Click here to preview chapter 1.

You don’t need to sacrifice style to get the substance you want from a communication law book.

Content and coverage you want, with the color, visuals, and learning features your students need.

Journalism and communication law is anything but dry and boring, so why should your book send that message to your students? Getting away from densely written text, The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication offers students essential coverage and substantive discussion, but brings the subject to life with an abundance of photographs, useful feature boxes, timelines, a marginal glossary, and a colorful interior design. The book is sure to hook students and keep them reading, while grounding them in core concepts.

With an approach geared towards students as future practitioners, not as future lawyers, the authors provide a foundation for understanding the law by balancing conceptual learning with practical guidance. All of the book’s features advance that goal and include:

• Suppose… chapter-opening cases—hypothetical scenarios offer the perfect jumping-off point for students to situate legal issues and get them thinking critically;
• Landmark Cases in Context—graphic timelines at the start of each chapter help students link landmark cases to key historical events;
• realWorld Law boxes—engaging stories of the law in practice lend human interest while illustrating contemporary examples or emerging topics;
• Points of Law boxes—nuggets of essential information underscore key points, crystallize knowledge, and often include legal tests and handy checklists;
• Cases for Study—two excerpted cases—complete with case facts, an explanatory headnote, and questions—conclude each chapter and give students an opportunity to grapple with justices’ opinions without sending them to a companion casebook.
• Bolded key terms and a marginal glossary—students quickly and easily master key legal terms and concepts;
• More than 75 photos—compelling images give students a window into the drama and importance of events, and keep them turning the pages.

Timely updates, a revamped interior design, and a new publisher committed to independent publishing and editorial quality, make the second edition of The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication a must-see offering.

*Contents subject to change. Please check back later this spring for the final table of contents. 

1. The Rule of Law: Law in a Changing Communication Environment
The Court System
Sources of the Law
The Case Process
Finding the Law
Cases for Study
Hamdi v. Rumsfeld
Texas v. Johnson

2. The First Amendment: Speech and Press Freedoms in Theory and Reality
Interpreting the First Amendment
The Origins of the First Amendment
First Amendment Values
Contemporary Prior Restraints
Court Scrutiny of Laws That Affect First Amendment Rights
Public and Nonpublic Forums
Media Emergence, Convergence and Consolidation
Cases for Study
New York Times Co. v. United States
United States v. O'Brien

3. Disruptive Speech: Threats to Stability, Safety and Education
Protecting National Security, Public Education and Tranquility
Court Tests to Protect Disruptive Speech
Speech Assaults
Cases for Study
Brandenburg v. Ohio
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District

4. Libel: The Plaintiff’s Case
A Brief History
Contemporary Issues
The Elements of Libel: The Plaintiff’s Case
Cases for Study
New York Times Company v. Sullivan
Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.

5. Libel: Defenses and Privileges
Fair Report Privilege
Fair Comment and Criticism
Opinion
Neutral Reportage
Wire Service Defense
Single-Publication Rule
The Libel-Proof Plaintiff
Single-Mistake Rule
Other Defense Issues
Cases for Study
Ollman v. Evans
Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co. et al.

6. Protecting Privacy: Conflicts between the Press and the Right to Privacy
Sources of Privacy Protection
Privacy Law’s Development
Appropriation
Intrusion
Private Facts
Cases for Study
Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn
Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co.

7. Emotional Distress and Physical Harm: When Words and Pictures Hurt
Emotional Distress
Physical Harm
Other Dangers
Cases for Study
Hustler Magazine v. Falwell
Rice v. Paladin Enterprises, Inc.

8. Newsgathering: Pitfalls and Protections
Newsgathering Pitfalls
Newsgathering Protections
Cases for Study
United States Department of Justice v. Reporters for Freedom of the Press
Charles H. Wilson, et al., v. Harry Layne, Deputy United States Marshal, et al.

9. Reporter’s Privilege: Protecting the Watchdogs
Reporter’s Privilege
Shield Laws
Breaking Promises of Confidentiality
Search Warrants
Cases for Study
Branzburg v. Hayes
Cohen v. Cowles Media Co.

10. The Media and the Courts: Preserving Public Trials and Preventing Prejudice
Fair Trials and Prejudicial Speech
Remedies to Prejudice
Access to Trials
Electronic Access to Trials
Bench-Bar-Press Guidelines
Access to Court Records
Cases for Study
Sheppard v. Maxwell
Richmond Newspapers v. Virginia

11. Electronic Media Regulation: From Radio to the Internet
Federal Communications Commission
Broadcast Regulation
Cable Television Regulation
Direct Broadcast Satellites
Internet Regulation
Cases for Study
Red Lion Broadcasting Co., Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. FCC

12. Obscenity, Indecency and Violence: Social Norms and Legal Standards
Obscenity
Indecency
Other Limits on Offensive Speech
Media Violence
Cases for Study
Miller v. California
FCC v. Pacifica Foundation

13. Intellectual Property: Protecting and Using Intangible Creations
Copyright
Trademarks

14. Advertising: When Speech and Commerce Converge
The Evolution of the Commercial Speech Doctrine
Legislative Advertising Regulation
Internet Advertising
Cases for Study
Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission of New York
Lorillard Tobacco Company, et al. v. Reilly

This book is thorough and covers most of the essential elements that I want my students to leave the course understanding, and it also allows for the kinds of diversions along the way that inject color into information that is too often presented in black-and-white terms. It is as user-friendly a communications law textbook that I have seen. The timelines that open each chapter give students a holistic perspective of the legal concepts and cases that we discuss in class, as well as a flavor of the interdisciplinary approach they're utilising in many of the best classes they take. The authors should be complimented for their grasp of the contemporary issues facing media practioners. Ultimately, I find The Law of Journalism and Mass Communication to be a very good book for teaching a course like mine. - Michael Kapellas, Indiana University

Robert Trager teaches courses in communication law, freedom of expression, and media institutions at the University of Colorado. He is the founding editor of Communication Law and Policy. Before joining the University of Colorado faculty, Trager was an attorney with a major cable television company and practiced media law with a firm in Washington, D.C.

Joseph Russomanno is associate professor in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He has worked as a news reporter in radio and television and as a television news writer, newscast producer and executive producer at stations in St. Louis and Denver. He has received several awards for his broadcast work. His teaching and research focus on broadcast issues and First Amendment law.

Susan Dente Ross is professor at Washington State University where she serves as the associate dean for research in the College of Liberal Arts. She conducts research on the freedoms of speech and press and the ways in which these rights can help advance greater global equity and justice. She also is a leader in international initiatives to increase the ability of media to contribute to conflict transformation and resolution.

A student companion website offers chapter summaries, interactive quizzes, vocabulary flashcards, and annotated web links.

Register for instructor's resources including a test bank and PowerPoint lecture slides.