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The Expanding Constitutional Protection For The News Media From Liability For Defamation: Predictability And The New Synthesis, Michigan Law Review Aug 1972

The Expanding Constitutional Protection For The News Media From Liability For Defamation: Predictability And The New Synthesis, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The tort of defamation has a long and complex history dating back to the sixteenth century. Though this tort from the very beginning did not find favor with the law courts, it has managed to survive into the second half of the twentieth century. But this survival may not endure much longer since the Supreme Court has found a deep conflict between the law of defamation and the first amendment. The reasons for this conflict and the Supreme Court's basic resolution of it in favor of first amendment values have been the subject of much scholarly comment, but the Court's …


Broadcasting, The Reluctant Dragon: Will The First Amendment Right Of Access End The Suppressing Of Controversial Ideas?, Donald M. Malone Jan 1972

Broadcasting, The Reluctant Dragon: Will The First Amendment Right Of Access End The Suppressing Of Controversial Ideas?, Donald M. Malone

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The scope of this article will be limited to one aspect of electronic media programming-the extent to which the public is and should be exposed to an accurate cross section of public opinion and a broad range of controversial ideas. Many people, including the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), have acknowledged that a desirable goal for the broadcast media, particularly television, is to provide a marketplace for controversial ideas. Part II of this article will identify the principal reasons why that goal has not been achieved. Part III will examine the fairness doctrine, the antecedents of which have been traced back …


Drug Songs And The Federal Communications Commission, Sammuel Bufford Jan 1972

Drug Songs And The Federal Communications Commission, Sammuel Bufford

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

A "public notice" concerning the broadcasting of drug-related popular songs by radio stations issued from the Federal Communications Commission on March 5, 1971. While this notice could be generally taken to prohibit the playing of such songs, its actual message, upon further analysis, is more complex and less direct. This article will examine the notice to ascertain its likely meaning, determine its legal status, and examine three constitutional issues it raises: whether the songs are protected as speech under the first amendment; whether the statement of the prohibition (if that be the import of the notice) is sufficiently precise to …