Chapter 12 and 13 Summery

Thanks to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, writers in the United States have tremendous freedom in their writing. The First Amendment was ratified in 1791 and provides significant protection for speech and writing communication. "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." Although some still argue to this day about what free speech involves, the amendment is pretty clear. Congress does not have the power, however, to abridge free speech. The First Amendment protects speech about politics, religion, and culture most highly. Fully protected speech, such as political, religious, and cultural speech, can only be restrained or punished by government in dire circumstances. The First Amendment protects speech about politics, religion, and culture most highly. While the free speech protection rules may seem reasonably clear, recent years have proven difficult for writers and media organizations. In a famous case, supermarket chain Food Lion sued ABC for an undercover news story that purported to show questionable food handling by Food Lion employees. Food Lion chose not to sue for defamation -- which is essentially challenging the truth of the information. Food Lion chose to sue for fraud and trespass based on the methods used by ABC to acquire the information.

In addition to Libel, writers can be sued when their stories invade someones privacy. Privacy is defined four different ways in the media; publication of private facts, intrusion into seclusion, false light, and appropriation. Violation of publication of private facts is understood to be publishing intense personal facts about an individual. Intrusion into seclusion is committed when a writer trespasses into someone's "personal space," whether physically or using technology. False light looks very much like libel, but there are important differences. A writer commits false light by presenting someone as being something that he or she is not. Appropriation arises most frequently in the context of advertising and public relations. It is defined as the unauthorized use of an individuals persona for commercial purposes.

Copyright law in the United States originated as a way to protect those who produce creative works by giving them the right kind of commercial monopoly on their works. If creators are rewarded, they will work hard and create great artistic works. Copyright protection, however,  does not last forever. At some point works cease to be legally protected and enter the public domain, which means that anyone can use them. But just because work is copyrighted does not mean that no other than the copyright owner can use the the work.

Up until fairly recently, advertising was not protected by the First Amendment. The Supreme Court apparently felt that advertising was beneath the notice of the Constitution, which is concerned with weightier issues than ads for products and services.

Many people try to become journalists, but not everyone succeeds. So what does it take to become a good journalist? The first and foremost personal attribute of a good journalist is a strong and confident sense of personal integrity; honesty. Journalists must be honest about themselves and their place in the world.