Communications Law Commons^™

Peanuts And Potatoes: The Fcc's Diversification Policy And The Antitrust Laws, Dennis M. Cusack

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The FCC has regulated the ownership structure of the broadcasting industry in order to protect the public's interest in the free dissemination of diverse ideas. Citing the competition offered by new communications technologies, the FCC recently raised significantly the limits on group ownership of radio and television stations. This note argues that the premise behind ownership deregulation-that free market forces and the antitrust laws are sufficient guardians against excessive concentration-is flawed when considered in light of the first amendment underpinnings of the FCC's diversification policy. The author concludes that, while some deregulation may be necessary at this time, the FCC …

Intra-Corporate Communications: Sufficient Publication For Defamation Or Mere Corporate Babbling, Daven G. Lowhurst

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Should courts find that a defamatory communication made between employees of the same corporation does not satisfy the publication requirement of the tort of defamation? The author examines case law on both sides of the publication issue and argues that neither the cases which established the "no publication rule" nor the theoretical underpinnings of the tort of defamation can support the requirement of publication in cases of intra-corporate communications. The author concludes that the traditional theory, finding a sufficient publication as soon as a third person has understood the communication as defamatory, reconciles the defamed individual's right to sound reputation …

Protecting The Press By Protecting The Journalist: A Wrongful Discharge Action For Editorial Employees At Newspapers, Randy Baker

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Newspaper owners presently have both the ability and the inclination to limit the flow of information to the public. One device they use to suppress the flow of information is the threat of discharging recalcitrant employees. The author explains the "checking" function of the press on the government and how that function is impaired by newspaper owners' tendencies to limit or suppress the publication of certain information. The author also discusses the dilemma faced by editors in adhering to their journalistic standards while still enforcing the newspaper owner's policies. The author proposes that California's bar against discharges motivated by purposes …

Will The Real Cable Television Industry Please Stand Up: The Divergent Regulatory Treatment Of The Cable Television Industry Prior To The Cable Communications Policy Act Of 1984, Michael A. Mcgregor

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The cable television industry has received seemingly inconsistent treatment from the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC has characterized the industry both as a vigorous competitor in the marketplace and as a weak and vulnerable competitor in need of regulatory protection. The author examines the contexts in which these differing characterizations have been applied and finds they are not distinguishable. The author concludes that the FCC has not engaged in reasoned decisionmaking but, instead, has acted arbitrarily and capriciously in its decisions concerning the cable television industry.

Requiem For A Parody, Randall B. Hicks

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Although parody is a meritorious form of literary expression, parodists are often subject to allegations of copyright infringement based on substantial appropriation of copyrighted work. The author examines judicial applications of the "fair use" doctrine as codified in the multifactored balancing test of section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. The author finds the balancing test to be so vague that courts have virtually unbounded discretion in its application. Indeed, courts have abused their discretion in consistently finding no fair use in sexually-oriented or allegedly obscene parodies. The author concludes that the balancing test must either be applied without …

Descendible Publicity Rights: California's Grateful Dead, Peter H. Karlen

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Publicity rights, the rights to control the use of the name, likeness and photograph of a person, are now descendible by statute. The author examines recent legislation on publicity rights, specifically focusing on how it affects the descendibility of such rights. The author criticizes the legislation and proposes an alternative to what the Legislature has bequeathed to celebrities, their heirs, and the public.

The Deregulation Of Commercial Television, Heidi R. Young

Fordham Urban Law Journal

In August 1984, the Federal Communications Commission released the Report and Order in the Matter of the Revision of Programming and Commercialization Policies, Ascertainment Requirements, and Program Log Requirements for Commercial Television Stations, affecting the FCC regulations concerning programming policies, ascertainment requirements, program logging rules and commercialization policies. This Note analyzes these regulatory changes from this Report and Order according the following structure: first, a historical exposition of radio and television regulation in general and of the areas affected by the deregulation in particular; second, an assessment of the changes in the context of the modern television marketplace; and third, …

Electronic Publishing: First Amendment Issues In The Twenty-First Century, Lynn Becker

Fordham Urban Law Journal

In six sections, the author explores regulation of the then-emerging field of tele-communications, including electronic publishing, e-mail, electronic bulletin boards, teletype, and digital banking. Focusing on how the First Amendment applies to claims of defamation and obscenity made in an electronic format, the author proposes a unified regulatory scheme based on existing communications regulation law that will unify telecommunications policy countrywide. The first two sections are devoted to explanation of the then-novel forms of electronic communication and giving the history of the FCC and communications and data regulation in the US. The author describes the distinction between press regulation, broadcast …

Don’T Be Co-Opted By The Folks Who Brought Us Vietnam, Grenada, And The Iranian Rescue Fiasco, Harvey L. Zuckman

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Public Access Channels In Cable Television: The Economic Scarcity Rationale Of Berkshire V. Burke, Laurel L.F. Garrett

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Cablespeech For Whom?, Mark S. Nadel

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

New Video Technologies In The United States: Regulatory And Intellectual Property Considerations, Michael Botein

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

[Reply Comments For The Nba And Naacp], J. Clay Smith Jr.

Selected Speeches

No abstract provided.

The Crime Control Act Of 1968 And Cordless Telephones: State V. Howard, Scott C. Smith

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Defamation, Public Officialdom And The Rosenblatt V. Baer Criteria—A Proposal For Revivification: Two Decades After New York Times Co. V. Sullivan, David Elder

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Challenge Of Computer-Crime Legislation: How Should New York Respond?, Amalia M. Wagner

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Satellite/Dish Antenna Technology: A Copyright Owner's Dilemma, Sydnee Robin Singer

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Press And The Public Interest: An Essay On The Relationship Between Social Behavior And The Language Of First Amendment Theory, Lee C. Bollinger

Michigan Law Review

I would like to explore in this essay one aspect of the contemporary American debate over the theory of freedom of speech and press. The subject I want to address is this: whether the principle of freedom of speech and press should be viewed as protecting some personal or individual interest in speaking and writing or whether it should be seen as fostering a collective or public interest. Sometimes this issue is stated as being whether the first amendment protects a "right to speak" or a "right to hear," though in general the problem seems to be whether we should …

Sports Broadcasting And The Law, Robert Alan Garrett, Philip R. Hochberg

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Fair Use Old And New: The Betamax Case And Its Forebears, M. B. W. Sinclair

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Free Speech And High Tech, Francis Dummer Fisher

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Technologies of Freedom by Ithiel de Sola Pool and Teletext and Videotex in the United States: Market Potential, Technology, Public Policy Issues by John Tydeman, Hubert Lipinski, Richard P. Adler, Michael Nyhan and Laurence Zwimpfer.

Over The Wire And On Tv: Cbs And Upi In Campaign '80, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Over the Wire and On TV: CBS and UPI in Campaign '80 by Michael J. Robinson and Margaret A. Sheehan

The Proposed Repeal Of The Financial Interest And Syndication Rules: Network Domination Or Public Interest Representation, Evie L. Klintzer

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

In 1970, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted the Financial Interest and Syndication Rules (FISR) and the Prime Time Access Rule to increase programming diversity and permit independent producers greater access to prime time viewing hours. Now, fourteen years later, the FCC is seeking repeal of the FISR and deregulation of network affiliation in the syndication of independently produced programs. The author carefully examines the changes occurring in the television industry since the adoption of the FISR and the arguments favoring and opposing the proposed repeal, concluding that the FISR should be retained.

An Overview Of Sex Discrimination In Amateur Athletics, Jeffrey K. Riffer

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Sex-based discrimination in interscholastic sports has recently been challenged by both male and female athletes. The courts have reached conflicting decisions as to whether such discrimination should be allowed and, if so, under what circumstances. The author analyzes the constitutional and statutory bases of these decisions. The author argues that this area remains in confusion because many of these decisions inadequately consider the issues involved or are based on stereotypical views of male and female athletic ability.

The Seven-Year Itch: California Labor Code Section 2855, Jonathan Blaufarb

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

California Labor Code section 2855 applies a seven-year limit to the enforceability of personal service contracts. This note discusses section 2855 as it applies to the unique contractual practices of the entertainment industry, particularly the industry's use of mid-term contractual extensions and agreements. The author analyzes the courts' application of section 2855 in two representative cases and concludes that greater statutory guidance is needed in order for the courts to better interpret section 2855. The author suggests that an interpretive provision be added to section 2855 to create a "rebuttable presumption" that a personal service contract which is renegotiated mid-term …

Mother Knows Best: Reconciling Parental Consent With Minors' Rights In Shields V. Gross, Charmaine Jefferson

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The author analyzes the possibility that New York courts have eliminated a minor's common law right to disaffirm contracts under some circumstances. Sections 50 and 51 of New York's Civil Rights Law require the consent of a minor's parent or guardian for use of the minor's name, portrait, or picture. A parent's or guardian's consent may preclude the minor from later disaffirming a contract for the use of his or her name or photograph. The author suggests possible changes in legislation to protect the minor, as well as alternative legal approaches to prevent the use of photographs to which the …

Tax Accrual Workpapers: Protected By A Limited Privilege?, Patricia D. White

Articles

United States of America

v.

Arthur Young & Company and Amerada Hess Corporation

(Docket No. 82-687)

To be argued January 16, 1984

The Prime Time Access Rule: Six Commandments For Inept Regulation, Thomas G. Krattenmaker

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The Federal Communications Commission's Prime Time Access Rule (PTAR) forbids television stations affiliated with the major networks from broadcasting certain programs during certain hours if the programs were produced for one of the major networks. The author examines the reasons PTAR is favored by the networks but concludes that PTAR should be repealed since it does not further any goals of network regulation, disregards viewer welfare, and clashes with anticensorship policies. The author suggests that regulatory inaction will increase competition among the networks for viewers, eventually forcing the networks themselves to push for PTAR's repeal.

Freer Expression Or Greater Repression - Unesco And The Licensing Of Journalists, Karen D. Kraemer

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Political unrest in many regions of the world presents dangers to journalists, and thereby threatens the free flow of information. UNESCO's proposal to license international correspondents in order to help insure their safe conduct has met with strong criticism from the American press. This commentary examines several human rights instruments and their limited enforceability and suggests that there may be other viable options, including treaties and internal codes of ethics, that would stem the trend of violence against reporters.

Diversification And Regulated Industries - What's Next For The Telephone Holding Companies, Louis B. Schwartz

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Should regulated businesses be allowed to diversify into nonregulated areas? And if so, should the ratepayers be required to absorb the losses if these "investment opportunities" turn sour? Examining the landmark AT&T Divestiture Decree, the author argues that recent decisions regarding the permissible scope of outside operations have gone too far afield. By overemphasizing the potential benefits of competition, while underemphasizing important considerations of management psychology, the author feels unlimited diversification operates to everyone's detriment. The author concludes that the present guidelines are unworkable and offers some guiding principles for future decisions.