Legal Studies 497P: Law and Media

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Thursday, September 5, 2002
to
Thursday, September 12, 2002
Introduction to Law in Media
Objective:
Introduce the concept of "law" and "media" and the reflexive relationship class will be examining between them. Introduce how course will work and the honors project.
Assignments:
Read 1984 Chs. 1-5; Wilson, Ch.1 (crs. Packet)
Lab Topic:
No lab assignment... except to contemplate whether or not you want to be in the lab.
Tuesday, September 17, 2002
to
Thursday, September 19, 2002
Theoretical Approaches to the Authority of Knowledge
Objective:
Begin thinking about what we pay attention to, where we place our informational trust, and importantly why we do it - i.e. what triggers, lenses, etc. drive media to pay attention, and in turn for us to pay attention. How is "common sense" produced? What is First Hand Knowledge vis-à-vis Second Hand? How does that impact what we do?
Assignments:
Read: Wilson, Ch. 2,(Crs. Packet) Sloterdijk Ch.1 (Crs. Packet); Finish Book 1 of 1984; "Memory Hole" WSJ handout (photocopy)
Lab Topic:
Tuesday, September 24, 2002
to
Tuesday, September 24, 2002
Legal Research Methods
Objective:
B. Morgan (Legal Reference Librarian) lab on 9/24
Assignments:
Lab Topic:
Thursday, September 26, 2002
to
Thursday, October 3, 2002
Media's Hegemony - is it a liberal or conservative hegemony?
Objective:
Play w/ notions of media as liberal, conservative, and as hegemonic.
Assignments:
Read: Bernard Goldberg's Bias chapter (Crs. Packet); Litowitz, Douglas, "Gramsci, Hegemony, and the Law", (online) 2000BYU LR, 515; Altheide, David L. "Media Hegemony: A Failure of Perspective," Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 48, Issue 2 (1984) (online - JSTOR); Ray Surette, "Media and the Social Construction of Reality," (Course Packet); Finish reading 1984
Lab Topic:
Tuesday, October 8, 2002
to
Tuesday, October 8, 2002
Law's Mediation and Coerced Harmony
Objective:
Explore how law is mediated authoritatively and how the notion of "coerced harmony" structures more informal mediations.
Assignments:
Read: Laura Nader, "Harmony Coerced is freedom denied" Chronicle of Higher Ed. (Handout - photocopy); Laura Nader, "Controlling Processes: Tracing the dynamic components of power" Current Anthropology, Vol. 38, Issue 5, Dec. 1997 (online)
Lab Topic:
Thursday, October 10, 2002
to
Thursday, October 17, 2002
Law in the Media
Objective:
Objective is to develop an analytical lens for examining the treatment of law as subject of media attention. What about a law story makes it of interest? What defines a law story? What about notions of media bias - how might that impact the story telling?
Assignments:
Read: Surette "Media and the Construction of Criminal Proceedings" (Crs. Packet); Fox and Van Sickel's "Criminal Justice in an Age of Media Frenzy," (Crs. Packet); "How Words Spoken on Sept. 10 Came Back to Haunt the Speaker," WSJ Oct, 2, 2001 re: Umass Prof. Jenni Traschen (p. copy - handout); "Free Speech Doesn't come Without a Cost," WSJ, 11/5/02 (p. copy - handout).
Lab Topic:
Tuesday, October 22, 2002
to
Tuesday, November 5, 2002
Interests and Objectivity
Objective:
Here the objective is to expand on the critique / analysis of public relations and the "expertise industry" as they relate to media and law (or policy / politics more generally).
Assignments:
Read: McDonald's Hot Coffee Case (p.copy); Trust Us We're Experts (will break down into chapter assignments later)
Lab Topic:
Tuesday, November 12, 2002
to
Thursday, November 21, 2002
The Right to Know
Objective:
Objective is to address what rights citizens and press have regarding speech, publication, and access in terms of information held or produced or otherwise managed by the State. This is going to be a primer in constitutional history and status of "right to know." Thus case law should be addressed, First Amend, Free Speech, Free Press, and some of the intersections / tensions between other rights (like privacy or fair trial / due process) and the prior.
Assignments:
Read: "Access Denied, Freedom of Information in the Information Age" (Crs. Packet)
Cases (Online) - we will make specific assignments later

Free Speech, Assembly, Association (sedition and political speech):
* Schenck v. United States 249 U.S. 47 (1919)
* Abrams v. United States 250 U.S. 616 (1919)
* Gitlow v. New York 268 U.S. 652 (1925)
* Dennis v. United States 341 U.S. 494 (1951)
* Brandenburg v. Ohio 395 U.S. 444 (1969)

(symbolic speech)
* U.S. v. Obrien 391 U.S. 367 (1968)
* Tinker v. Des Moines 393 U.S. 503 (1969)
* Texas v. Johnson 491 U.S. 397 (1989)

(public order)
* Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire 315 U.S. 568 (1942)
* Cohen v. California 403 U.S. 15 (1971)

(public forum)
* TBA - refer to Rodney Smolla's treatment (pp. 281, Table 5-3) in his book (note to professor)

(flag salute, right not to speak)
* West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
* Note: in Summer of 2002 Fed. Dist. Ct. in Ca. struck as unconst, "under god" in Pledge of Allegiance

Free Press (prior restraint)
* Near v. Minnesota 283 U.S. 697 (1931)
* New York Times v. United States 403 U.S. 713 (1971)
* Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier 484 U.S. 260 (1988)

Free Press (access to govt. info)
* Branzburg v. Hayes 408 U.S. 665 (1972) (no reporter's privilege to secrecy of sources)
* Pell v. Procunier 417 U.S. 817 (1974) (access to prisons)
* Saxbe v. Washington 417 U.S. 843 (1974) (ditto)
* Richmond N.Papers v. Virginia 448 U.S. 555 (1980) (access to criminal proceedings)

Note: As of Summer 2002 there were strong efforts in several states (e.g. Massachusetts) to limit press access to prisons and prisoners.

Free Press (Defamation and Libel - boundaries to free press)
* New York Times v. Sullivan 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
* Gertz v. Welch 418 U.S. 323 (1974)
* Hustler v. Falwell 485 U.S. 46 (1988)
Lab Topic:
Tuesday, November 26, 2002
to
Thursday, November 28, 2002
No class - Thanksgiving Break
Objective:
Assignments:
Lab Topic:
Tuesday, December 3, 2002
to
Thursday, December 5, 2002
Regulation of Media
Objective:
Objective is to provide students with basic understanding of broadcast media regulation. Discussion prefaced with exploration of concept of "property".
Assignments:
Read "Reclaiming the Commons" from Boston Review (either p.copy or online); Read Zenith case (TBA - online) and final course packet readings on broadcast media.
Lab Topic:
Tuesday, December 10, 2002
to
Tuesday, December 10, 2002
Likely Date for second exam (NOT A FINAL EXAM)
Objective:
Assignments:
Lab Topic:
Thursday, December 12, 2002
to
Thursday, December 12, 2002
No Class (or makeup day)
Objective:
Assignments:
Lab Topic:

Thursday, September 5, 2002 to Thursday, September 12, 2002 Introduction to Law in Media	Objective: Introduce the concept of "law" and "media" and the reflexive relationship class will be examining between them. Introduce how course will work and the honors project. Assignments: Read 1984 Chs. 1-5; Wilson, Ch.1 (crs. Packet) Lab Topic: No lab assignment... except to contemplate whether or not you want to be in the lab.
Tuesday, September 17, 2002 to Thursday, September 19, 2002 Theoretical Approaches to the Authority of Knowledge	Objective: Begin thinking about what we pay attention to, where we place our informational trust, and importantly why we do it - i.e. what triggers, lenses, etc. drive media to pay attention, and in turn for us to pay attention. How is "common sense" produced? What is First Hand Knowledge vis-à-vis Second Hand? How does that impact what we do? Assignments: Read: Wilson, Ch. 2,(Crs. Packet) Sloterdijk Ch.1 (Crs. Packet); Finish Book 1 of 1984; "Memory Hole" WSJ handout (photocopy) Lab Topic:
Tuesday, September 24, 2002 to Tuesday, September 24, 2002 Legal Research Methods	Objective: B. Morgan (Legal Reference Librarian) lab on 9/24 Assignments: Lab Topic:
Thursday, September 26, 2002 to Thursday, October 3, 2002 Media's Hegemony - is it a liberal or conservative hegemony?	Objective: Play w/ notions of media as liberal, conservative, and as hegemonic. Assignments: Read: Bernard Goldberg's Bias chapter (Crs. Packet); Litowitz, Douglas, "Gramsci, Hegemony, and the Law", (online) 2000BYU LR, 515; Altheide, David L. "Media Hegemony: A Failure of Perspective," Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 48, Issue 2 (1984) (online - JSTOR); Ray Surette, "Media and the Social Construction of Reality," (Course Packet); Finish reading 1984 Lab Topic:
Tuesday, October 8, 2002 to Tuesday, October 8, 2002 Law's Mediation and Coerced Harmony	Objective: Explore how law is mediated authoritatively and how the notion of "coerced harmony" structures more informal mediations. Assignments: Read: Laura Nader, "Harmony Coerced is freedom denied" Chronicle of Higher Ed. (Handout - photocopy); Laura Nader, "Controlling Processes: Tracing the dynamic components of power" Current Anthropology, Vol. 38, Issue 5, Dec. 1997 (online) Lab Topic:
Thursday, October 10, 2002 to Thursday, October 17, 2002 Law in the Media	Objective: Objective is to develop an analytical lens for examining the treatment of law as subject of media attention. What about a law story makes it of interest? What defines a law story? What about notions of media bias - how might that impact the story telling? Assignments: Read: Surette "Media and the Construction of Criminal Proceedings" (Crs. Packet); Fox and Van Sickel's "Criminal Justice in an Age of Media Frenzy," (Crs. Packet); "How Words Spoken on Sept. 10 Came Back to Haunt the Speaker," WSJ Oct, 2, 2001 re: Umass Prof. Jenni Traschen (p. copy - handout); "Free Speech Doesn't come Without a Cost," WSJ, 11/5/02 (p. copy - handout). Lab Topic:
Tuesday, October 22, 2002 to Tuesday, November 5, 2002 Interests and Objectivity	Objective: Here the objective is to expand on the critique / analysis of public relations and the "expertise industry" as they relate to media and law (or policy / politics more generally). Assignments: Read: McDonald's Hot Coffee Case (p.copy); Trust Us We're Experts (will break down into chapter assignments later) Lab Topic:
Tuesday, November 12, 2002 to Thursday, November 21, 2002 The Right to Know	Objective: Objective is to address what rights citizens and press have regarding speech, publication, and access in terms of information held or produced or otherwise managed by the State. This is going to be a primer in constitutional history and status of "right to know." Thus case law should be addressed, First Amend, Free Speech, Free Press, and some of the intersections / tensions between other rights (like privacy or fair trial / due process) and the prior. Assignments: Read: "Access Denied, Freedom of Information in the Information Age" (Crs. Packet) Cases (Online) - we will make specific assignments later Free Speech, Assembly, Association (sedition and political speech): * Schenck v. United States 249 U.S. 47 (1919) * Abrams v. United States 250 U.S. 616 (1919) * Gitlow v. New York 268 U.S. 652 (1925) * Dennis v. United States 341 U.S. 494 (1951) * Brandenburg v. Ohio 395 U.S. 444 (1969) (symbolic speech) * U.S. v. Obrien 391 U.S. 367 (1968) * Tinker v. Des Moines 393 U.S. 503 (1969) * Texas v. Johnson 491 U.S. 397 (1989) (public order) * Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire 315 U.S. 568 (1942) * Cohen v. California 403 U.S. 15 (1971) (public forum) * TBA - refer to Rodney Smolla's treatment (pp. 281, Table 5-3) in his book (note to professor) (flag salute, right not to speak) * West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette 319 U.S. 624 (1943) * Note: in Summer of 2002 Fed. Dist. Ct. in Ca. struck as unconst, "under god" in Pledge of Allegiance Free Press (prior restraint) * Near v. Minnesota 283 U.S. 697 (1931) * New York Times v. United States 403 U.S. 713 (1971) * Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier 484 U.S. 260 (1988) Free Press (access to govt. info) * Branzburg v. Hayes 408 U.S. 665 (1972) (no reporter's privilege to secrecy of sources) * Pell v. Procunier 417 U.S. 817 (1974) (access to prisons) * Saxbe v. Washington 417 U.S. 843 (1974) (ditto) * Richmond N.Papers v. Virginia 448 U.S. 555 (1980) (access to criminal proceedings) Note: As of Summer 2002 there were strong efforts in several states (e.g. Massachusetts) to limit press access to prisons and prisoners. Free Press (Defamation and Libel - boundaries to free press) * New York Times v. Sullivan 376 U.S. 254 (1964) * Gertz v. Welch 418 U.S. 323 (1974) * Hustler v. Falwell 485 U.S. 46 (1988) Lab Topic:
Tuesday, November 26, 2002 to Thursday, November 28, 2002 No class - Thanksgiving Break	Objective: Assignments: Lab Topic:
Tuesday, December 3, 2002 to Thursday, December 5, 2002 Regulation of Media	Objective: Objective is to provide students with basic understanding of broadcast media regulation. Discussion prefaced with exploration of concept of "property". Assignments: Read "Reclaiming the Commons" from Boston Review (either p.copy or online); Read Zenith case (TBA - online) and final course packet readings on broadcast media. Lab Topic:
Tuesday, December 10, 2002 to Tuesday, December 10, 2002 Likely Date for second exam (NOT A FINAL EXAM)	Objective: Assignments: Lab Topic:
Thursday, December 12, 2002 to Thursday, December 12, 2002 No Class (or makeup day)	Objective: Assignments: Lab Topic: