1. Week 1 - AssignmentFinal Research Paper Outline
For this week’s assignment, you will create an outline for your
Final Research Paper. Complete the following steps for this
outline assignment:
Step One: Review the potential Final Research Paper topics
below and select one for your Final Research Paper. Submit the
topic as a title page in APA format to the instructor.
· Modern day protections: Measuring current standards of
reporter-source privilege against New York Times vs. Sullivan
· The blogs have it: Court decisions that thin the line between
bloggers and trained journalists
· “I am innocent”: Exploring the privacy rights of families of
criminals
· Neighborhood watch: Considering the “public” places
argument in residential areas
· News media on trial: Claims of defamation against the
industry
Step Two: Create an outline that includes the following criteria:
1. Identify a specific thesis or central argument for the Final
Research Paper.
2. Address each of the following five main points that will be
included in the Final Research Paper:
1. Explain the historical significance of the topic.
2. Discuss each of the concepts and/or areas of law that are
relevant to the topic.
3. Identify and discuss at least two court cases in relation to the
topic.
4. Discuss the implications of the issue on the field of
journalism.
5. Write an overall opinion of the issues discussed in relation to
the impact on individuals, groups, and society.
3. Construct the outline according to the outline template (Links
to an external site.)Links to an external site. in the Ashford

2. Writing Center.
4. Identify at least one reference for each main point and
provide the APA citation for each source.
You must use the outline template in the Ashford Writing
Center for the completion of the outline. You must also provide
at least five scholarly sources other than the required text in the
outline. No more than two of your academic sources may be
from the Internet. At least two of the five academic sources
must be found in the Ashford University Library. Research may
be modified for the Final Research Paper. Cite your sources as
indicated in the sample outline in text and on the reference page
following the outline. For information regarding APA samples
and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, within the
Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external
site.)Links to an external site. for the criteria that will be used
to evaluate your assignment.
Tolanda Carroll
WednesdayFeb 21 at 6:25pm
Manage Discussion EntryThe U.S. Legal System
The definition of law is the matter of constitutional right and
regulations that are a written document in which people must
obey. However, the sources of law with journalism is similar.
The three sources of law are common, equity, and
constitutional.
The first law is a Common law or what is known as (Pember &
Calvert, 2013, p. 3) mentioned: “discovered law.” However, this
law comes from the English days. Despite that common law has
a million names discussed in the book, the answers a judge
gives in court is how they reply to their own decision making.
For instance, in journalism reporters will follow a specific case
around to get information. However, if they make a mistake like

3. leaking the person’s personal information in the story without
them knowing, that is something to take up in court. The second
law source is equity law and according to Pember & Calvert
(2013) “equity continues the process of common law but with a
little more flexibility and have verdicts when a case is ruled out
(p. 7). The equity law in mass media is when someone pursues a
lawsuit against a person who uses the owner’s information.
With works that are in television, music or any other company
that uses copyright, this is equity law. The third law source is
the constitutional law and “because people have an unusually
direct voice in the approval or change of a constitution,
constitutions are considered the most important source of U.S.
law" (p. 11). Communications associated with the constitutional
law because the constitutional law has the first amendment,
which consists of free speech. In communications, there is
mostly speaking careers that talk about other people lives, and
it is vital to know free speech because some individuals can
take offense to what a writer reports.
Tolanda
Reference
Pember, D. R. & Calvert, C. (2013). Mass media law (18th ed)
Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/Mass-Media-Law-
Pember-ebook/dp/B00HZ3B6C6
Kendra Avery
ThursdayFeb 22 at 12:18pm
Manage Discussion Entry
When it comes to writing for the media, we must take into
consideration the laws that go with that. According to the book,
there are six sources of law all together.
· Common Law
· Equity Law
· Statutory Law
· Constitutional Law
· Executive Orders
· Administrative Rules

4. Three laws discussed are Equity Law, Statutory Law, and
Constitutional Law, which all have a part in journalism.
The book defines Equity law as “judge-made laws; judges
are free to do what they think is right and fair in a specific case.
“Equity law is important to media relations because it depicts
what can or can not be written. The book mentions how
temporary restraining orders goes with equity because someone
may want to write about a situation that pertains to two parties
and before here say is written about them, they will get the facts
straight.
The second law is statutory which different from equity,
judge-based, to being defined as laws,” created by elected
legislative bodies at the local, state and federal levels.” This
law is made for larger parties instead of individuals. Using this
law in media terms will eliminate larger parties from having
stories published about them without their consent.
The last law discussed is constitutional. This is defined as,
“outlining the duties, responsibilities and powers of the various
elements of government.” This falls with how the government is
limited on how much they can intervene with the media. For
example, the first amendment protects much of what is
published to the world. If someone does not personally like
what is written, the constitutional law will protect what the
media has put out.
-Kendra
Pember, D. R., & Calvert, C. (2015). Mass media law. New
York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education
Kendra Avery
ThursdayFeb 22 at 2:02pm
Manage Discussion Entry
Looking at the different Federal Communications
Commissions (FCC) commissioners, there is many similarities
they have as well as differences. Looking at it from a political

5. stand point, there are three commissioners appointed from
President Obama, and two appointed by President Trump. The
division of political parties helps keep the way they view media
at a balanced rate. When it comes to how they view policy and
what it can do to FCC rulings, there would be differences.
Throughout time, the FCC has had many different laws and
regulations put into place to set laws into place for the media to
abide by. With that said, there are still things that they have no
control over. The book states that, “the FCC lacks the power to
censor broadcasters. Section 326 of the act states:
Nothing in this act shall be understood or construed to give
the commission the power of censorship over radio
communications or signals transmitted by any radio station, or
condition shall be promulgated or fixed by the commission
which shall interfere with the right of free speech by means of
radio communication.”
As technology advances, the FCC commissioners will have
to be quick to keep up with the times. The FCC will be there to
regulate new rules and laws for the media to abide by.
-Kendra
Pember, D. R., & Calvert, C. (2015). Mass media law. New
York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education
Hugh Kinnett
ThursdayFeb 22 at 3:30pm
Manage Discussion Entry
Hello Class,
I found the backgrounds of the commissioners intriguing.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman (FCC) Ajit Pai
being "an outspoken defender of First Amendment freedoms"
was something that caught my eye in the beginning (Federal
Communications Commission, 2010, para. 11). Therefore,
Chairman Pai will not attempt to take away the freedoms that
the press and public have been granted by the First Amendment.
Also, Commissioner Mignon Clyburn "co-owned and operated a

6. family-founded newspaper for 14 years" (Federal
Communications Commission, 2010, para. 3). Commissioner
Clyburn knows how news from the inside. Being that she knows
how news works from the inside, Commissioner Clyburn would
not attempt to hurt the news organizations with the rules that
are created.
Commissioner Brendan Carr, on the other hand, brings
extensive knowledge of communication law to the committee.
He brings "Over a dozen years of public and private sector
experience in technology and communications law and policy"
(Federal Communications Commission, 2010, para. 2).
Commissioner Carr will know how to create policies that will
help the technological community and will know take away
rights that the people have been granted by the forefathers.
Lastly, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworzel has covered parts of
new media. According to the Federal Communications
Commission (2010), "In the past, she was responsible for
legislation, hearings, and policy development involving a wide
range of communication issues, including spectrum auctions,
public safety, broadband deployment and adoption, universal
service, video programming, satellite television, local radio, and
digital television transition" (para. 4). Commissioner
Rosenworzel knows new ways that the public gets the news. She
also has the knowledge of the fastest ways for the world to get
information from one place to the other, such as broadband.
After reading the different skills the commissioners possess, I
feel that the commissioners will be able to change the ways that
the media sends and receives information. Even though sending
and receiving information is simpler than it was in the past,
there are still places that the media, such as in countries that the
media must use satellite computers, have a hard time sending
and receiving information. Most of the commissioners also
bring extensive knowledge of the law to the committee. Being
that there is extensive knowledge of the law, the commissioners
will not approve laws that may have a slight chance of being
unconstitutional. In the end, traditional newspapers are

7. becoming obsolete with the rise of new media. Being that there
is someone with the knowledge of traditional news, there may
be a chance that traditional news may not die as fast as some
people think. I do not think the political affiliations of the
commissioners have anything to do with their thoughts about
communication.
References
Federal Communications Commission. (2010, November 15).
Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Retrieved from
http://www.fcc.gov/