Law/Ethics Notes

Notes on Broadcast Journalism Law/Ethics

1. What are the 5 freedoms of the 1st amendment?
-religion, speech, assembly, press, petition

2. What is the Tinker Standard?
-Tinker vs Des Moines School District(1969)
-Black armbands in 1965
-Student speech cannot be censored as long as it does not "materially disrupt class work or involve substantial disorder or invasion of the rights of others." You don't shed the first amendment rights when you come to school.

3. What is the Frasier Standard?
-Bethel School District vs Fraser (1986)
-Inappropriate speech for class president
-Because school officials have an "interest in teaching students the boundaries of socially appropriate behavior," they can censor student speech that is vulgar or indecent, even if it does not cause a "material or substantial disruption."

4. What is the Hazelwood Standard?
-Hazelwood School District vs Kuhlmeier (1988)
-Censor stories in student newspaper about teen pregnancy and divorce
-Censorship of school-sponsored student expression is permissible when school officials can show that it is "reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical(teaching)concerns."

5. What is the Frederick Standard?
-Morse vs Frederick (June 25,2007)\
-January 2002, Olympic torch travels through town.
-Principal Morse cancels school.
-Senior Frederick unveils banner on the sidewalk across street which read "Bong Hits 4 Jesus"
-Suspended for 10 days.

6. What is the definition of libel?
- Libel and slander are legal terms for false statements of facts about a person that are printed, broadcast, spoken, or otherwise communicated to others that can ruin their reputation. Libel is generally refers to visual or written statements, while slander refers to verbal statements.

-New York Times Co. vs Sullivan (1964)
-1960 New York Times ran a full page add about Martin Luther King and an Alabama tax evasion charge.