Deck 14: Media Law: Understanding Freedom of Expression

Question 1

Burning or defacing the American flag is

A) protected free speech
B) illegal in the U.S.
C) illegal in some states, but not all
D) illegal on government property

Answer 1

protected free speech

Question 2

Seditious libel

A) made true criticism of government leaders illegal
B) made untrue criticism of government leaders illegal
C) made any criticism of government leaders illegal
D) made all criticism of government leaders legal

Answer 2

made any criticism of government leaders illegal

Question 3

Which of these rights is NOT included in the First Amendment?

A) freedom of speech
B) the right to privacy
C) freedom of religion
D) the right to peaceably assemble

Answer 3

the right to privacy

Question 4

The Alien and Sedition Act

A) made it illegal to criticize the government
B) made Communism illegal
C) was aimed at immigrants
D) all of these

Question 5

Sex education was banned by the

A) Alien and Sedition Act
B) Comstock Act
C) Smith Act
D) Seditious Libel Act

Question 6

Muckrakers influenced the passage of laws which

A) limited big business monopolies
B) broke up early movie studios
C) restricted what the media could advertise
D) all of these

Question 7

The Clear and Present Danger Doctrine

A) established the Federal Trade Commission
B) stated that expression should be punished only when words are used to create a hazardous situation
C) ended deregulation
D) all of the above

Question 8

Electronic media (e.g. radio) is more regulated than print media because

A) the public owns the airwaves
B) there are not enough frequencies for everyone
C) both because the public owns the airwaves and because there aren't enough frequencies for everyone
D) none of these

Question 9

The Fairness Doctrine

A) is the same as the Equal Opportunity Rule
B) is no longer in effect
C) made restrictions on the print media
D) all of these

Question 10

Deregulation in the 1990s

A) removed restrictions on communications industries
B) affected obscenity laws
C) increased fines
D) affected advertising revenue

Question 11

When Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart said, "I can't define it, but I know it when I see it," he was referring to

A) rock and roll
B) prior restraint
C) obscenity
D) plagiarism

Question 12

The Communications Decency Act of 1996 was found unconstitutional because the Supreme Court ruled the Internet

A) deserved more protection than print media
B) deserved more protection than electronic media
C) deserved the same protection as print media
D) deserved the same protection as electronic media

Question 13

Developing and purposely transmitting a computer virus is

A) unethical, but not illegal
B) a type of hacking
C) classified as computer espionage
D) none of these

Question 14

The "balancing act" in today's media law includes

A) the rights of the individual vs. the public's right to know
B) the rights of a business to make money vs. people's rights to use media
C) the rights of the individual vs. the public's right to know and the rights of a business to make money vs. people's rights to use media
D) none of these

Question 15

The USA PATRIOT Act allows the government to

A) see what books people are checking out of libraries
B) access people's private communications without notification
C) see what books people are buying in book stores
D) all of these

Question 16

Appropriation law states that

A) individuals own the right to their own image and name
B) false communication that injures the reputation of an individual is illegal
C) broadcasters must provide airtime for discussion of important issues
D) it is not appropriate to ask hard questions on mass communication exams

Question 17

Broadcast defamation is classified as

A) libel
B) slander
C) privilege
D) truth

Question 18

Public figures must prove ___ to win a libel suit against a media practitioner

A) falsehood
B) actual malice
C) implication
D) defamation

Question 19

A satirical skit on Saturday Night Live showing the president committing a murder

A) is legal because comedy is protected as fair comment
B) is illegal because it's slander
C) is legal because it's an opinion, not a fact
D) is illegal because it's libel

Question 20

Fair use allows

A) copying of a work for noncommercial use
B) copying of a work for commercial use
C) copying of a work for both commercial and noncommercial use
D) none of these

Question 21

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act passed in 1998

A) makes it a crime to break through a technology intended to secure digital copies
B) requires Internet Service Providers to remove copyrighted material if they are aware of it
C) both of these
D) neither of these

Question 22

Copyright law states that for works created after 1978, the term of protection is

A) life of the author plus 95 years
B) life of the author plus 70 years
C) 70 years, no matter how long the author lives
D) 95 years, no matter how long the author lives

Question 23

The Paris Hilton sex video involved legal areas of

A) privacy law
B) libel law
C) copyright law
D) all of these

Question 24

Which of the following is true?

A) Political speech is the most protected form of free speech.
B) Artistic speech is the most protected form of free speech.
C) Commercial speech is the most protected form of free speech.
D) All type of communication have the same free speech protection.

Question 25

Continuance is when

A) members of the jury are isolated
B) the court orders the press not to report on a trial
C) a trial is moved to another location
D) a trial is postponed until publicity dies down

Question 26

A 2005 survey showed that 10 percent of U.S. high school students say the press ought to be more restricted.

Question 27

The Espionage Act allowed the government to censor newspapers with commentary that might hurt the war effort.

Question 28

The Fairness Doctrine currently requires broadcasters to provide airtime for the discussion of important public issues.

Question 29

The Supreme Court ruled that Dr. Sam Sheppard's trial was tainted by excessive press attention.

Question 30

In the Pentagon Papers case, the U.S. Government tried to stop the publication of material in the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Question 31

It is illegal for the German media to write about Nazism.

Question 32

Most countries guarantee freedom of the press as the United States does.

Question 33

State law can often override the U.S. Constitution.

Question 34

Private fact laws are designed to protect an individual's personal information that is not essential to a news story.

Question 35

Truth is a defense against a charge of libel in most cases.

Question 36

The Times rule gives news media greater latitude in criticizing public figures than in criticizing private citizens.

Question 37

Reporters can knowingly repeat a falsehood as long as they are quoting someone else.

Question 38

The three types of intellectual property are trademarks, patents, and creative works.

Question 39

College bookstores are allowed to buy back and resell used textbooks without paying royalties under the first-sale doctrine.

Question 40

A work needs to carry the copyright sign (© ) to be protected by copyright.

Question 41

The right given to a manufacturer to make an invention for a number of years is known as a trademark.

Question 42

A federal law requires federal agencies to provide documents to the news media.

Question 43

Shield laws keep reporters from writing about a specific court case.

Question 44

A criterion for the level of First Amendment protection is the type of medium.

Question 45

There is a federal shield law to help journalists protect the identity of their sources.

Question 46

Why was John Milton's Areopagitica important to the development of media law in the United States?

Question 47

What are the conflicting issues that present a dilemma with the First Amendment?

Question 48

Compare and contrast the Equal Opportunity Rule and the Fairness Doctrine. Include when they were put into effect and if they are still in effect today.

Question 49

Briefly describe what happened during deregulation in the 1980s.

Question 50

What was the Pentagon Papers case about, and what was the result?

Question 51

Describe the history of the problems involved in passing and enforcing obscenity laws in the United States.

Question 52

Discuss in detail the impact technology has on media law. Give examples of how changing technology has changed the law of mass communication.

Question 53

Explain the four major defenses against a charge of libel. Who most often wins libel cases - plaintiffs or defendants? What is meant by the "chilling effect" of a libel suit?

Question 54

Discuss the three areas of intellectual property rights. Provide examples that illustrate how these laws apply to mass media.

Question 55

What is fair use, and what does it allow? Give an example of when you or someone you've known has used the fair use exception.

Question 56

What are sunshine laws, and why are they important to journalists?

Question 57

What is the FOIA? Give an example of how it has been used in political activism.

Question 58

Describe four different forms of expression, and state which ones have more and which ones have less free speech protection.

Question 59

Describe the tools judges can use to limit trial publicity. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Question 60

Discuss the history of the use of cameras in the courtroom in the United States.

Question 61

The First Amendment protects free ______, free press, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and the right to petition the government

Question 62

Seditious ______ laws in colonial America made it illegal to criticize government or its representatives.

Question 63

______ is the willful disobedience of the rules of a court or legislative body.

Question 64

The repeal of government rules and regulations is called ______.

Question 65

______ is offensive content with possible social value.

Question 66

The USA ______ Act permits the government to examine more closely the books Americans buy or check out at the library.

Question 67

Communication that is false and injures a reputation is called ______.

Question 68

Actual ______ is a reckless disregard for the truth of published, defamatory information.

Question 69

Fair ______ is defense against a charge of libel based on opinion or criticism.

Question 70

The first-sale ______ allows purchasers of a copyrighted work to resell it or rent it out.

Question 71

Fair ______ is a doctrine that allows the copying of a work for a noncommercial use.

Question 72

A word, symbol or device that identifies a seller's goods is called a ______.

Question 73

Although ______ News trademarked the expression "Fair and Balanced" for its news programs, courts said Al Franken's book could use that expression because it was for a different purpose.

Question 74

A/An ______ is an exclusive right given to an inventor to manufacture, use or sell an invention for a specified number of years.

Question 75

Laws that ensure that public meetings are conducted in the open are called ______ laws.

Question 76

Laws designed to ensure confidentiality of news sources are called ______ laws.

Question 77

Messages about the meaning and correct course of government is called ______ speech.

Question 78

Advertising is ______ speech.

Question 79

A/An ______ order is a judicial command not to speak about trial proceedings

Question 80

A change of ______ is the moving of a trial to a different location.