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Media & Entertainment Law

Media Law Prof Blog

Media law resources, information, and news for the academic community.

Post Frequency: 34.8/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 12:48:00

Should Bloggers Be Granted a Reporter's Privilege?

Posted on November 03, 2008
Anne M. Macrander has published "Bloggers as Newsmen: Expanding the Testimonial Privilege." It will be published in the Boston University Law Review, October 2008. Here is the abstract. The prevalence and influence of Internet users and bloggers has risen exponentially...

"Start Spreading the News...."

Posted on November 02, 2008
According to Politico.com, Joe the Plumber, whose name isn't Joe, it's Samuel Wurzelbacher, may be abandoning plumbing (he isn't licensed anyway), for a country music career. But according to the Melbourne Herald Sun, maybe not.

Daytime Drama Uses Photo of Murdered Child as Prop

Posted on November 01, 2008
The cable network SOAPnet is apologizing profusely for using a photograph of Christopher Barrios, a little boy who was kidnapped and murdered in March of 2007, as a prop in an episode of the show General Hospital: Nightshift. Those in...

Jury Deliberates Photographer's Claims Against Keanu Reeves

Posted on November 01, 2008
Photographer Alison Silva's case against actor Keanu Reeves has gone to the jury. Mr. Reeves' lawyer showed the jury footage of Mr. Silva using the hand he claimed was injured in the accident he alleged Mr. Reeves caused to steady...

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BBC Report Into Brand/Ross Calls Released; Ross Suspended; Calls Will Cost Him Nearly $2.5 Million In Pay

Posted on October 31, 2008
CNN reports that Jonathan Ross, who with Russell Brand called "Fawlty Towers" star Andrew Sachs and left offensive messages on his answering machine, will be suspended for three months and will lose 1.5 million pounds (nearly two and a half...

"Sopranos" Actor To Go On Trial For Officer's Killing; Man Arrested With Him Found Guilty of Murder

Posted on October 31, 2008
Steven Armento, on trial for the murder of officer Daniel Enchautegui, has been found guilty. Now, actor Lillo Brancato Jr., who appeared in the film A Bronx Tale and the series The Sopranos will go on trial as well. The...

Commissioner Tate on Senator Alexander's Hearing On Childhood Obesity

Posted on October 31, 2008
FCC Commissioner Deborah Tate issued this statement concerning Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)'s hearing on childhood obesity. I applaud Senator Alexander, Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, and ranking member on the Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families, for holding a...

On the Phil Spector Trial

Posted on October 31, 2008
An update on the Phil Spector trial from CNN.

What Professional Writers Know About Copyright Law

Posted on October 31, 2008
Martine Courant Rife, Lansing Community College, and Michigan State University, Rhetoric & Writing Program, has published "Study Report: Knowledge and Influence of Copyright Law for U.S. Professional Writers Working in Educational-Context Digital Environments...

Pricing Copyrights

Posted on October 31, 2008
Anne Barron, London School of Economics & Political Science, Department of Law, has published "Copyright Infringement, 'Free-Riding' and the Lifeworld," as LSE Legal Studies Working Paper No. 17/2008. Here is the abstract. The dominant explanatory/justificatory framework informing scholarly commentary on...

The Defense of Substantial Truth in Defamation Law

Posted on October 31, 2008
Meiring De Villiers, University of New South Wales, Faculty of Law, has published "Substantial Truth in Defamation Law." Here is the abstract. Truth is a complete defense to a defamation charge, but a defendant does not have to prove the...

Models of Constitutional Torts

Posted on October 31, 2008
David T. Zaring, University of Pennsylvania, Legal Studies Department, has published "Three Models of Constitutional Torts," in volume 2 of the Journal of Tort Law. Here is the abstract. The new prominence of constitutional tort claims like Valerie Plame's and...

After Garcetti

Posted on October 31, 2008
Helen Norton, University of Colorado School of Law, has published "Government Workers and Government Speech," in volume 7 of the First Amendment Law Review (2008). Here is the abstract. This essay, to be published in the First Amendment Law Review's....

Sienna Miller Sues Paparazzi

Posted on October 31, 2008
Sienna Miller's attorney told a London court that paparazzi have made her life "intolerable," so she is now pursuing one agency in particular. She is after the Big Pictures Agency in the High Court right now, and the judge hearing...

Harvard: "Thanks, But No Thanks" To Google Settlement

Posted on October 30, 2008
Harvard University has opted out of the Google settlement, citing access and cost concerns. Read more here.

Call For Papers From Stanford Law Review

Posted on October 30, 2008
From the Stanford Law Review: The Stanford Law Review is pleased to announce that it is now accepting article submissions for its 2009 symposium issue on Media, Justice, and the Law. Articles will be accepted on a rolling basis through...

Spector Retrial For Lana Clarkson Murder Begins

Posted on October 30, 2008
Music producer Phil Spector's retrial for the murder of Lana Clarkson has begun in Los Angeles. His first trial ended in a mistrial last year. The prosecution alleges that Mr. Spector killed Ms. Clarkson "in a fit of rage" when...

MPs Debate Whether Candidate Addresses Should Be Public Information

Posted on October 30, 2008
Members of Parliament are debating whether candidates standing for election should have to divulge their entire addresses, or whether such information could be kept private. In May the High Court ruled in a Freedom of Information case that MPs' addresses...

BBC Director General Moves to Contain, Mitigate Damage Over Brand/Ross Controversy

Posted on October 30, 2008
BBC Director General Mark Thompson is trying to assess the damage to the broadcaster as complaints pile up over the Brand/Ross phone prank mess, and Jonathan Ross said he was sorry for the "juvenile and thoughtless remarks" he left on...

Russell Brand Resigns Position As On-Air Host

Posted on October 29, 2008
Russell Brand has resigned from his position as an on-air BBC radio host as complaints have flooded in and the BBC, Ofcom, and government officials have all expressed concern over the calls he and Jonathan Ross made to Fawlty Towers...

More On Brand and Ross: What the Critics Think, What the Politicians Think, What the Public Thinks

Posted on October 29, 2008
Two Guardian commentators weigh in on the Brand/Ross fiasco: Lucy Mangan here and Zoe Williams here. Neither thinks Mr. Brand and Mr. Ross demonstrated shining moments on British radio. Where they differ is in their evaluation of the duo's abilities....

Lawsuit Over Google's Book Search Project Coming To an End With Settlement

Posted on October 29, 2008
The lawsuit over Google's book scanning project, Google Book Search, is nearly over. Google, the Authors Guild, and the Association of American Publishers have settled their disagreement over whether the project was a violation of copyright law. As part of...

Star of "Speed" Says No Speed Involved In Altercation With Paparazzo

Posted on October 29, 2008
In court, Keanu Reeves (Speed, The Matrix) denied hitting photographer Alison Silva with his car in an incident in March 2007. He testified that he was moving very slowly and was avoiding Mr. Silva, who touched the hood of the...

BBC Suspends Brand and Ross

Posted on October 29, 2008
The BBC says it has taken Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross off the air until it completes an investigation of the prank calls they made to actor Andrew Sachs. For his part, Mr. Sachs says he doesn't want "revenge" for...

Family Feud

Posted on October 28, 2008
Writer Tatiana Boncompagni Hoover (Gilding Lily) says her sister Natasha swiped chapters of Tatiana's new novel Hedge Fund Wives from Ms. Hoover' s computer and registered them with the Copyright Office as co-author. Ms. Hoover didn't indicate a motive for...

FCC Announces More About Upcoming Rural Broadband Workshop In Phoenix, Arizona

Posted on October 28, 2008
From the FCC: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) today provided additional information regarding the Rural Broadband workshop to be held in Phoenix, Arizona, on November 20, 2008. The workshop will be held at...

Michael Malone on Media Bias

Posted on October 28, 2008
Over at the Volokh Conspiracy, Jonathan Adler discusses ABC's Michael Malone's concerns about bias in the media. Comments Professor Adler, Malone also argues that media bias is potentially "dangerous" for the media itself both because it alienates the public and...

An Analysis of the Net Neutrality Debate

Posted on October 28, 2008
Mark A. Jamison, University of Florida, Warrington College of Business Administration, Public Utility Research Center, and Janice A. Hauge, University of North Texas, have published "Getting What You Pay for: Analyzing the Net Neutrality Debate." Here is the abstract...

Naming Brand

Posted on October 28, 2008
And...it's official. Ofcom has announced it is investigating the Brand/Ross phone calls to Andrew Sachs. Read more here.

Guardian Publishes Transcripts of Brand/Ross Phone Calls To Andrew Sachs

Posted on October 28, 2008
In a followup to yesterday's post about the BBC's apologies to actor Andrew Sachs over offensive calls to him by radio host Russell Brand and guest Jonathan Ross, here's what the Guardian says are transcripts of those calls. The Guardian...

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