Media Law ScenariosWhat’s Law got to do, got to do with it?

Areas we’ll cover First Amendment

Libel

Privacy

Intellectual Property

Scenario 1 You want to publish an article on a trendy new way to commit suicide that a

top-level university administrator says would threaten student safety. The administrator orders you to withhold publication. What can you do?

Scenario 2 A story on anarchists at Evergreen has generated a heated discussion

through site comments. Some of the comments include attacks on specific student leaders, including accusations of financial fraud using student fee money for personal purchases. Other comments contain such personal accusations along with useful, officially documented statistical information that could serve to make students more aware of recent student fee trends. Finally, someone posts a comment saying that CPJ is guilty of having libelous statements on the site and should be sued. What do you do?

Scenario 3 CPJ is alerted in a message from an anonymous source saying that campus

police arrested a drunken faculty member at the Flaming Eggplant, something that many witnesses saw. A day later, another student sends CPJ an article recounting the event, along with a photo of the professor being taken away by police. The article also says that the professor has repeatedly cancelled classes this quarter, and it provides quotes from named students who are frustrated at their lack of academic progress. The editors decide to run the article with the following headline: “Police arrest drunken professor in Eggplant cafe.” Can the professor sue for libel?

Scenario 4 Someone submits an opinion column to CPJ in which they write, “ [Named

staff member] has a history of offending students with unwanted advances and innuendo, but no one seems to care. If you ask me, she’s a sexual predator. Maybe Evergreen and the law haven’t caught up with her yet, but how long do we have to wait?” Do you publish this?

Scenario 5 A candidate for major public office who is an outspoken activist for

traditional family values is seen through a window at his home passionately kissing someone who is clearly not his wife. You’re his neighbor, a photographer with lightning-quick reflexes and the ability to take a good picture with a telephoto lens from a distance. Do you take the picture?

Scenario 6 CPJ posts a photo (not taken by a CPJ member) associated with a popular TV

show on its website along with a review for a new season of the show. Is this legal?

Scenario 7 CPJ readers complain to leadership that an advertisement on the site

contains libelous information. What should CPJ do?