COMM3300/CASD3235/TVRA3535: Leon Lazaroff
Course Overview
Course Description
U.S. Media Law. The First Amendment. Intellectual Property. U.S. Media Policy History. Digital and satellite challenges for policy and law. Theories of public interest and deregulation. Cultural and political implications of law and policy.
Prerequisite: Television and Radio 1165 or permission of the instructor
About Communication Law and Policy
COMM 3300/CASD 3235/TVRA 3535 is an introductory course in U.S. Communication Law, examining the legal limitations on communication as well as the rights and responsibilities of professional communicators.
This is a descriptive course, not a “how-to” course. This course will not qualify you to provide legal advice. It will, however, provide you with a basic understanding of the law and in some cases may provide you with enough information to know when you might need to contact an attorney for legal assistance.
Learning Outcomes
- Learn the basic principles of communication law in areas such as freedom of expression, journalism, broadcasting, and business communication;
- Understand the historical, legal, and cultural contexts out of which the principles of freedom of expression arise;
- Recognize differences in philosophies and approaches to communication law in other countries compared to the US; and
- Develop, articulate, and defend opinions on controversial issues in communication law.
In other words:
This class introduces the evolution and dynamics of communication law: How U.S. society, reflected in court decisions, has come to treat the rights of speech (which includes publishing, art, privacy, and the right not to speak.) We’ll spend a lot of time on the First Amendment, how it relates to political speech, commercial speech, hate speech, news gathering, libel and privacy, and the rights of individuals and corporations to affect the political process.
We’ll also look at media policy as it relates to television, cable-TV, the Internet, music and more broadly, intellectual property laws. We’ll study the role of governmental agencies, principally the Federal Communications Commission, to set policies about media ownership, news reporting, and advertising. We’ll also explore the cultural and political implications of communications law and policy.
Requirements
Textbook/Materials
Two Books:
1. “First Things First: A Modern Coursebook on Free Speech Fundamentals” by Ronald Collins, Will Creeley & David Hudson”
A digital copy of First Things First (FTF) is available for free, but I encourage you to buy the hard copy. While we do live in a digital world, I think you’ll better learn this subject by holding the book, marking it up, carrying it with you. The hard copy costs $15 on Amazon.
2. “The Fight for Free Speech” by Ian Rosenberg, New York University Press
Additional required readings -- articles from magazines, websites, etc -- will be assigned during the semester. They will be posted on Blackboard.
Podcast:
“Make No Law: The First Amendment Podcast”:
https://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/make-no-law/
Specific episodes of “Make No Law” will be assigned as part of class discussions, tests and essays.
Policies
Responsibility and Accountability
The degree to which students benefit from targeted learning outcomes depend upon the commitment and effort they make to the course. It is expected that students exhibit a level of overall maturity and reliability.
Students are responsible for all assignments, even if they are absent. Late papers, failures to complete reading assignments for class discussions and lack of preparedness for in-class discussions, group projects and presentations will jeopardize your successful completion of this course.
Students are responsible for keeping track of assignments and associated due dates (noted in the syllabus and/or on Blackboard) to assure the on-time submission of work.
Controversy:
We will be dealing with some controversial material that may be a little upsetting to some people some of the time. College students should expect to be challenged, of course; but no one should feel uncomfortable. Also, you are encouraged to speak up in class to share your perspective, your point of view. No view is right or wrong. I want everyone, no matter their point of view, to feel comfortable expressing their view, and doing it in such a way that is respectful of others. Please advise the instructor in private about any personal issues you may or might have with anything discussed in the course materials.
Course Information
Brooklyn College
Department of Communication Arts, Sciences and Disorders
Communication Law and Policy
COMM3300/CASD3235/TVRA3535 R3
3 hours, 3 credits
Spring 2021
Wednesday, 6:30pm-9:15pm
Room: Not Yet Decided
Leon Lazaroff
3439 Boylan
leon.lazaroff@brooklyn.cuny.edu
Resources
Major First Amendment Cases in U.S. History:
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE):
https://www.thefire.org/first-amendment-library/special-collections/timeline/the-history-of-free-speech/
First Amendment Overview:
1. Video: Justice Elena Kagan Discusses the First Amendment:
2. Podcast: The American Tradition of Dissent:
https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/podcast/live-at-americas-town-hall-dissent-an-american-tradition
3. First Amendment Summary (Geoffrey Stone and Eugene Volokh):
https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/interpretation/amendment-i/interps/266
4. Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University:
https://knightcolumbia.org/
5. First Amendment Press Freedoms
https://time.com/5580170/first-amendment-press-freedom-history/
Hate Speech
1. Hate Speech is Protected Speech by Ken White
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-white-first-amendment-slogans-20170608-story.html
2. Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Vbjj9wJCD4
3. The Harm in Hate Speech
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpcSPsXCqtQ
Leaks-Press Privilege
Jailing Journalists
https://www.rcfp.org/jailed-fined-journalists-confidential-sources/
Campus Speech
1. "American Students Have Simple Demands"
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a19436213/gun-violence-walkout-school-shootings/
2. Berkeley Law Prof. Erwin Chemerinsky on Campus Speech:
https://www.cornell.edu/video/erwin-chemerinsky-free-speech-on-campus
3. Mario Savio Memorial Lecture Fund
https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/mario-savio-memorial-lecture-fund/
Obscenity
Northwestern Law Prof. Martin Redish Lecture:
https://www.chicagohumanities.org/media/censored-first-amendment-sex-and-obscenity/
Berkeley Law Prof. Erwin Chemerisnky on Obscenity:
https://es.coursera.org/lecture/chemerinsky-individual-rights/unprotected-speech-YHtxn
Revenge Porn:
https://firstamendmentwatch.org/is-revenge-porn-protected-by-the-first-amendment/
Good short history of obscenity:
https://revolutionsincommunication.com/law/?page_id=45
Schedule
Class Assignments:
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