The final will cover only the material on journalism law, ethics, and history.  Please bring a blue book for your answers and record ALL answers in that book.  The exam will be given in JC 101 at 2:15 on Thursday, December 18.
        If you missed any of the news quizzes, there will be make-up news quiz given at the final exam. It will include FIVE (5) items on news reported in the American News between December 10 and 18 (all in a short-answer format) and TEN (10) items gleaned from the earlier news quizzes (all will be in a multiple-choice format).

I. Short Answers:
        These questions will call for a simple, one- or two-sentence answer.

1. There are three primary defenses against libel charges.  What are they?
2. Which of the following constitutes a libel: a true statement that injures someone’s reputation; any false statement about somebody, whether or not it injures their reputation; a false statement that injures somebody’s reputation? (More than one of these may be correct.) Which of the answers above can result in criminal or civil liability?
3. In libel law, what is the difference between a public official, a public figure, and a private citizen?
4. Identify a legal limitation, other than libel, on the freedom of the press in the United States.
5. What does “fair comment” mean in libel law?  In what areas might it apply?
6. What is the “slippery slope” argument in regard to First Amendment law?
7. Are school newspapers subject to the same freedom of expression as commercial publications? Why or why not?
8. What important principle of journalism law was established in the 1964 case of New York Times v. Sullivan?
9. What important principle of journalism law was established in the colonial case of New York v. Zenger?
10. Why didn’t the New York Times start to publish comic strips when other New York papers did?
11. What are two reasons why the New England Courant was significant in the history of American journalism?
12. What one technological development combined with the Civil War to change newspaper writing style?
13. Why are afternoon papers more likely to have gone out of business since World War II than morning papers?
14. What one technological invention was required before newspapers could begin to develop?
15. What is the significance of the Oxford Gazette?
16. Why were colonial newspapers more likely to support the rebels than the King in the period before the American Revolution?
17. Identify at least one important innovation in newspapers made by the New York Herald under the Bennetts.
18. What is a “muckraker”? What would we call such an individual today?
19. What is “payola” and how does it compromise journalistic integrity?
20. When The Cone opened in Aberdeen, the American News ran a picture of the new business.  Since the ice-cream stand was owned by the husband of the newspaper’s editor, some people might have seen a conflict of interest.  How could such an ethical conflict have been prevented? Suggest at least two alternatives.

1. Explain the distinction in libel law between public figures and private citizens.  Be sure to define both terms and explain how and why the standards for determining criminal or civil libel differ between these two groups.

2. Give an example of unethical behavior in journalism, and explain why it is unethical, i.e., what ethical principle is violated by this behavior.

3. You learn through sources that a local merchant has allowed under-age employees to sell alcohol, a clear violation of state law.  When you confront the merchant with your knowledge, he asks you not to publish the story and promises to correct the violation.  Do you write a story?  Do you inform the police of the violation?  Do you inform your editor? Explain the ethical basis for your decision and the extent to which libel law affects that decision.

4. Modes of electronic transmission (telegraph, radio, TV, and now the Internet) have greatly altered the speed with which news can be transmitted from one place to another.  Explain the effect that telegraph and television may have had on the way that news is written, even in print media.

5. In 2001, well-known radio and TV personalities from Sioux Falls were used as emcees for the President’s visit to South Dakota.  What possible ethical problems arise from this? For whom are they ethical concerns? (I.e., only for the journalists?  For the politicians?  For anyone else?)  What factors might mitigate the ethical lapse, if there is one?

6. Explain why the number of daily newspapers in the United States have declined over the past century, citing as many significant factors in the decline as you can.

7. Based on information leaked from her opponent, you’ve reported that a candidate for the U.S. House is a well-known frequenter of gay nightclubs on visits to the Twin Cities.  Now she’s sued you for libel.  What are your possible defenses, and why would they apply?

8. An 8-year-old child’s disappearance has been extensively covered by your paper,  with her name and picture in the paper.  After two days, she is found and it is discovered that she was raped.  Your paper has a policy against identifying rape victims by name, but in this case her name was already public before the rape was discovered.  Would you continue to refer to her by name, or revert to the normal policy?  Explain your reasoning.

9. Some years ago, a controversy about journalistic ethics arose when Sports Illustrated revealed that two prominent sportswriters regularly bet on races while covering horse racing.  Explain why gambling on races you are reporting on might constitute a conflict of interest.  Do you think this conflict is severe enough to prohibit betting by sportswriters?  Why or why not?

10. In August 2000, a small Alabama newspaper, the Washington County News, agreed to a $300,000 settlement in a libel case even though it had never identified the libel victim by name.  In a 1997 story on the 20th anniversary of the disappearance of a young woman, the paper had written a story stating that she had been raped and murdered, and her body dumped in a well.  A local man, Joseph Eugene Williams Jr., sued for libel, claiming that the newspaper had presented sufficient detail for his neighbors to identify him as the putative killer, resulting in harassment.  The paper elected to settle rather than risk greater charges on a jury trial.  Explain the possible effect of this judgment on future libel cases.

11. In the 1980s, the Chicago Sun-Times operated a bar, the Mirage Tavern, for several months in order to uncover bribery and corruption in the city inspectors’ office.  Reporters posed as bartenders and other bar employees to gather evidence.  The story won the newspaper a Pulitzer Prize, but was seen by some journalists as potentially disturbing.  Discuss the ethical issues that might be raised by such investigative reporting, and explain whether or not you think the Sun-Times was justified.