New privilege/defense - permissible to publish or broadcast an accurate account of information about a public figure from a reliable source even when the reporter doubts the truth of the libelous assertion -The doctrine of neutral reportage was established on the basis that the press should not be liable for republishing allegations made by a responsible speaker about public figures providing it is done in a neutral manner and is newsworthy.
38
Neutral reportage:Four requirements
- Allegations must be newsworthy that create or are related to a public controversy - Charges must be made by a responsible and prominent source - Charges must be reported accurately and neutrally - Charges must be about a public figure
39
Opinion
subjective statement
40
Fact
objective statement that cannot be proven wrong
41
Ollman test
A defense test - Can the statement be proven true or false - What is the common meaning of the words - What is journalist context of the remark - What is the social context of the work
42
Types of defenses against a libel suit
Truth - the best defense in a libel case -privilege -Absolute - qualified Neutral reportage
43
Burden of proof in a libel suit
Plaintiff must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the statement made against them was false and defamatory, and the defendant published it with the necessary level of fault
44
“Scorn, contempt and ridicule”
Terms that describe a strong negative feeling against someone that occurs because of a libelous publication, statement of defamation
45
Trade libel
Legal claim that involved spreading false or damaging information about a business Businesses are public figures
46
Venue shopping
- Plaintiff choosing the location where they file a lawsuit based on perception it will give most favorable outcome -In terms of libel, sometimes occur based on statute of limitations in other states
47
Fair comment
- Protects right to criticize public figures and events - Questions to ask - is the comment an opinion? Can it be proven true or false? Does the statement focus on a subject of legitimate public interest? Is there a factual basis for the comment
48
Right of reply
Right for a defamed person to respond to the libelous publication. Afford the defamed person an opportunity to use the same amount of space or time as the original statement
49
Consent
If someone consents to the defamatory statement being published, they cannot later sue for defamation
50
Types of damages (that can be awarded in a libel case)
Actual - directly quantifiable financial losses a plaintiff lost from being libeled Special - meant to restore the plaintiff to the position would have been in if the defamation had not occurred Presumed - allow plaintiffs to recover damages without proving actual harm, based on the assumption that the defamatory statement harmed the plaintiff’s reputation Punitive - designed to punish defendants for their conduct Retraction - can reduces damages in a libel case, may not prevent the plaintiff from recovering all damages Defendant retracts their libelous statement
51
Type of damages in libel case: Actual
directly quantifiable financial losses a plaintiff lost from being libeled
52
Type of damages in libel case: Special
meant to restore the plaintiff to the position would have been in if the defamation had not occurred
53
Type of damages in libel case: Presumed
allow plaintiffs to recover damages without proving actual harm, based on the assumption that the defamatory statement harmed the plaintiff’s reputation
54
Type of damages in libel case: Punitive
designed to punish defendants for their conduct
55
Type of damages in libel case: Retraction
can reduces damages in a libel case, may not prevent the plaintiff from recovering all damages Defendant retracts their libelous statement

Media Law (1 decks)

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