Disclosure of information to the investing public is a primary purpose of federal regulation of the securities industry and one of the primary duties and responsibilities of financial public relations practitioners. Disclosure requirements are numerous, with most mandating publicly held corporations to disclose information. Some requirements,…

Historians of journalism cite John Milton's speech "Areopagitica" as the first major English-language document to articulate the ideas of free speech and freedom of the press. Milton's reputation as spokesman for freedom to publish is sullied, however, by his having served as Cromwell's press licenser. Historians of journalism have…

The Lincoln-Douglas debates were significant in the history of political journalism in that new ground was broken by reporters traveling extensively with candidates, making extensive use of shorthand to record campaign speeches, and fighting for the press rights to cover the events. Also, the press coverage preserved the candidates' debates on the…

The objective of the research reported in this speech was to investigate the extent to which alternatives to tenure will withstand legal scrutiny and the degree to which higher education, through the alternative configurations, and the courts, through legal interpretations, are modifying traditional tenure. Tenure principles of the profession are…

Noting that United States Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas has often been characterized as an "absolutist" in terms of First Amendment policy, this paper argues that, in fact, Douglas's policy positions provided for less than absolute freedom to communicate. The paper then reveals, through an anlaysis of 18 of Douglas's opinions,…

This monograph traces the themes in various court decisions that reflect a growing respect for the broadcast industry as a mature communication medium which, despite federal regulation, deserves a fuller measure of the First Amendment protection enjoyed by other media. The review begins with the first government involvement in broadcast content in…

In its 1942 ruling in the "Valentine vs. Christensen" case, the Supreme Court established the doctrine that commercial speech is not protected by the First Amendment. In 1975, in the "Bigelow vs. Virginia" case, the Supreme Court took a decisive step toward abrogating that doctrine, by ruling that advertising is not stripped of…

This paper briefly describes the history of the Golden Fleece Award given monthly by Senator William Proxmire for "the biggest waste of taxpayers' money" in the form of grants for research. It particularly focuses on the case brought by Dr. R. R. Hutchinson who was the recipient of the Golden Fleece Award for his research on the…

The quiet, but determined, censorship crisis in Virginia is a good example of the attitudes that produce censorship protests and of the damage that can be done. Although the criticisms have been sincere, they are based on total misinterpretations of the works involved. As may be seen from the excerpts taken from five books under fire, the…

This issue of "Free Speech" contains the following articles: "Daniel Schoor Relieved of Reporting Duties" by Laurence Stern, "The Sellout at CBS" by Michael Harrington, "Defending Dan Schorr" by Tome Wicker, "Speech to the Washington Press Club, February 25, 1976" by Daniel Schorr, "Funds…

A student teacher has very limited authority in the classroom and his/her position with regard to the law remains obscure. Very few statutes concerning student teachers' legal status exist, and there are even fewer court cases involving student teachers. (Specific statutes and cases are cited.) There are, however, numerous legal problems that both…

The "inevitable and ubiquitous nature of censorship" forces teachers of literature to accept seven responsibilities: (1) to know literature of all types and all periods extremely well and to know what constitutes literary merit and adolescent appeal in any work; (2) to understand the implications of arguments for and against censorship; (3) to…

The hypothesis that lessons which demand student involvement through leading a short discussion of required reading would result in greater attitude change in a liberal direction than would lessons taught by the lecture/discussion method was tested. Using members of four sections of a university course in communication, three sections received…

The experience of New York University after the Cambodia-Kent crisis of May 1970 when court action nullified faculty decisions on the taking of exams, and the continuation of classes is indicative of the intrusive constraints derived from external forces on effective faculty self-government. This paper discusses: (1) the natural and intrinsic…

This paper presents the results of a preliminary investigation of the relationship between censorship and attitude change. The author initially discusses reactance theory which holds that when a person's freedom to perform a particular behavior is threatened or eliminated, he experiences a motivational state directed toward safeguarding or…