SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Chapters 5, 6, 7

• 1 / 1. In the U.S., privacy against the mass media is enforced primarily through

• a. the personal privacy clause of the Constitution.

• b. federal civil rights statutes.• c. four separate privacy torts.• d. criminal trespass laws.

• 1 / 2.What is the basic theory behind appropriation law?

• a. Individuals should never be photographed without their consent.

• b. The news media should never falsely portray individuals' personal beliefs.

• c. Individuals have the right to be free from unwanted observation by the media.

• d. Individuals alone should have the right to control the marketing or exploitation of their own personages.

• 1 / 3. In order to successfully sue for appropriation individuals must be

• a. readily identifiable.• b. photographed in a place where

privacy is reasonably expected.• c. represented in a misleading

context.• d. All of the above

• 1 / 4.The case of Hugo Zacchini, the "human cannonball," was an oddity in appropriation law because

• a. the appropriation occurred in a news program.

• b. the plaintiff was in a public place.• c. the plaintiff was not identified in

the film.• d. all represented facts were indeed

true.

• 1 / 5. Individuals’ appearances in news media self-promotions generally will not amount to appropriation unless

• a. a photograph is included.• b. the individual is identified by

name.• c. the promo is published or

broadcast more than once.• d. an endorsement is implied.

• 1 / 6.How is the tort of disclosure of private facts different from libel?

• a. Truth is the major defense to disclosure of private facts.

• b. In the private-facts tort, the content need not be objectionable.

• c. Disclosure of private facts concerns the dissemination of accurate information.

• d. The disclosure of private facts tort deals exclusively with public figures, not private persons.

• 1 / 7.The false-light tort aims to• a. compensate individuals for

personal embarrassment and anguish.• b. compensate corporations whose

products are falsely represented before the public.

• c. allow individuals to prevent damage to reputation.

• d. All of the above

• 1 / 8.When false information is added to journalistic accounts, as in the Cantrell case, this falls into the kind of false-light situation called

• a. distortion• b. embellishment• c. fictionalization• d. None of the above

• 1 / 9.The case of Dietemann v. Time Inc. illustrates that

• a. there is no blanket newsworthiness privilege in intrusion cases.

• b. there is no First Amendment immunity in intrusion cases.

• c. using subterfuge or "white lies" in order to gain information is always a tort.

• d. Both a and b

Next three Questions relate to the following facts:

• Suppose you are the editor of a weekly newspaper in a small town. In your "20 Years Ago Today" column, you reveal that local resident Milo Coglin had been charged with the murder of his mother-in-law. You obtained the information from public records, and it was true. In fact, Milo was convicted and served a prison term. But in the years since his release from prison he returned to town, took a respectable job in an auto repair shop, rehabilitated himself, and made new friends who were unaware of his criminal record. He's very upset about your column.

• 1 / 10. In a lawsuit against you for disclosure of private facts, would you most likely have a privilege to rely on?

• a. Yes, because truth is a complete defense.

• b. Yes, because the information came from public records.

• c. No, because you created a false impression about Milo.

• d. No, because personal criminal information automatically becomes confidential after 10 years.

• 1 / 11. Milo's chances of winning a "private facts" case against you would be greater if

• a. you also revealed that Milo pleaded guilty at the arraignment.

• b. Milo is currently a candidate for mayor.• c. he asked for a retraction, and you failed

to print it.• d. you also revealed that Milo has AIDS —

a fact you learned from his doctor.• e. Milo had recently become a local hero

by thwarting a murder attempt in his neighborhood.

• 1 / 12. In a lawsuit against you for appropriation, a key factor in the outcome would be

• a. whether your paper is a profit-making enterprise.

• b. whether Milo's name was used in a headline visible in newsracks.

• c. whether Milo had plans to write his own account of the murder he committed.

• d. All of the above.• e. None of the above.

• 6 / 1.Sometimes there is implied consent to enter private property, under the legal doctrine of

• a. due process.• b. custom and usage.• c. equal access.• d. journalistic privilege.

• 6 / 2.Thanks to the First Amendment, journalists while in hot pursuit of a story are generally immune to trespass law.

• a. True• b. False

• 6 / 3.In two recent Supreme Court cases, Wilson v. Layne and Hanlon v. Berger, law enforcement officers brought media along during residential searches. The Court said the government could be liable for

• a. the tort of intrusion.• b. criminal trespass.• c. violation of the equal-protection

clause.• d. violation of the homeowners’

Fourth Amendment rights.

• 6 / 4.When members of the media are welcomed upon privately controlled property,

• a. consent does not necessarily extend to all newsgathering activities.

• b. consent automatically extends to the full range of newsgathering activities.

• c. videotaping can be prohibited, but audio taping cannot.

• d. separate, express consent is always needed to photograph or tape events that occur on the property.

• 6 / 5.At the scenes of accidents, crimes, and natural disasters, newspeople in all states have a legal right to

• a. obtain press passes from law enforcement agencies.

• b. assume the risk of injury and cross police lines.

• c. enter any area where law enforcement personnel are present.

• d. None of the above

• 6 / 6.When government voluntarily opens its facilities to the general public, it generally may

• a. exclude the media.• b. exclude particular members of the

media.• c. prohibit cameras or tape

recorders.• d. All of the above

• 6 / 7.State open-meeting laws require not only that meetings be conducted openly, but also that

• a. agencies provide advance public notice of their meetings.

• b. agencies make videotapes of all their meetings.

• c. media cameras be allowed at the meetings.

• d. All of the above

• 6 / 8. The state open-meeting laws typically apply to

• a. any state-funded organization.• b. the multi-member, deliberative

bodies of local government.• c. multi-member agencies at the

state government level.• d. Both b and c

• 6 / 9.Whether a "meeting" is taking place is determined by

• a. the number of agency members present and the place where discussions occur.

• b. the nature of the discussion and the place where discussions occur.

• c. the number of agency members present and the nature of the discussion.

• d. the nature of the discussion alone.

• 6 / 10. The open-meeting laws authorize closed sessions, sometimes called ________, when certain topics are discussed.

• a. covert sessions• b. executive sessions• c. in-house sessions• d. privileged sessions

• 6 / 11. Which of the following is NOT one the typical exceptions to the public-meeting requirement?

• a. labor negotiations• b. real estate negotiations• c. legislation enactment• d. personnel matters

• 6 / 12. The federal Sunshine Act applies only to

• a. the executive branch.• b. agencies headed by a collegial

body of two or more members.• c. agencies headed by members

who are appointed by the president.• d. All of the above

• 6 / 13. Under the federal Freedom of Information Act, the public and media have a right to inspect documents of

• a. the executive branch of government, excluding the president and his immediate staff.

• b. Congress, including almost all congressional committees.

• c. the federal courts at all levels.• d. All of the above

• 7 / 1.Courts have held that the impartial-jury guarantee in the Constitution refers to a jury that

• a. is "fair" and has no prior knowledge of the case whatsoever.

• b. is in an open, unprejudiced frame of mind as evidence is presented.

• c. has never before heard of the defendant.

• d. All of the above

• 7 / 2.By virtue of the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Sixth Amendment's protections for criminal defendants apply to state prosecutions as well as federal ones.

• a. True• b. False

• 7 / 3.What observation did Chief Justice Warren Burger make in his 1976 majority opinion in Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart?

• a. The First Amendment takes priority over the Sixth.

• b. The Sixth Amendment is a specialized protection that takes priority over the First.

• c. No priority is assigned as between the First and Sixth amendments.

• d. There is no potential for conflict between the First and Sixth amendments.

• 7 / 4.One Supreme Court opinion in particular seemed to command judges to take virtually any steps necessary to assure that cases are tried in the courtroom and not in the media. That was the

• a. Sheppard opinion• b. Rideau opinion• c. Irvin opinion• d. Nebraska Press opinion

• 7 / 5.Gag orders aimed at media coverage of legal proceedings can be constitutionally valid only in extremely rare circumstances, when the trial judge specifically finds that

• a. a gag order on the media would indeed operate to prevent the danger of prejudicial influence.

• b. pretrial publicity about the case would be intense and pervasive.

• c. no alternative measures would work to offset the effects of the publicity.

• d. All of the above

• 7 / 6.Which of the following are most appropriate for combating the effects of publicity concurrent with trial, rather than pretrial publicity?

• a. admonishment and sequestration• b. voir dire and sequestration• c. continuance and admonishment• d. continuance and voir dire

• 7 / 7.Courtroom access rights were first established in what landmark case?

• a. Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court

• b. Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court

• c. Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia

• d. Seattle Times Co. v. Rhinehart

• 7 / 8.Which of the following is NOT one of the elements to the four-prong test that evolved from Press-Enterprise I ?

• a. The closure of a criminal trial must be no broader than necessary to protect an overriding interest.

• b. There must be no reasonable alternatives to closure that would protect against the danger.

• c. A substantial probability must exist that overriding interests would be damaged by conducting the proceeding in public.

• d. Alternative avenues of media coverage must be assured by the court.

• 9. Under current law, media cameras are generally permitted in

• a. the U.S. Supreme Court.• b. all lower federal courts.• c. the majority of state courts, both

trial and appellate.• d. All of the above

• 10. The Supreme Court decision in Branzburg v. Hayes has led to

• a. an absolute First Amendment right for journalists to refuse to testify in court.

• b. a qualified right for journalists to withhold information from the courts.

• c. a standard rule that journalists must testify in court to the same extent as anyone else.

• d. a federal rule that journalists can never be required to reveal their sources or unpublished notes.

• 11. Under the typical shield law, journalists may seek protection when they receive a

• a. summons.• b. subpoena.• c. search warrant.• d. Any of the above

• 12. In Zurcher v. Stanford Daily, the Supreme Court held that

• a. the First Amendment does not protect news media from police searches.

• b. student-newspaper reporters are not protected by shield laws.

• c. campus newspapers may be sued for breaching promises to confidential sources.

• d. grand juries may force journalists to reveal their sources and testify at trial.

• 13. In Cohen v. Cowles Media the Supreme Court in 1991 held that a news source who had expected anonymity

• a. could sue the media under principles of contract law.

• b. could sue the media for the tort of disclosure of private facts.

• c. could not sue because no agreement was in writing.

• d. could not sue because the expectation of anonymity was unreasonable.