Deck 7: Privacy

Question 1

Under common law principles governing "private facts" cases, once a person becomes newsworthy, he or she remains newsworthy for life.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Although it was significant at the time, the 1890 law review article by Warren and Brandeis is outdated and is never cited in any modern-day discussion of privacy.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

In order to win a privacy/intrusion case against a trespassing journalist, a plaintiff must prove that the information or photographs obtained by the intrusion was published or broadcast at least once.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

"Truth" is a strong defense against both "private facts" and "appropriation" cases.

Question 5

The concept of privacy is mentioned in numerous parts of the constitution, both in the original articles and several of the Amendments.

Question 6

The Cox Doctrine is a three-part test that determines whether the name of a rape victim or criminal suspect can be legally published or broadcast. Which of the following is NOT one of those conditions?

A) the name must be part of the public record
B) the name must be accurate
C) the name must be legally obtained
D) the individual involved must give his or her permission

Question 7

A controversial method of newsgathering is for journalists to accompany law enforcement or emergency medical personnel to observe, photograph, and videotape their work. The name of this phenomenon is

A) media pool
B) sunshine journalism
C) media ride-alongs
D) public domain journalism

Question 8

An exception to appropriation law that allows newspaper and magazines to use photographs of newsworthy events in self-promotional advertising is known as

A) the Cox Doctrine
B) the Peterson Principle
C) the Booth Rule
D) the Callahan Concept
E) the Branzburg Rule

Question 9

When the court ruled against Abigail Roberson in her appropriation suit against the Rochester Folding Box Company, the decision was based on which of the following?

A) Roberson had given her consent
B) Roberson was a minor and therefore had no privacy rights
C) the photograph in question was taken at a public event
D) the photograph was not used for commercial purposes
E) the state in which Roberson lived (New York) had no laws dealing with appropriation

Question 10

In the "private facts" cases of Sidis v. F-R Publishing, Virgil v. Sports Illustrated, Sipple v. Chronicle Publishing, and Howard v. Des Moines Register, all three plaintiffs lost their appeals for which of the following reasons?

A) reporting someone's criminal record is not considered grounds for a "private facts" case
B) the information for the news story was collected but never published or broadcast
C) the states in which the cases took place had no laws dealing with "private facts" cases
D) the defendants were able to use customary private facts defenses such as newsworthiness, public domain, or consent
E) all of the above

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT considered private information (in reference to a private facts lawsuit)?

A) a financial report showing your bank balance and credit history
B) your medical records
C) your arrest as a drunk driving suspect
D) your religious beliefs and church membership
E) all are private information

Question 12

Which of the following is an example of intrusion?

A) entering a person's home by force or under false pretenses
B) harassment of news subjects by photographers
C) unlawful photography or video or audio recording
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 13

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Jerry Falwell in his privacy/emotional distress claim against Hustler magazine for which of the following reasons?

A) when people die their privacy rights die with them; those rights cannot be claimed by family members or anyone else
B) the rights to benefit from a person's image or likeness can be passed down to others, but not of that person did not gain economically from his or her likeness while alive
C) the 7-year "statute of limitations" on privacy claims had expired
D) the state in which Falwell lived (Virginia) did not have any laws concerning appropriation
E) the magazine item involved was ruled a "parody" and was unlikely to be taken seriously

Question 14

In the cases of Cantrell v. Forest City Publishing (family members killed in bridge collapse) and Spahn v. Messner (unauthorized biography of baseball player), the plaintiffs did not have strong enough complaints to pursue libel suits, but were able to prove they were embarrassed enough by the misleading and exaggerated publicity to successfully sue for which of the following privacy violations?

A) slander
B) private facts
C) false light
D) intrusion
E) appropriation

Question 15

In the appropriation case of Midler v. Young & Rubicam, the court made which of the following determinations?

A) the singer was able to win the case because there was an intention to deceive
B) the singer was unable to win the case because the advertisement was ruled a parody and there was no intention to deceive the audience
C) the case was thrown out because Midler was a public figure
D) the case was thrown out because the state in which Midler lived (California) did not have an appropriation law

Question 16

In the privacy/false light suit of Time Inc. v. Hill, the Hill family was unable to win its case (in its final resolution) because of which of the following?

A) the Hill family had criminal records and therefore had no privacy rights
B) the court applied the "actual malice rule" because the Hill family, through not public figures per se, was involved in a matter of public interest
C) Time Inc. was able to prove its story published in Life, which it owned, was truthful and accurate
D) Time Inc. was able to prove the Hill family was not identified in the Life story

Question 17

Common law provides four appropriation defenses journalists may use when defending themselves against private facts lawsuits. Which of the following is NOT one of those four?

A) proving that the story in question was newsworthy
B) proving that the information was already in the public domain
C) proving that the information was more than 10 years old and therefore the statute of limitations had expired
D) proving that the information came from a consensual interview or was otherwise revealed voluntarily
E) proving that the information, while on the list of examples of private information, is not highly embarrassing or offensive

Question 18

In the private facts cases of Cox v. Cohn (concerning the identification of rape victims) and Oklahoma Publishing Co. v. District Court (concerning identi- fication of juvenile suspects), the Supreme Court made which of the following determinations?

A) the government could not exercise prior restraint or punish the media for publishing or broadcasting accurate information that was legally obtained
B) states had the right to enforce laws restricting the publication of such information, and those laws were an acceptable form of prior restraint