Media Law Schedule

(JOUR 3633)

Fall 2009

Rev. 8/09

• Bulleted items contain links to documents on this Web site or others that are needed to complete your assignments.

Tues., Aug. 25 -- Introduction

We'll talk about what you'll do in this course and about the Media Law Report. This report is worth about 35 percent of your grade, and you'll do it as a team.

• Print out a copy of the class Deadlines to refer to throughout the semester. (If there are discrepancies between the deadline page and the calendar page (this page) or what I say in class, please call them to my attention. All project deadlines will be discussed in class, so it is not an excuse to say that you were relying on the deadline list if it contains an error.)

Thurs., Aug. 27 -- Sources of Law

Lecture Outline No. 1 -- Sources of Law

Plopper Assignment: Chapters 1 & 2

Optional Middleton Assignment: Chapter 1

Class Web page:

• Read about the Effect of Precedent
• Read What a Citation Tells You

Read on the Web: Reading and Understanding the Law by Robert E. Drechsel, University of Wisconsin -- Madison

Optional Middleton Assignment: Appendix A, Finding and Reading the Law

Class Web page: Read How to Read a Law Case.

Print out and read a copy of Parts of an Opinion. Bring it to class with you.

• Media Law Report: Read an overview of the Media Law Report

Case Report -- Read about how to do it. Follow directions CAREFULLY for full credit (50 points). Due in class Oct. 8.

Lecture Outline No. 2 -- First Amendment

Optional Middleton Assignment: Chapter 2

Lecture Outline No. 3 -- Defamation

Plopper Assignment: Chapter 3, Defamation

Optional Middleton Assignment: Chapter 3

• Read It's time for Coody's facade to come off, an editorial written by Publisher Dave Stokes
• Read Times publisher defends probe into past of mayoral candidate, an article published on a news page.
• Read Morning News articles printed about the campaign.
• Print a copy of the case outline to help you follow the Coody case.

Plopper Chapters 1, 2 and 3 as well as all information presented in class and assigned on the Web.

Blue Book needed

NO HATS during exams, not even turned backward.

Don't forget your 3 x 5 card "cheat sheet."  THIS MUST BE an actual 3 x 5 card, not a piece of paper cut to 3 x 5. The card must be HAND-WRITTEN.

• Read How to Do Well on Media Law Exams
• Read and/or print a copy of the practice exam.
• Review What Your Citation Tells You and How to Read a Law Case

Lecture Outline No. 4 -- Privacy and "End Run" Torts

Plopper Assignment: Chapter 4

Optional Middleton Assignment: Chapter 4

Libel and Privacy Compared

Teams assigned for Media Law Report.

• Media Law Report: Read an overview of the Media Law Report
• Your Case Report is due in class Oct. 8.

Team Reporters: Send me an e-mail no later than 3 p.m. Wednesday containing the complete e-mail addresses of all of your team members. Don't put any other punctuation or letters around the e-mail addresses and use the regular font. If you gussy them up, my software will not pick them up as easily, so that's why I'm being so picky. Please make your subject line read: Law Team No. X (X being, of course, your team number).

Lecture Outline No. 5 -- Copyright

Optional Middleton Assignment: Chapter 5

Due: Case Report (50 points) Follow the directions exactly or you're likely to lose points.

Print out the MLR overview and Team Teaching Guide for this meeting.

Your team members will evaluate your preparation for this meeting. (Counts about 35 percent of your MLR grade.)

Conference agenda:

1. Teach your team mates what you have learned about your case and how it applies to the team problem.
2. Assign abstracts. Your first 10 abstracts are due Oct. 27.

• Read about Find MLR Sources
• Read about How to Write an Abstract .

Plopper Chapter 4 as well as information presented in class and assigned on the Web.

Privacy, Negligent Publishing, "Outrage" and Copyright

Blue Book needed

NO HATS during exams, not even turned backward.

Don't forget your 3 x 5 card "cheat sheet."  THIS MUST BE an actual 3 x 5 card, not a piece of paper cut to 3 x 5. The card must be HAND-WRITTEN.

Lecture Outline No. 6 -- Media and the Courts

Plopper Assignment: Chapter 7

Optional Middleton Assignment: Chapter 9

Mullins Library's journalism research specialist  will teach you to do the research you need to do for the Media Law Report.

DEADLINE: First 10 abstracts due

Plopper Assignment: Chapter 5

Optional Middleton Assignment: Chapter 10

Fair Trial v. Free Press and protection of News Sources, Notes and Film

Don't forget your 3 x 5 card "cheat sheet."  THIS MUST BE an actual 3 x 5 card, not a piece of paper cut to 3 x 5. The card must be HAND-WRITTEN.

Preparation for Oral Presentation & Media Law Report completion

At this meeting , you will prepare for the oral presentation and assign remaining abstracts. See details below.

• Print a copy of the suggested agenda for Team Meeting.
• Print a copy of guidelines for the oral presentation.

Assign remaining abstracts: Due Nov. 10

Team Reporters: Send me your team's idea for the oral presentation (with as much detail as possible) by e-mail by tomorrow at 5 p.m.

Dates of Presentation:

Teams 1-4:  Thursday, Nov. 12	Teams 5-8:  Tuesday, Nov. 17
Teams 9-10:  Thursday, Nov. 19

Lecture Outline No. 8 -- Access to Records and Meetings

Plopper Assignment: Chapter 6

Optional Middleton Assignment: Ch. 11

Comprehension Exercise: Read and print out a copy of Writing FOI Requests, for an in-class assignment

Due: Second 10 abstracts

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Thurs., Nov. 12 -- Corporate and Commercial Speech

Lecture Outline No. 9 -- Corporate and Commercial Speech

Plopper Assignment: Chapter 9

Optional Middleton Assignment: Ch. 6 & 7

Oral presentations --Teams 1-4 (10 minutes each team)

Oral presentations -- Teams 5-8 (10 minutes each team)

Lecture Outline No. 10 -- Obscenity and Indeceny

Plopper: Chapter 8

Optional Middleton Assignment: Chapter 8

Tues., Nov. 24 -- Time for team meetings

Thurs., Nov. 26    Thanksgiving Break

Tues., Dec. 1 -- Broadcasting, Cable and Beyond

Lecture Outline No. 11 -- Regulation of Electronic Media

Optional Middleton Assignment: Chapter 12 and Chapter 13 

Thursday, Dec. 3 ---Review for Exam

DEADLINE: Completed Media Law Reports due at the beginning of class
Class Participation Evaluation due

Tues., Dec. 8  -- Fourth Exam

 Lectures 9, 10 and 11 as well as all information presented in class and assigned on the Web

Blue Book needed

NO HATS during exams, not even turned backward.

Don't forget your 3 x 5 card "cheat sheet."  THIS MUST BE an actual 3 x 5 card, not a piece of paper cut to 3 x 5. The card must be HAND-WRITTEN.