Media Law 2 Flashcards
Who wrote “Leaks of Classified Information: Lessons Learned from a Lifetime on the Inside”
Michael Morell
What does Morell tell us
tension between maintaining national security and allowing for freedom of the press
who wrote “Behind the Scenes with the Snowden Files: How the Washington Post and National Security Officials Dealt with conflicts over Government Secrecy.”
Ellen Nakashima
what does ellen tell us
explores the journalistic and ethical dilemmas faced by reporters and editors when balancing the public’s right to know against potential national security risks
who wrote “Edward Snowden, Donald Trump, and the Paradox of National Security Whistleblowing”
allison stanger
what does allison tell us
explores the complexities and contradictions in how whistleblowing is viewed and handled within the context of U.S. national security
what is a leak
an insider shares secret information
what is criminal to do
- disclose national defense info
- trade secrets of a company
Whistleblower Protection Act
- prohibits retaliation
- provides legal remedies to retaliation victims
- allows whistleblowers to make confidential disclosures
To Prevent a Journalist from publishing leaks
- Prove publication direct, immediate & irreparable harm
- Can’t be punished for publishing illegally obtained info
- can be jailed for refusal to reveal the source
shield laws
no federal shield laws, only state ones. protect journalists from having to reveal confidential info to govt
sources
- journalists protect them
- revealing confidential sources kills reputation
- what if they are aware of crimes
Myron Farber
- NYT reporter jailed, paid $286 k
- refused to produce notes
- journalists have a civic duty to testify
- Plaintiffs & defendants in civil suits agree w/law enforcement
Press v Courts
- Journalists: Must protect anonymity to reveal corruption
- Law enforcement: Crimes must go through the justice system
- But where do prosecutors get their ideas for what to investigate?
Often, not always, the press
Branzburg v Hayes
Branzburg refused to testify and potentially disclose the identities of his confidential sources. Similarly, in the companion cases of In re Pappas and United States v. Caldwell, two different reporters, each covering activity within the Black Panther organization, were called to testify before grand juries and reveal trusted information. Like Branzburg, both Pappas and Caldwell refused to appear before their respective grand juries.
Branzburg v Hayes outcome
majority 5-4
- There is no constitutional privilege
- The public “Has a right to every man’s evidence.”
- In short: the Court shouldn’t adopt the notion that: “it is better to write
about crime than to do something about it.”
dissenters
- Probable cause to believe the reporter has info. regarding a specific
probable violation of law - Information can’t be obtained by alternative means less destructive of 1A
- The state has a “compelling & overriding interest in the information”
nonconfidential info
courts are reluctant to give protections
waiver of privilege
can;t say it’s confidential if you spilled the beans
Valerie Plame
CIA agent cover blown
Judith miller jailed
matthew cooper almost jailed
won’t give ID (”We are not
above the law and we have to behave the
way ordinary citizens do.”)
indecency
less graphic/erotic
fully protected in print, restricted on internet
pornography
no legal definition
generic reference to sexually explicit material
obscenity
denied 1A
narrow class of hard-core porn
lacking in “social value”
Miller v California
Marvin Miller mails 5 brochures to a restaurant manager and his mother of explicit images of sexual activity. California says you can’t unknowingly do that. Misdemeanor
The 3 Pronged Miller Test
- Appeals to prurient interests (sexual interest)
- patently offensive
- does it have literary, artistic, political, or scientific value
Banned Obscenity
child porn, sale, importation & interstate transport of obscene materials
allowed obscenity
possession inside the home (adult only!)
FCC v Pacifica
“Filthy Words.” Carlin spoke of the words that could not be said on the public airwaves. His list included shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits. The station warned listeners that the monologue included “sensitive language which might be regarded as offensive to some.” The FCC received a complaint from a man who stated that he had heard the broadcast while driving with his young son.
words need not to be obscene to warrant sanction
Justice Brennan Dissent
The Court’s ruling is “another of the dominant culture’s inevitable
efforts to force those groups who do not share its mores to conform to
its way of thinking, acting, and speaking.”
