Arbitration cases involving journalism ethics can be grouped into three major categories: outside activities that lead to conflicts of interest, acceptance of gifts that compromise journalistic objectivity, and writing false or misleading information or failing to check facts or correct errors. In most instances, failure to adhere to ethical…

Discusses the responsibilities of publishers and freelance writers concerning the liability involved in defamatory statements. Reviews several court cases pertaining to publisher liability and claims that, if a writer is not under the immediate control or supervision of the publisher, the publisher may avoid liability. (MM)

Although the media has long been familiar with the tort law of libel and invasion of privacy, they may not be aware that the law of torts reaches more broadly. This paper examines legal developments in cases where actions of the media are alleged either to have caused the plaintiff to do something resulting in physical harm or financial loss, or…

Attempting to correct and amplify the portrayal of Stephen Crane in journalism history, this paper provides an analysis of relevant works in journalism and other disciplines in order to point out the weaknesses in the journalism historiography and to show how they apparently came about. Evidence is presented from the literature of journalism,…

Photojournalists who sometimes do freelance work should have an awareness of the legal issues relating to their work. The history of litigation involving photographers is clouded by misapplication of existing law, ambiguity in applicable law, and lack of knowledge on the part of all parties. Nonetheless, certain basic principles, if followed,…

Discusses negligence in defamation cases before the United States Supreme Court's decision in "Gertz v Robert Welch, Inc."; shows that courts have varied in what actions by reporters and editors they have considered negligent. (GT)

Questions concerning the relative protection afforded by the speech and press clauses of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, the law of libel, and protection for the editorial process are the focus of this paper. The first section summarizes arguments for First Amendment press protection, focusing on the question of whether…

Arguing that American newspaper dynasties seldom have been studied in terms of the families that founded and maintained them, this paper examines the family origins of the powerful Otis/Chandler Los Angeles "Times" dynasty. It focuses on the growing newspaper involvement of Eliza Otis (wife of Harrison Gray Otis), beginning in the…

Concludes that while mechanisms exist to enable news media defendants to file countersuits in nuisance and trivial suits, recent cases in the medical field indicate that the likelihood of success is slight. (FL)

In 1886, the New York "Tribune" ran a series of articles by Helen Campbell, "The Prisoners of Poverty," which investigated the sufferings of working women in New York's slums. Initially a fiction and housekeeping writer, Helen Campbell's home economics orientation first pointed her toward the problems of the poor. In the late…

The "Chicago School" is the communications legacy left by late nineteenth and early twentieth century Chicago sociologists and journalists. It represents a research tradition of participant-observation and urban journalism concerned with the quality of urban life, as well as a commitment to solving urban problems through civic…

This paper reviews press coverage of events surrounding the 1977 governmental decision to ban fluorocarbons in spray cans in the United States. The research reported focused on the years 1972 to 1978 and involved a count of the number of items published in selected newspapers and magazines or aired on the three major networks' evening news…

The 20 years following the "New York Times v. Sullivan" Supreme Court decision have seen an accelerating erosion of the protection necessary for the press to perform its function. The erosion has occurred in part because of unfavorable decisions of the substantive law. But in a very large measure it has also been because of uncertain and…

This paper explores three different implementations of technology in newsrooms: electronic editing, pagination, and computer-assisted reporting. Also examined are the ways in which newspapers are using newsroom technology both to gain greater control over the content and appearance of the newspaper and to gain greater control over the labor…

Reviews the scholarly work that uses content analysis to study political substance in magazines. Uses a modified version of Laswell's communication model to classify the current literature. Discusses problematic issues and offers possible solutions. (SR)