FINAL EXAM Flashcards
the origins of, and reasons for, broadcast regulation
to ensure that there is no indecency, profanity or porno
radioact of 1927
how courts justify broadcast regulation
scarcity of spectrum pervasive prescence and special impact
fcc
acts of Congress leading up to the licensing of broadcast stations
wirless ship act
radio act pf 12
radio act of 27
Federal radio commisiion
the communications act
Major case rulings establishing the FCC authority
Wireless Ship Act of 1910
Radio Act of of 1912
Radio Act of 1927
Federal Radio commission ( FRC)
Communications Act of 1934
The fcc and its commissioners
Five commissioners
Nominated by the president
No more than three from the same political party
Five year terms are staggered
The fairness doctrine
Provides time for the discussion of important public issues
Present all viewpoints on these issues
the political broadcasting regulations talked about in class
Equal opportunity rule ( should news coverage be immune to this)
Exemptions
- regularly scheduled newscast
- regularly scheduled news interview program
- coverage of bona fide news event
- incidental appearance in a news documentary
equaloppurtunity rule means providing comparable time and placement to opposing candidates; it does not require a station to provide opposing candidates with programs identical to the initiating candidate
regulations that limit ownership of broadcast stations, both television and radio
Tv duopoly permitted
If there are 8 independently -owned stations in the market
No limit on total # radio stations nationally
IHeart radio 850 stations 110 million listeners
Within market limitations
Graduated scale
No limit on total number of tv stations owned nationally
But there is a percentage of potential audience limitat
the trends in broadcast , cable TV, and satellite TV regulation
the censorship
the must carry rule and regulations
Should cable television systems be forced to carry all local broadcast television stations as part of their packages?
Is there a government interest? If so, is it consistent with the first amendment? Can government regulation be justified?
Supreme court
require cable systems to carry local broadcast television stations
Must carry provisions furthered an important gov interest
Must carry does not burden substantially more speech than necessary to further those interests( content neutral)
Congress drew reasonable inferences from substantia; evidence before it to conclude that in the absence of the must rules, significant numbers of broadcast stations would be refused carriage
The judgements about how competing economic interests were to be reconciled in the field of television were for congress to make
standards used in assessing a broadcast station’s license renewal application
8 years
QUalifications include:
US CItizen
Sufficient funds for 3 months
duopoly
Multiple Ownership Rules
Tv duopoly permitted
If there are 8 independently -owned stations in the market
No limit on total # radio stations nationally
IHeart radio 850 stations 110 million listeners
Within market limitations
Graduated scale
No limit on total number of tv stations owned nationally
But there is a percentage of potential audience limitations
when two companies dominate a market for a given product or service.
the primary federal regulating agencies of electronic media and advertising, respectively
FCC
The communication decency act abd what is targeted
the United States Congress’s first notable attempt to regulate pornographic material on the Internet especially minors.
the ruling in the case that challenged that law( Communication Decency Act)
Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (1997), ruled the law was unconstitutionally overbroad because it suppressed a significant amount of protected adult speech , The U.S. Supreme Court agreed
trying to protect minors from indecent material
the CDA was unconstitutional due to the content based restristion on speech.
the overall trend with laws that have attempted to protect children from certain Internet
content
not constitutional
which, if any, of the several laws attempting to regulate Internet content withstood a First
Amendment challenge
children internet protection act
net neutrality
Companies that distribute content through the internet should treat all sources of data equally
Not doing so:
Allows some content to be treated differently, either preferentility or with less favor
Allows companies to raise rates for some content - that is, its a revenue stream
It becomes a political issue.
In Oct 2023, FCC voted to begin the process to restore n.n.
streaming video regulations
Currently no regulations
FCC is analyzing the situation
Being pressured by:
Some members of congress
Broadcasters
safe harbor
where the courts permitted a time for cable tv to showcase obscene tvs
orgin of indecent speech
obscenity
Average person, applying contemporary local community standards, would find that the work , taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest
the work depicts in a patently offensive way sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable state law
The work lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value
variable obscenity
Sexual material otherwise acceptable for adults may be found abscene if provided to children
copyright law ( orgin)
constitutional orgin
copyright law ( what does it and doesnt protect)
original work is owned by that creator
Ideas can’t be copyrighted
copyright law ( when that protection begins)
when something is published and registered
copyright law ( how long the protection lasts)
Work created on after jan 1 1978, have copyright protect for the authors life plus another 70 years
copyright ( steps before suing for infringement)
Plaintiff has a valid and registered copyright
Defendant directly copied the work, or had access to the work and the two works are similar
A copyright must be registered before bringing infringement lawsuit
To register the following must be provided to the US copyright office
A completed form
The statutory fee
Required copy of the work
copyright ( fair use)
- ## the most common defense to use
The pretty woman case
so basically the pretty woman case is of artists copying a song from earlier years but the lawyer won by saying you have to get close to the original song to make it a paarody and have people understand
copyright ( the two major copyright cases decided in 2023, as discussed in class)
- Griffin v Sheeran (2023)
Copyright infringement claim based on similarity in songs
Sheeran played his guitar on witness stand to demonstrate how many songs are similar.
Jury ruled in sheeran’s favor
2.Andy warhol foundation v goldsmith
Photo of prince taken by goldsmith
Permission granted on time only for 400 dollars
VF hired andy warhol to create an image based on original image
He derived 15 additional works
After AW death, the AW foundatioin used one of the 15 works for 10,000
In 2016 VF used that worhal image
unfair competition
part of copyright competition, stops companies from brading to gain an unfair advantage.
trademarking
work made for hire
work can go uncredited, and it is not the author who created the work.
commercial speech regulations
its within the sphere of speech and mass communication law
the bigelow case
the Supreme Court established that at least some commercial advertising should receive First Amendment protection,
Ad contained factual material of public interest
Speech is nt stripped of the first amendment protection merely bc it appears in the form of paid commercial advertisement
Concern about impairing publications “proper functioning”
abortion advertisement for cloinic in new york but def not allowed in virginia
the central hudson ruling
Energy crisis, gas went up utilities went up
Commercial Speech DOctrine - Central Hudson test
Createda 4 step rule to see if the commercial speech was constitutional
NY constitution ruled unconstitutional
how the SUNY v. Fox ruling changed the commercial speech doctrine
prohibits private commercial enterprises from operating in SUNY facilities. After the resolution was applied by campus police to bar American Future Systems, Inc. (AFS), from demonstrating and selling its housewares at a party hosted in a student dormitory, respondent Fox and other students sued for a declaratory judgment that such action violated the First Amendment
narrowly tailored
The revised test makes it easier for and advertising regulation to withstand a legal challenge
the virginia pharmacy ruling
making sure advertisment is protected especially as political
44 liqourmart
The Supreme Court in 1996 overturned a Rhode Island law that prohibited advertising liquor prices, saying that under the First Amendment, consumers had a right to receive truthful product information and such commercial speech was protected speech.
The FTC Santctions
preventative and corrective measures
the kinds of products often at the root of major court battles because of the desire by some to regulate their advertising
alcohol, drugs, obcsenity
proportional liability
deals with the ways in which liability can be allocated between different defendants
market
get the word out through social media
local stations
broadcast entities
