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Q:
Ramon is the Democratic candidate for governor. He purchases 60 seconds of time on Channel 3 and runs a campaign ad two weeks before the general election. Alycia is the Green Party candidate for governor. She asks Channel 3 to sell her a minute of time. Channel 3s general manager ______.
a. need not sell Alycia 60 seconds of time because the general manager decides who buys commercial time on the station
b. need not sell Alycia 60 seconds of time because it is not 45 days before the general election
c. need not sell Alycia 60 seconds of time because she does not have a real chance of winning the election
d. must sell Alycia 60 seconds of time
Q:
A week before the general election, John, a legally qualified candidate for mayor, is asked to make a free appearance on a radio stations Saturday morning childrens book program. John does so and reads from Charlottes Web. Sara, a legally qualified candidate for mayor, demands time from the station. The station manager ______.
a. must sell Sara the same amount of time John was given, on a Saturday morning
b. must give Sara the same amount of time John was given, on a Saturday morning
c. need not give Sara any time, because John did not purchase an advertisement
d. must not give Sara any time, because John appeared on a childrens show
Q:
During the general election campaign, Channel 3 decides to use four consecutive Wednesday nights from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. to interview candidates for governor. On consecutive programs, Channel 3 invites on the program and interviews Sarah, then Tim, then William, and then Marilyn. Don, who is running for governor as a member of the Slippery Party, demands Channel 3 give him 30 minutes of time. Channel 3 ______.
a. need not give or sell Don any time at all because Don is not a candidate of a major political party
b. need not give or sell Don any time at all because the programs were regularly scheduled news interview programs
c. must sell Don 30 minutes of time
d. must give Don 30 minutes of free time
Q:
A group of citizens in the State of Zipzap gets enough valid signatures on a petition to put a referendum on the ballot that would require the state legislature to adopt a state holiday on Charles Dickenss birthday. An all-news radio station sells advertising time to those who favor the holiday but refuses to sell time for advertisements against the holiday. The anti-Dickens group tells the station manager that under Section 315, the manager must give the group equal opportunity. Who is correct, and why?
a. the anti-Dickens group, because Section 315 requires equal opportunity
b. the anti-Dickens group, because Section 315 requires broadcasters to be balanced in their presentations of ballot issues
c. the station, because the station does not have to give time to the anti-Dickens group if the pro-Dickens group bought time
d. the station, because Section 315 does not apply to ballot issues, only to political candidates
Q:
Because KOOL-TVs programs are so popular, it is able toand doescarry 15 minutes of advertising per hour, including on its Saturday morning children's program. Is this permissible?
a. Yes, because there are no legal restrictions on the amount of time a broadcast television station may use for commercials.
b. Yes, because 15 minutes of commercials per hour complies with the legal requirements for all programming on broadcast television stations.
c. Yes, because 15 minutes of commercials per hour complies with the legal requirements for childrens programming on broadcast television stations.
d. No, because 15 minutes of commercials per hour does not comply with the legal requirements for childrens programming on broadcast television stations.
Q:
The Federal Communications Commissions funding comes from ______.
a. the U.S. presidents office
b. Congress
c. broadcast station owners
d. car washes
Q:
Section 315 (political broadcasting and cablecasting) is in effect ______.
a. beginning 3 months before an election
b. only during presidential elections
c. only when a candidate for federal office asks to buy advertising time
d. all the time
Q:
Explain the arguments for and against net neutrality.
Q:
What practices does the FCCs 2015 Open Internet Order ban?
Q:
What is an MVPD and how does its regulation relate to the regulation of cable?
Q:
Explain the must-carry and retransmission consent rules.
Q:
What event prompted the U.S. Congress to regulate radio broadcasting?
a. World War I
b. the Titanic disaster
c. Marconi inventing wireless transmission
d. a U.S. Supreme Court decision
Q:
The legislation currently regulating broadcast radio and television stations in the United States is the ______.
a. Wireless Ship Act of 1910
b. Radio Act of 1912
c. Federal Radio Act of 1927
d. Communications Act of 1934
Q:
The Federal Communications Commission regulates ______.
a. newspaper mergers
b. broadcast and print advertising
c. broadcast radio and television
d. all of these
Q:
FCC commissioners serve ______.
a. 5-year terms
b. 7-year terms
c. 10-year terms
d. as long as the president wants them to
Q:
Which of the following is the most important justification courts use to defend broadcast regulation?
a. spectrum scarcity
b. pervasive presence
c. special impact
d. paramount character
Q:
Federal law says FCC decisions should be based on ______.
a. public benefit
b. public concern
c. public economy
d. public interest
Q:
The Sixth Amendment guarantees criminal defendants the right to a speedy and public trial before an impartial jury in the district where the crime was committed. It says nothing about either the press or the public. Discuss how the Supreme Court has interpreted the Sixth Amendments application to the press and public.
Q:
A group of citizens in the State of Rdsx gets enough valid signatures on a petition to put a referendum on the ballot that would require the state legislature to adopt a state holiday on Ted Williamss birthday. An all-sports radio station sells advertising time to those who favor the holiday but refuses to sell time for advertisements against the holiday. The anti-Williams group tells the station manager that under Section 315, the manager must give the group equal opportunity. Who is correct, and why?
Q:
What are the two primary justifications for regulating broadcast media?
Q:
What is net neutrality?
Q:
Explain why the Supreme Courts ruling in Branzburg v. Hayes prompted states to adopt shield laws.
Q:
Describe three different harms to a fair trial attributed to media publicity.
Q:
Explain the legal foundations for a public right of access to criminal proceedings.
Q:
In Sheppard v. Maxwell, the U.S. Supreme Court suggested several ways to protect
the right to a fair trial while affording the greatest freedom of the press. Name three of
these strategies and identify a problem with each.
Q:
Trial judges have discretion over whether to grant changes of venue and rely on the Supreme Courts decisions in Estes v. Texas and Sheppard v. Maxwell to decide questions about prejudicial media publicity. Discuss the guidance of these two Supreme Court rulings and reach your own decision about the judges proper course of action.
Q:
The majority opinion in Branzburg v. Hayes clearly established a reporters privilege protected by the First Amendments free press clause.
Q:
The free press clause of the First Amendment absolutely protects reporters from criminal contempt of court citations.
Q:
The Privacy Protection Act prevents both state and federal law enforcement officers from seizing journalists materials or work products.
Q:
Reporters privilege is bolstered by state laws that explicitly shield the confidential information gathered by journalists.
Q:
Courts have not established a clear and consistent standard for those who are protected by reporters privilege.
Q:
Wyoming was the first state to enact a shield law.
Q:
List the elements of the test used to determine if a reporter should be given a qualified privilege to protect a news source.
Q:
Ron Rider is a reporter for City Business, a weekly newspaper in the city. He writes a series of articles that appear in the paper detailing a long history of the citys Department of Finance not collecting sales from certain businesses. His articles refer to unnamed sources that he called close to the director of the Department of Finance. The city attorney brings criminal charges against the director of the Department of Finance, based on Riders articles and some independent investigation by the city attorneys office. The directors attorney says that she must have the names of Riders sources so that she can prepare her clients defense. In part, she claims, there are people who would like to get the director (i.e., framed in criminal charges), and if those are Riders sources they are not to be believed. The judge orders Rider to reveal his sources; he refuses. The judge holds him in contempt, and Rider appeals. The state does not have a shield law. However, the states courts have applied the generally accepted test to determine if reporters may keep sources secret. Should the appellate court order Rider to reveal his sources? Why or why not?
Q:
Under the Privacy Protection Act, what reasons can the government use to obtain a search warrant and search for or seize newsroom materials?
Q:
Shield laws struggle to appropriately define journalist. Compare and contrast at least two ways states define those protected by their shield law to discuss this difficult definition and to provide reasoning to support what you believe a good shield law should do.
Q:
A contempt of court citation is, essentially, a judges verbal warning and carries no punishment.
Q:
Only parties to a court proceeding may challenge closure.
Q:
Sandra likely will win a lawsuit against the Podunk Daily for the harms it caused her when the newspaper reneged on its promise not to use Sandras name in connection with the information she provided.
Q:
The U.S. Supreme Court has held that search warrants on reporters and newsrooms are constitutional and must be obeyed.
Q:
State shield laws are consistent in what they protect and to whom they apply.
Q:
The nationwide qualified reporters privilege is established by federal statute.
Q:
The federal shield law establishes standards adopted by state laws that protect all providers of information of legitimate public information regardless of medium.
Q:
Some state courts have ruled that reporters privilege is embedded in their state constitutions.
Q:
Promissory estoppel is considered a generally applicable law.
Q:
The Privacy Protection Act limits the power of law enforcement officers to search newsrooms.
Q:
It is clear that reporters privilege exists in grand jury situations.
Q:
The First Amendment protects journalists when they choose to break promises of confidentiality.
Q:
Under the Nebraska Press Association test, no review of the likely effectiveness of a gag on the media is needed before judges may impose gags that limit media reporting on the courts.
Q:
Many U.S. courts of appeals have recognized that a reporters privilege exists.
Q:
The Supreme Court has held that the First Amendment protects journalists from the obligation to testify before a grand jury even if subpoenaed.
Q:
Both reporters privilege and the First Amendment protect journalists from disclosing the identities of anonymous online posters to their websites to the same degree that they protect sources promised confidentiality.
Q:
Of those states that have shield laws, there is consistency in how the laws are worded and applied.
Q:
In Cohen v. Cowles, the Supreme Court held that ______.
a. the federal shield law prohibits a plaintiff from recovering damages for a journalists broken promise
b. the federal shield law does not prohibit a plaintiff from recovering damages for a journalists broken promise
c. the First Amendment does not prohibit a plaintiff from recovering damages for a journalists broken promise
d. the First Amendment prohibits a plaintiff from recovering damages for a journalists broken promise
Q:
Fishing expeditions for evidence related to criminal proceedings are ______.
a. allowed with a valid search warrant
b. allowed for journalists and citizens alike
c. not permitted
d. not permitted unless the investigators believe they are necessary
Q:
Following the Supreme Courts ruling in Branzburg v. Hayes, states ______.
a. quickly repealed their shield laws
b. quickly enacted shield laws
c. attempted to revise their constitutions to provide shields for journalists information
d. allowed their shield laws to expire
Q:
Documentary filmmakers and writers of nonfiction books ______.
a. are uniformly protected by state shield laws
b. are sometimes covered by state shield laws
c. have not attempted to use state shield laws
d. are never covered by shield laws
Q:
Criminal contempt is sometimes called ______.
a. direct contempt
b. indirect contempt
c. judicial offense
d. innocent disrespect
Q:
Before closing a courtroom, a judge must show only that ______. a. openness threatens a fair trial b. openness threatens a fair trial and no alternatives to closure exist c. openness threatens a fair trial, no alternatives to closure exist, and closure will eliminate the threat and will be narrowly tailored to assure maximum public access d. both the prosecution and the defense agree to closure
Q:
Reporters privilege stems from the Freedom of Information Act.
Q:
Most states prohibit any form of reporters privilege.
Q:
State shield laws ______.
a. vary both in the nature of the protection they provide and the individuals they shield
b. undermine the clear constitutional protection of reporters privilege
c. provide clear protection to anyone providing objective information to the public
d. are very consistent in the nature of the protection they provide and the individuals they shield
Q:
State shield laws often do not protect journalists called to testify about ______.
a. information they have not published or distributed
b. events they witnessed
c. cases in which they are the defendant
d. events they witnessed and cases in which they are the defendant
Q:
The Supreme Courts decision in Cohen v. Cowles established that ______.
a. news media can be sued for breaking promises of confidentiality
b. general contract law does not apply to the news media
c. enforcement of promissory estoppel violates the First Amendment
d. none of these
Q:
The Privacy Protection Act is a ______.
a. law enacted in most states to protect the privacy of jurors
b. federal law that protects juror privacy
c. federal law that protects newsrooms from unwarranted searches
d. law enacted in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to protect the privacy of juvenile parties in trials
Q:
Law enforcement officers with search warrants generally ______.
a. violate the First Amendment if they search newsrooms
b. may search newsrooms only when there is an immediate risk of destruction of important material
c. may conduct reasonable searches of newsrooms subject to the terms of applicable laws
d. may be delayed indefinitely from conducting a newsroom search
Q:
The Privacy Protection Act ______.
a. restricts the use of search warrants in newsrooms
b. allows journalists to sue law enforcement officers for unreasonable searches
c. protects journalists work product from search and seizure as part of a criminal investigation
d. all of these
Q:
In Branzburg v. Hayes, the Supreme Court held that requiring journalists to ______.
a. testify before grand juries violates the First Amendment
b. testify before grand juries does not violate the First Amendment
c. produce illegally obtained documents violates the freedom of the press
d. produce illegally obtained documents does not violate the freedom of the press
Q:
The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure establish that ______.
a. search warrants may be issued without probable cause
b. subpoenas may be issued only to gain material evidence
c. subpoenas may be issued upon request of prosecutors and without justification
d. search warrants are never needed in a case involving national security
Q:
Bench/bar/press guidelines ______.
a. limit social interactions between the media and the judiciary to reduce the appearance of bias or influence
b. legally bind media to certain rules for coverage of the courts, their official personnel and trial participants
c. were ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court
d. are voluntary agreements between the media and the judiciary that recommend limits to types of coverage of ongoing judicial proceedings
Q:
Courts use of contempt citations to attempt to force journalists to disclose confidential information ______.
a. is declining because of the federal shield law
b. is declining because the First Amendment protects journalists from contempt citations
c. is on the rise
d. is extremely rare and of little concern to professional newsgatherers
Q:
The limited protection of reporters privilege extends to ______.
a. everyone sharing information with the public over any medium
b. only licensed journalists
c. only journalists working for accredited news organizations
d. reporters some of the time but may not protect freelance journalists
Q:
The federal shield law ______.
a. supersedes state laws
b. has never been enacted
c. defines journalists broadly
d. none of these
Q:
Electronic access to court records ______.
a. varies broadly among states and state and federal courts
b. is consistent and presumptively open throughout all state and federal courts
c. is consistent and presumptively closed in all state and federal courts
d. is presumptively closed in federal courts but may be opened in state courts under state law
Q:
Shield laws ______.
a. exist in all states
b. exist in all states and on the federal level
c. vary widely in their coverage and protection
d. protect against gag orders
e. exist in all states and on the federal level and protect against gag orders
Q:
To challenge the closure of a court proceeding you must ______.
a. be a party to the trial
b. present a request in the court or in writing for a hearing to review the closure
c. hire an attorney and pay all related court costs prior to the hearing on the merits of your challenge
d. be certified by the state or judicial courts in which you wish to present the challenge
Q:
Courts generally have found that search warrants served on journalists are ______.
a. legal and must be obeyed
b. violative of journalists First Amendment rights
c. prohibited by shield laws
d. legal if the journalist is in a Providence Journal jurisdiction
Q:
To determine whether a reporters privilege protects a media right to withhold information, courts that apply the test established by the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling in Branzburg v. Hayes ask whether the ______.
a. media possess information that is relevant and cannot be obtained elsewhere without greater harm to First Amendment interests
b. media possess information that is vital to the trial
c. media possess information that will expedite the investigation and prosecution of serious crimes
d. information sought is covered by privilege under the First Amendment
Q:
The Supreme Courts three-part test rejects the protection of reporters privilege when a reporter is likely to have ______.
a. second-hand information that might ease prosecution
b. engaged in illegal activity central to the prosecution
c. possession of information of significant interest, clearly relevant to a legal proceeding that cannot be obtained by alternate means
d. organized, participated in, and benefitted from a crime
Q:
In applying the journalists privilege, most courts have ______.
a. defined journalist as someone with a college degree in journalism or a related field
b. defined journalist as someone who has a press pass from a legitimate news media organization
c. defined journalist as someone who writes for a newspaper or appears on television d. not precisely defined journalist in spite of the efforts of some courts to do so