Monica Williams, a beloved counselor of an urban middle school, is shocked to learn that she is being terminated for a comment she made on Facebook. This case was developed for use in an educational leadership course for students to evaluate an educator's right to freedom of speech in relation to social media. Instructors can use the case to…

Cyberbullying has been identified by school leaders and researchers as one of the most serious adverse consequences of incorporating information technology into the classroom. This article examines the legal status of cyberbullying by conducting an analysis of selected federal appellate court opinions. This analysis identifies a set of legal…

A new video game in which the player stalks and shoots fellow students and teachers in school settings is drawing fire from school district officials. "School Shooter: North American Tour 2012" is a first-person game that allows the player to move around a school and collect points by killing defenseless students and teachers. The game,…

Understanding what motivates people to challenge books and how community members react to these challenges can help librarians find better ways to work with challengers to come to equitable solutions. This study focused on the motives behind challenges to the acclaimed children's book "And Tango Makes Three" and the reasoning given by…

Amy Jordan addresses the need to balance the media industry's potentially important contributions to the healthy development of America's children against the consequences of excessive and age-inappropriate media exposure. Much of the philosophical tension regarding how much say the government should have about media content and delivery stems…

Reviews U.S. court decisions on cases in which a child or young adult was the victim of violence that was said to have been induced by the media. Suggests that the courts have generally hesitated to hold media organizations accountable for inciting the violent acts of individuals. (NKA)

Comments on the Meese Report on pornography and why the library community should pay attention to the actual text. Positive alternatives to censorship are suggested to counter the commercialization of sex, e.g., giving women more decisive roles in media production and strengthening alternative media. (EM)

First Amendment principles are fragile, unless they have widespread public support. People form lasting views about civil liberties and other political issues in adolescence. They are influenced by many factors, including what they learn and experience in schools. Therefore, schools' treatment of the Constitution and the press is important for the…

This paper examines recent court decisions that indicate the extent of constitutional protection extended to opinionated statements made during broadcast commentaries. A brief overview of both the common law and constitutional privileges protecting the expression of opinion is also included in the paper. Specifically, the paper evaluates the…

Because recent restrictive changes in cigarette advertising laws have unknown consequences for advertisers, this report outlines the history of the controversy over whether to allow cigarette advertisements, explores its legal status with respect to First Amendment rights for advertisers, and considers potential solutions to the conflict between…

Examines the history of alcoholic beverage advertising and the possible outcome of a constitutional challenge to laws that attempt to prohibit such ads from radio and television. (FL)

A coalition of health groups wants the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) to discontinue the use of the Joe Camel cartoon character in its cigarette advertisements. RJR has denied the findings of the three studies published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" and cited by the health groups--these studies contend that…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 11 titles deal with the following topics: (1) the Supreme Court and the limits of the First Amendment in "Zurcher v. Stanford Daily"; (2) the radical journalist, I. F. Stone; (3) group owned vs. independentl owned…

Presents a case study of the interpenetration of the paradigm discourses of science, religion, politics, and law and public motive structures as demonstrated by the controversy over scientific creationism. Argues that the discursive populist commitments of journalism indirectly legitimate the populist discourse of creationism. (RAE)

We often hear that democracy is not a spectator sport. This is certainly true of trial by jury, a cornerstone of our democracy, which depends on the willingness of Americans from all walks of life to devote themselves to the difficult work of determining another person's guilt or innocence of a crime. But the work of those citizens selected to…