MediaSpace Wiki

Regulation Of Media Fall2004 Session08

Assignment due today

Based on the case you have been researching and brought ten annotated references in for this week, propose a six page paper that overviews the case for a specific audience such as the management of a media organization that would be affected by the case or the directors of or other decision makers associated with a media watchdog organization that might consider participating in the case on some basis (perhaps as a litigant, as the financial support of a litigant, or as a friend of the court). The proposal should be about a page and should specify who you are writing the paper for (certainly not me) and what the essentials of your argument are. Reference your literature in APA format as appropriate.

Assignment for next time

Write the paper taking advantage of the feedback you get in today's discussion. Be sure to reference it using APA format.

Readings

Pember and Calvert, C.13 and Zelezny, C.11. (Bring three questions).

Overview of the mid-term

I will give you about an hour and a quarter at the end of class next week to complete a mid-term that has the following general structure. Five analytic questions will be posed based on the readings to date. You will need to answer three of those questions in short essay format (about three paragraphs each). You'll have about 25 minutes to complete each essay.

Obscenity

• Covers a set of questions about the dissemination of sexual and other patently offensive content.
• The law attempts to balance first amendment speech and press rights against:
  • at least informally, the perception that some subject matters should be off limits
  • more formally
    • the protection of children from content that many feel should be reserved for adults
      • heavily supported in current regulation
    • the protection of children from sexual exploitation
      • generally supported in current regulation
    • the protection of women from content associated violence and discrimination
      • not generally supported in current regulation
• The essential war over obscenity is between "chilling effects" and "domino effects"
  • A "chilling effect" asserts that the effect of regulation (legal or otherwise) is to discourage people from producing content that MIGHT be prosecuted.
  • A "domino effect" asserts that regulation of one thing makes it easier to regulate another
• Both effects are at issue for both sides in debates about obscenity
  • Advocates of obscenity legistation and enforcement fear that such material is the beginning of a slippery slope
  • Opponents of such legislation fear that it will lead to the banning of other, much more defensible material
• The courts have generally cut a balance between these positions
  • have been willing to ban material that
    1. a reasonable person would agree appeals to prurient interests
       • when considering the work as a whole
       • and applying local community standards
       • often in a manner that distinguishes the rights and interests of adults and children
    2. by depicting sexual conduct
       • in a patently offensive way
       • that has been defined as such in applicable state (and sometimes local) laws
    3. that lacks serious literary, artistic, or scientific value
  • have been willing to fan child pornography outright
    • so long as the issue remained exploitation of children
  • have been willing to ban obscene material (of either class) from being distributed via the mail
  • have been willing to allow controlled zoning of retailers of such material so long as
    • it can be shown to advance a substantial state interest
    • speech isn't restricted more than is necessary to advance that interest
    • the controls didn't amount to a ban
  • have been increasingly willing to consider cases relating to the "arts"
    • music
    • art museums
  • to treat voluntary labeling as an adequate solution

Discussion of short paper proposals

• Based on the case you have been researching and brought ten annotated references in for this week,
• propose a six page paper that
  • overviews the case
  • for a specific audience such as
    • the management of a media organization that would be affected by the case or
    • the directors of or other decision makers associated with a media watchdog organization that might consider participating in the case on some basis (perhaps as a litigant, as the financial support of a litigant, or as a friend of the court).
• The proposal should be about a page and should specify
  • who you are writing the paper for (certainly not me) and **what the essentials of your argument are.
• Reference your literature in APA format as appropriate.

Break

Mid-term