Media Law Fall 2011
Media Law
Jack M. Balkin and Adam S. Cohen
The casebook for the course will be Franklin, Anderson and Lidsky, Mass Media Law: Cases and Materials (8th ed. 2011). Additional materials will be available online.
1. Defamation (9/12/2011)
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Notes on defamation, pp. 166-76, 182-84
- New York Times v. Sullivan and Notes, pp. 184-202
- Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. and Notes, pp. 202-215
- Note on Public and Private Figures, pp. 215-225
- Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. v. Hepps and Notes, pp. 225-230
- Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co. and Notes, pp. 230-234
- Cases and Notes on Neutral Reportage, pp. 243-245, 247-258
- Notes on retraction, overseas liability, and other issues, pp. 258-262
Additional reading (optional)
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Elena Kagan, “A Libel Story Then and Now,” 18 Law and Soc. Inquiry 197 (1993)
2. Privacy (9/19/2011)
A. Privacy and freedom of expression
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Notes on the tort of disclosure, pp. 263-275
- Notes on Constitutional Limitations, pp. 275-278
- Florida Star v. B.J.F. and Notes, pp. 278-289
- Cases and Notes on false light, pp. 289-298
- Notes on appropriation of name or likeness, pp. 299-311
- Note on Data Protection Statutes, pp. 311-312
B. Unmaking online speakers
C. Online self-revelation
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The Ladettes Who Glorify Their Shameful Drunken Antics on Facebook, The Daily Mail, November 5, 2007
- David Colker, Facebook Photos Could Be Hazardous to Your Health Benefits, Los Angeles Times, Nov. 24, 2009
- Jeffrey Rosen, The Web Means the End of Forgetting, New York Times, July 21, 2010
- WikiHow, How to Delete Yourself From the Internet
- Electronic Frontier Foundation, Data on the Wire (Section on TMI on the Web)
- Random House Editor Jason Pinter Gets Dooced, Gawker.com, March 6, 2007
3. Communications torts (9/26/2011)
A. Infliction of Emotional Distress
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Hustler v. Falwell and Notes, pp 313-326
- Conradt v. NBC Universal (S.D.N.Y. 2008)
B. Economic Harm
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Cohen v. Cowles Media Co. and Notes, pp. 326-333
C. Incitement and Aiding and Abetting
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Herceg v. Hustler Magazine and Notes, pp. 333-345
- Rice v. Paladin Enterprises and Notes, pp. 345-354
- Braun v. Soldier of Fortune Magazine and Notes, pp. 354-364
D. Indirect Burdens: Financial Disincentives and Taxation
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Simon & Schuster, Inc. v. New York State Crime Victims Board, pp. 84-90
- Leathers v. Medlock, pp. 91-97
4. Prior Restraints and National Security (10/03/2011)
A. Prior Restraint
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Notes and Near v. Minnesota, pp. 26-36.
- New York Times v. United States (Pentagon Papers) and Notes, pp. 36-41
- Nebraska Press Association v. Stewart and Notes, pp. 41-40
- Note on Gag Orders, pp. 50-53
- Note on Prior Restraints and the Internet, pp. 53-58
- Note on Contempt Sanctions, pp 63-64
- Mills v. Alabama and Notes, pp. 65-69
- Landmark Communications, Inc., v. Virginia, pp. 69-72
- Smith v. Daily Mail Publishing Co., pp. 73-77
B. Wikileaks
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Bank Julius Baer & Co. v. Wikileaks, pp. 58-62
- Yochai Benkler, A Free Irresponsible Press
- Glenn Greenwald, The War on Wikileaks and Why it Matters, Salon, March 27, 2010
- Glenn Greenwald, The Wikileaks Afghanistan Leak, Salon, July 25, 2010
- Raffi Khatchadourian, No Secrets: Julian Assange’s Mission for Total Transparency, The New Yorker, June 7, 2010
- L. Gordon Crovitz, Julian Asange, Information Anarchist, Wall Street Journal, Dec. 6, 2010
- David Samuels, The Shameful Attacks on Julian Assange, The Atlantic, Dec. 3, 2010
- Controversial Holocaust Historian David Irving Emails, Nov. 2009, Wikileaks site
- Kim Zetter, Hackers Post Private E-Mails of Accused Holocaust Denier, Wired, Nov. 14, 2009
- Ryan Calo, Wikileaks: Lessons for Consumer Privacy, Stanford Center for Internet and Society, Nov. 29, 2010
5. Broadcast and Cable Regulation (10/17/2011)
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Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo and Notes, pp. 78-84
- Red Lion Broadcasting v. FCC and Notes, pp. 110-116
- Notes on Equal Time and Equal Opportunities, pp. 116-118
- CBS, Inc. v. FCC and Notes, pp. 118-122
- Notes on Ownership Regulations, pp. 122-125
- Turner Broadcasting v. FCC and Notes, pp. 142-151
- Comcast Corporation v. FCC and Notes, pp. 157-164
- Balkin, Media Access: A Question of Design, 76 George Washington L. Rev. 933 (2008)
6. Content Regulation in Broadcast Media and the Internet (10/24/2011)
A. Indecency
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Notes and FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, pp. 125-134
- Action for Children’s Television v. FCC (ACT III)
- United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group and Notes, pp. 135-142
- Reno v. ACLU and Notes, pp. 151-157
- FCC v. Fox (2d Circuit, July 13, 2010)
B. Violence
7. The Legal Regulation of Newsgathering (10/31/2011)
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Shulman v. Group W. Production and Notes, pp. 393-399
- Sanders v. American Broadcasting Companies and Notes, pp. 399-407
- Note on Trespass, pp. 407-410
- Berger v. Hanlon and Notes, pp. 410-413
- Note on Wiretapping and Eavesdropping, pp. 413-416
- Bartnicki v. Vopper and Notes, pp. 416-426
- Taus v. Loftus and Notes, pp. 426-436
- Food Lion v. Capital Cities/ABC and Notes, pp. 436-443
- Notes on Negligence and Damages, pp. 443-450
8. Press Privileges (11/07/2011)
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Notes and Branzburg v. Hayes, pp. 451-465
- Notes on the Reporter’s Privilege, pp. 465-472
- O’Grady v. Superior Court and Notes, pp. 472-479
- Too Much Media LLC v. Hale
- Note on Applying the Privilege in Leaks Cases, pp. 479-487
- Note on Applying the Privilege to Non-Confidential Information, pp. 487-488
- Gonzales v. National Broadcasting Company and Notes, pp. 488-494
- Notes on Search Warrants, pp. 494-500
9. Access to Judicial Proceedings (11/14/2011)
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Notes and Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia, pp. 572-585
- Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court (II) and Notes, pp. 585-596
- Note on Civil Trials, pp. 596-599
- Note on Juvenile Proceedings, pp. 599-602
- Note on Courtroom Photography and Broadcasting, pp. 602-606
- Hollingsworth v. Perry, (U.S. S.Ct., January 13, 2010)
- Note on Access to Jurors and Witnesses, pp. 606-611
- Note on Access to Judicial Records and Discovery Materials, pp. 611-614
- Seattle Times Co. v. Rhinehart and Notes, pp. 614-628
10. Access to Government Information (11/28/2011)
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Note on FOIA, pp. 501-503
- National Archives and Records Administration v. Favish and Notes, pp. 504-509
- Notes on FOIA, pp. 509-515
- Note on Information and National Security After 9/11, pp. 515-519
- Note on Open Goverment Initiatives, pp. 519-527
- Notes and Houchins v. KQED, pp. 527-538
- Gilk v. Cunniffe (1st Cir., August 26, 2011)
- Cases and Notes on Access to Military Operations, pp. 538-549
- City of Oak Creek v. Ah King and Notes, pp. 549-555
- Cases and Notes on Discriminatory Access, pp. 555-566
- Doe v. Reed and Notes, pp. 567-571
11. Intellectual Property and Intermediary Liability on the Internet (12/05/2011)
A. Fair Use
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Cases and Notes on Copyright, pp. 365-380, 382-389
- Ian Shapira, The Death of Journalism (Gawker Edition), The Washington Post, August 2, 2009
- Gawker and The Washington Post: A Case Study in Fair Use, Neiman Journalism Lab, August 1, 2009
- Ringgold v. Black Entertainment Television, Inc., 126 F.3rd 70 (2nd Cir. 1997)
B. Misappropriation
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Cases and Notes, pp. 380-382
- Shyamkrishna Balganesh, “Hot News”: The Enduring Myth of Property in News
C. Section 230
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Notes and Zeran v. America Online, pp. 235-243
- Balkin, The Future of Free Expression in a Digital Age, 36 Pepperdine L. Rev. 707 (2009)
- Wikipedia, The Sigenthaler Controvery
D. Intermediary liability for copyright infringement
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Viacom v. YouTube (S.D.N.Y., June 23, 2010)
- DMCA Section 512
- Chilling Effects discussion of DMCA Section 512
12. The Future of News and New Business Models for Journalism, Part One (12/12/2011)
A. The Changing Business Climate
- Pew Research Center, Newspapers Face A Challenging Calculus
- Ken Doctor, The Newsonomics of the Next Recession, Nieman Journalism Lab, Aug. 11, 2011
- Eric Alterman, The Death and Life of the American Newspaper, The New Yorker, March 31, 2008
- Jeff Jarvis, Hard Economic Lessons for News, Buzz Machine, April 25, 2011
- Roy Greenslade, Journalists as Entrepreneurs? That’s Fine, but not if they Have to Sell Advertising, the Guardian, Oct. 20, 2010
B. Problems for the Democratic Function of the Press
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Jay Rosen, Audience Atomization Overcome: Why the Internet Weakens the Authority of the Press
- Leonard Downie, Jr., and Michael Schudson, The Reconstruction of American Journalism
- Ed Baker, The Future of News, Part One and Part Two
- John Nichols and Robert W. McChesney, The Life and Death of Great American Newspapers
- Paul Starr, Goodbye to the Age of Newspapers (Hello to a New Era of Corruption) [print version]
- Yochai Benkler, A New Era of Corruption?
- FCC, The Information Needs of Communities, Executive Summary
13. The Future of News and New Business Models for Journalism, Part Two (12/14/2011)
C. Proposals for Reform
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Geoffrey Cowan and David Westphal, Public Policy and Funding the News
- David Swensen and Michael Schmidt, News You Can Endow
- Ackerman and Ayres, A National Endowment for Journalism
- Steve Brill, Turning Around the Times– And Journalism
- FTC Staff Discussion Draft, Potential Policy Recommendations to Support the Reinvention of Journalism
- Poynter Institute, 5 Ways to Monetize the Future of News Media
D. Behavioral Advertising as a Business Model
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Center for Democracy and Technology, CDTs Guide to Behavioral Advertising (2009)
- Ken Doctor, The Newsonomics of Do Not Track
- Electronic Frontier Foundation, Google Begins Behavioral Targeting Ad Program, March 11, 2009
- Miguel Helft and Tanzina Vega, Retargeting Ads Follow Surfers to Other Sites, The New York Times, Aug. 29, 2010
- Your Apps Are Watching You, Wall Street Journal, Dec. 17, 2010
- Joel Rosenblatt, Apple Sued Over Applications Giving Information to Advertisers
- Declan McCullagh, Web Monitoring for Ads? It May Be Illegal
- In the Matter of Google, Inc. and DoubleClick, Inc., Before the Federal Trade Commission, April 20, 2007
- Genevive La Court v. Specific Media, Inc. (Complaint)