Quiz for Chapter 8
1. Define libel. ___________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________
2. List the four elements of libel:
a. _______________________________________________________
b. _______________________________________________________
c. _______________________________________________________
d. _______________________________________________________
3. The most important libel decision in the history of the United States was ___________ _____________________________________.
4. Define the actual malice rule. _____________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________.
5. The Court in Curtis Publishing v. Butts set the fault standard for public figures. What did the Court decide?__________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________
6. List the media’s defenses against libel:
a. __________________________________________________________________
b. __________________________________________________________________
c. __________________________________________________________________
d. __________________________________________________________________
e. __________________________________________________________________
7. Justice Brennan’s decision in New York Times v. Sullivan relied upon the concept of the marketplace of ideas as First Amendment doctrine. Explain the marketplace of ideas and why it was so important in this case. ____________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________
8. The test the Supreme Court created to identify a limited-purpose public figure has three parts:
a. ________________________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________________________
c. ________________________________________________________________
True/False
__ 9. Libel lawsuits are primarily filed against smaller media who make careless mistakes and rarely against major outlets.
__10. The media win the vast majority of libel cases, either through dismissals, favorable verdicts, or verdicts overturned on appeal.
__11. No libel award against a media outlet has ever exceeded $1 million.
__12. Congress passed the SPEECH Act to stop libel judgments against U.S. citizens or corporations that fail to meet American constitutional standards of due process and First Amendment protections.
__13. The Supreme Court ruled in New York Times v. Sullivan that state libel laws did not have to incorporate the First Amendment protection provided the media.
__14. Justice Hugo Black, in his concurring opinion, wrote that state libel laws threaten the existence of a media strong enough to criticize the conduct of public officials.
__15. The Supreme Court ruled that altering quotes is not evidence of actual malice unless the alteration is a deliberate attempt to change the meaning.