MASS MEDIA LAW CURRENT EVENTS ASSIGNMENT

FROM THE SYLLABUS...
Current Events Media Law: The law is a living organism, changing on a regular and continuing basis.
As media practitioners, you will need to keep current on what is happening in the field. Thus, I am
requiring you to submit a brief report on a current (since January 2020) media law
issue. You can get these from newspapers, trade journals, Media Law Reporter, news magazines, The
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press website <www.rcfp.org>, etc. For each one, copy or scan
the original source, summarize the key legal issue in a one-page summary (single spaced) and share
this with the class online. To do this, submit it online to the drop box, then post your report in the
discussion board connected with that assignment. Be sure to identify the source of the clip by
publication/website and date. Check course commons for deadlines. Failure to upload and submit
the report to the discussion board on the assigned date will result in lost points. There is no opportunity
for make-up on this assignment. Students are then required to read at least three reports submitted on the
discussion board and make comments by the due date.

1. You are looking for a news or magazine article (just one) that describes a recent event, legal case, controversy, etc. dealing with communication law.
Once you have found one that is no older than Jan. 2020, make a copy of it or its URL. You will need to upload it with your paper.

2. Your paper should indicate the title and source of the article near the top along with your name and date of assignment.

3. Your paper should be single-spaced, one page, and typed.  Avoid using too much space at the top for the header info.

4. The first half of the paper should summarize the article. The second half is your response to the article including what you think the ramifications of this may be.  Typically, these reports have 3-4 paragraphs.  If the article is detailed, give a little more to article information.  If it is more about principles, give more in the discussion.  Use your best judgment as to what works best. Make sure both areas - info and commentary are included.

5. By the day due, upload your document to the dropbox in Canvas. You should also copy/paste your report to the associated Canvas discussion board by midnight on Friday.  The reports are due on Friday - but comments in the discussion board continue through Sunday night.  There is a late penalty for not turning in the CE report on Friday.

6. All students will select three or more reports to read in the discussion board and make comments/replies to each. These should be relevant and add to the conversation. Avoid evaluating or congratulating the author. The purpose is to discuss the material. Leave the grading to the professor. The discussion board ends on Sunday at 11:59 PM.

7. The deadlines will not be extended. Once the dropbox and discussion board deadline occurs, there will be no more uploads/postings allowed.

8. Grading on this will be based on relevancy of the article, your summary and response, and class participation in the discussion board.