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Mass Media Law, 13/e
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Multiple Choice
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Libel: Establishing a Case
Multiple Choice Quiz
1
In libel suits against the mass media:
A)
Defendants rarely lose in front of a jury.
B)
The average award is $5.6 million.
C)
Few trial court decisions are overturned on appeal.
D)
Both judges and juries seem to grasp the law.
2
SLAPP suits are:
A)
Intended to stop public criticism.
B)
Illegal in nine states.
C)
Normally lost by the plaintiff.
D)
All of the above are correct.
3
People or companies that can't prove their case in a libel suit but object to news stories written about them:
A)
Usually give up.
B)
Have begun to bring suit for slander.
C)
Have begun to bring suit for trespass or breach of contract.
D)
Often file complaints with out-of-court mediators.
4
When a local station carries a network news broadcast that is defamatory:
A)
The local station may be sued for libel.
B)
The local station may be sued for republication.
C)
The local station can never be sued for the defamation.
D)
The local station can be sued only if there was scienter.
5
The identification element of a libel suit:
A)
Cannot be proved when the defamation is in a novel or other work of fiction.
B)
May be shown even if no names are used.
C)
Cannot be met by plaintiff if the defendant can prove it was a case of mistaken identity.
D)
All of the above are correct.
6
Group identification libel suits may be successful:
A)
When the group is so small that the defamation can be reasonably understood to apply to an individual.
B)
Whenever the group has 35 or fewer members.
C)
Whenever an identifiable group is named.
D)
Both A and C are correct.
7
In
Kaelin v. Globe Communications Corp.
(1998), the determination that the article was defamatory was based on:
A)
An explicit accusation of murder in the story.
B)
An implicit accusation of murder in the story.
C)
Innuendo in the headline.
D)
Innuendo in the story.
8
In a story that defames a private-person plaintiff but that deals with issues of public import:
A)
The plaintiff bears the burden of proving falsity.
B)
The defendant bears the burden of proving truth.
C)
It doesn't matter if the story is false.
D)
The court assumes the story is false.
9
When considering the element of falsity:
A)
Details are not considered.
B)
There can be small errors if they do not greatly affect the overall meaning.
C)
Falsity doesn't matter if it's a direct quote.
D)
All of the above are correct.
10
The use of the term
alleged
in stories dealing with subjects such as crime:
A)
Is sufficient to shield a reporter from a defamation suit.
B)
Should be a standard procedure for all reporters.
C)
Won't protect a reporter in a libel suit.
D)
A and B are correct.
11
The Communications Decency Act of 1996:
A)
Released Internet service providers from liability when they publish defamatory statements made by others.
B)
Released Internet service providers from liability when they publish defamatory statements made by others unless scienter also is present.
C)
Made Internet service providers liable when they publish defamatory statements made by others.
D)
Left it to the courts to decide whether Internet service providers would be liable when they publish defamatory statements made by others.
12
In
Texas Beef Group v. Winfrey
(1998), the judge refused to allow the case to go forward because:
A)
Veggie hate laws are stupid.
B)
Veggie hate laws are unconstitutional.
C)
Winfrey had not defamed the beef industry.
D)
Winfrey had not made any knowingly false statements.
13
In order for an accusation of defamation to hold up in court:
A)
The words must actually damage a person's character.
B)
The plaintiff must offer proof that his or her reputation was harmed.
C)
The plaintiff must demonstrate that no more than one person believes the plaintiff's reputation has been harmed.
D)
All of the above.
14
Survival statutes make it possible to pursue a libel suit when:
A)
The company that published the libel closed.
B)
A dead person has been libeled.
C)
A person who has already started a libel suit dies.
D)
A libel is republished after the plaintiff has already won a suit against the original publisher.
15
In
Blackwell v. Carson
(1994), the judge said defamation did not occur because:
A)
The statement was a joke, and any reasonable person would take it that way.
B)
The statement was a joke, and any person with a sense of humor would take it that way.
C)
Humor is never defamatory.
D)
Opinion is never defamatory.
2003 McGraw-Hill Higher Education
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