Journalism Quiz # 13

Sam falsely published that Joan robbed a bank. In some states, Joan may sue for infliction of emotional distress as well as for defamation.

True

False

Private individual plaintiffs suing for intentional infliction of emotional distress do not have to prove actual malice on the defendant’s part.

True

False

The “opinion” defense to a libel suit is based on ______.

The common law

State law

Administrative law

The First Amendment

A newspaper reporting on a U.S. senator making a speech on the senate floor has ______.

A fair report privilege

An absolute privilege

A partial privilege

No privilege

Which of the following factors do many courts consider in determining whether a defamatory story is protected by the opinion defense?

The meaning behind the writer’s words

Whether the reporter felt malice toward the plaintiff

Whether the story included quotes from sources

The specific context in which the story was published

The libel defense of “neutral reportage” ______.

Is accepted by only a few courts

Is valid only in matters of national security

Was established by the U.S. Supreme Court

Is protection against a libel suit based on a journalist’s statements of opinion

The qualified privilege defense in a libel suit ______.

Is an absolute privilege for reporters

Applies only to statements made within official forums

Can be lost if the story is not fair and accurate

Requires a showing of reckless disregard

A witness testifying in a murder trial has ______.

A conditional privilege

An absolute privilege

A partial privilege

No privilege

Channel 3 airs a story that it received from the Associated Press, a wire service. The story says Sally, the president of Acme Biscuit Company, was arrested for bank robbery. The story was false. Sally sues Channel 3 for libel. Sally will likely ______.

Lose her suit against Channel 3 because Channel 3 has an absolute privilege

Lose her suit against Channel 3 because Channel 3 reasonably relied on Associated Press

Win her suit against Channel 3 because Channel 3 republished a libel

Win her suit against Channel 3 because Channel 3 ran the story with actual malice

The “fair comment” defense to a libel suit is based on ______.

The common law

The federal law

The administrative law

The First Amendment

One of the most basic and ironclad of all libel defenses is ______.

Legal standing

Goodwill

Ignorance

Truth

In effect, the purpose of SLAPP lawsuits is to silence critics.

True

False

Journalists reporting on government affairs typically have an absolute privilege.

True

False

Many courts use a four-part test in assessing the constitutional libel defense of opinion.

True

False

Sam falsely published that Joan robbed a bank. In some states, Joan may sue for infliction of emotional distress as well as for defamation.

True

False

Private individual plaintiffs suing for intentional infliction of emotional distress do not have to prove actual malice on the defendant’s part.

True

False

Rhetorical hyperbole as a libel defense is based on the idea that no reasonable person would take the material in question seriously, and therefore that material did not damage anyone’s reputation.

True

False

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects Internet service providers from libel claims, although the protection is not absolute.

True

False

The idea that the law should protect privacy—the right to be left alone—was first put forward in the United States ______.

By the first Congress to meet in the United States in 1790

In a law review article written by Warren and Brandeis and published in 1890

In a U.S. Supreme Court case in 1950

By President Clinton after congressional approval in 1998

What did the U.S. Supreme Court decide in the United States v. Jones?

Physically mounting a GPS transmitter on a car amounts to a search and violates the Fourth Amendment.

Physically mounting a GPS transmitter on a car is not a search and does not violate the Fourth Amendment.

Recording a phone conversation is a violation of the Fourth Amendment.

The use of drug-sniffing dogs to search an area around a house after a tip that the homeowner was growing marijuana amounts to a Fourth Amendment violation.

In states in which the right of publicity survives a person’s death, the right of publicity may be considered as a ______.

Personal right

Property right

Right of appropriation

Right of survival

Appropriation would be ______.

Filming an auto accident for the evening news when one of the victims tells the press to leave

Using a newsworthy photo of a person in an advertisement without permission

Reusing a newsworthy newspaper photo in an ad for the newspaper that originally published the photo

Creating a parody sketch of a celebrity and selling it online.

A magazine advertisement for Gutrot Cola shows a man drinking one of the company’s products. The man looks just like BinR, a rap singer. The advertisement does not say the man is not BinR. BinR, who didn’t give permission to the candy company, sues Gutrot. BinR will ______.

Win because he did not give the company permission to use someone who looks like him in an advertisement

Win because celebrities’ pictures can never be used in advertisements

Lose because companies have the right to use famous people in advertisements without permission

Lose because the man in the advertisement was not BinR

Police officers give reporters permission to follow the officers into the house of a reputed drug dealer. The drug dealer likely ______.

Can successfully sue the reporters for intrusion if he did not give them permission to be in the house

Can successfully sue the reporters for intrusion, but only if the reporters refused to leave when the drug dealer told them to leave

Cannot successfully sue the reporters for intrusion if the police truly believed they had the right to give reporters permission to follow the officers into the house

Cannot successfully sue the TV station for invasion of privacy if the police had a search warrant

A reporter falsely tells a homeowner she is from the Newcomer’s Welcoming Committee, a private nongovernmental group. The homeowner admits the reporter into the house. Later discovering the reporter’s true identity, the homeowner sues for intrusion. The homeowner likely will ______.

Win the intrusion suit; nothing further will happen to the reporter

Win the intrusion suit; the reporter may face criminal charges

Lose the intrusion suit; the reporter may face criminal charges

Lose the intrusion suit; nothing further will happen to the reporter

In private facts lawsuits, ______.

There is a “bright-line” division between stories that are newsworthy and those that are not newsworthy

It does not matter if the story is newsworthy

Courts carefully examine the story to determine if it is newsworthy

Newsworthiness cannot be determined

A woman is sitting in her living room with a man who is not her husband. A newspaper photographer, standing on the sidewalk across the street, takes a picture of the couple with a telephoto lens, and the picture appears in the next day’s paper. The woman would have a good case for ______.

Appropriation

Intrusion

Private facts

False light

What is the primary outcome in Supreme Court’s Spokeo decision?

Search engines that provide personal information for a fee violate federal privacy laws.

A plaintiff does not have standing to sue for damages if he cannot show that he suffered “concrete” harm.

The FTC does not have the authority to regulate data brokers.

Video service providers are prohibited from knowingly disclosing a consumer’s personally identifiable information to a third party.

To win a false light suit, a plaintiff may prove either that the story was false or that the story was true.

True

False

Intrusion cannot occur if paparazzi are taking pictures in public parks.

True

False

Quiz:	Journalism Quiz # 13
Subject:	Libel And Emotional Distress
Total Questions:	491 MCQs
Time:	491 Minutes