Jason Zenor | SUNY Oswego (original) (raw)

Empirical Research by Jason Zenor

Journal of Sports Media, 2022

Over the last several years, the NFL has seen an increase in player activism and criticism of the... more Over the last several years, the NFL has seen an increase in player activism and criticism of the game. Much of the sports-media coverage has framed the debate along stark partisan lines of either supporting players absolutely or believing they should "shut up and play." There has been little research that looks deeper into the myriad criticisms of the game and how fans perceive their role in the matter. Accordingly, this exploratory study seeks to find a holistic assessment of the fans' perspectives on player critiques of the NFL, fantasy sports, and the fans. Using an inverted factor analysis, this study found four fan types with perspectives varying along partisan leaning and level of fandom. Factor 1 was Activist Superfans, who strongly support all criticisms leveled by the players. Factor 2 was Traditionalist Superfans, who believe athletes are well compensated and critics are too politically correct. Factor 3 was Passive Cynical Fans, who found the NFL and fantasy sports to be another big business but were accepting politics and criticism as a part of it. Finally, Factor 4 was Supportive Casual Fans, who generally back the players on the highly publicized national anthem debate.

Northwest Journal of Communication, 2022

Foster the People's debut song "Pumped Up Kicks" (2010) was a critical and commercial success. On... more Foster the People's debut song "Pumped Up Kicks" (2010) was a critical and commercial success. On the surface, the song seemed like a fun dance song, but underlying the upbeat melody were dark lyrics about a school shooter. Shortly after its release, the band faced criticism over the meaning and purpose of the song, criticism they still face with each new mass shooting. This study turns to listeners--who were in grade school while the song was popular--to assess how they interpret the song. Moreover, it explores how modes of audience engagement are connected to how listeners read and appreciate pop music. The findings suggest that a discursive mode of engagement is connected to eudaimonic experiences with music and a mediated mode of engagement is connected to hedonic experiences. Finally, the study suggests that audience reception of music may differ from reception of visual entertainment because mood and nostalgia can create different routes for audience engagement, reception, and appreciation.

Florida Journal of Communication , 2018

Half of the Millennial generation does not vote. One quarter of them are not even registered to v... more Half of the Millennial generation does not vote. One quarter of them are not even registered to vote. Of those who are registered, only half identify with a political party. It is safe to say that Millennials are politically disaffected. Though many critics speculate why this is so, very few studies actually ask the Millennials themselves. Accordingly, this study uses Q-Methodology to analyze the Millennials' perspective. Four factors emerged. Factor 1 blamed the partisan system that was perpetuated by the partisan media. Factor 2 placed most of the blame on themselves but justified it by believing that the system is unchangeable. Factor 3 believed that the system was broken and this caused a sense of powerlessness. Finally, Factor 4 felt that politics is not inherently evil, but it had been hijacked by the wrong people. The paper discusses the implications of the findings

Dexter is a popular television show because it uses the narrative devices of classic cop shows wh... more Dexter is a popular television show because it uses the narrative devices of classic cop shows while adding the twist of having a protagonist as an antihero who kills people. Accordingly, this study examines how audiences read the text of Dexter and offers unique implications for the field of entertainment studies. This study uses a mixed-method approach for a more holistic understanding of audiences. The findings show four dominant audience perspectives, each of which coincides with both a mode of audience engagement and a theory of moral reasoning. This study suggests that future research must look at audience interpretations to fully understand the dynamic between texts, audiences, and effects.

International Journal of Communication, 2016

Parasocial Politics

Critics have raised their eyebrows at the work of Boondocks creator McGruder repeatedly accusing ... more Critics have raised their eyebrows at the work of Boondocks creator McGruder repeatedly accusing him of making a mockery of the legacies of Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Associated Press, 2006). They have questioned his insensitivity to the 9-11 attacks and the promotion of misogynistic themes through the voice of his characters. Moreover, his frequent use of the ‘N-word’ has been considered to be offensive. Accordingly, this study examines how a millennial audience, one which came to age in an era of political correctness and in a supposed post-racial society, reads The Boondocks, a text that seems to challenge political correctness and the acceptance of a truly post-racial America.

Operant Subjectivity 36(1), Jan 2013

In July of 2008, the New Yorker’s cover depicted Barack Obama dressed in traditional Muslim garb ... more In July of 2008, the New Yorker’s cover depicted Barack Obama dressed in traditional Muslim garb ‘fist bumping’ his wife Michelle, who was dressed in traditional black-militant attire. In the background was a painting of Osama Bin Laden as well as an American flag burning in the fireplace. In the tradition of New Yorker magazine, the cover was meant to be a socially scathing satire that would create buzz. But, because of the visual symbolism and the lack of text in the cartoon, it was subject to many differing readings and evaluations—including calls for boycotts and firings—especially among partisan pundits. This study examines how the audience, rather than media professionals, read the Obama cover. The study examines how a group immersed in media and politics perceived the intended meaning, the effect that the magazine cover had on the campaign as well as the value of the political cartoon. The study uses Q methodology to extract readings of the media text. The first factor saw the cartoon through the partisan filter, reading it as offensive and pushing the boundaries of free speech. The second factor read the cartoon through a libertarian filter, reading the cartoon as necessary for debate and free speech. The final factor read the cartoon more literally, perceiving it as necessary in order to question the candidate and media bias

Operant Subjectivity, 37, 1/2, 27-40., Jun 2014

Over the last ten years, Family Guy has made its mark by pushing the envelope as an equal opportu... more Over the last ten years, Family Guy has made its mark by pushing the envelope as an equal opportunity offender. For the writers, no subject is too sacred. This study examines how the key demographic for the cartoon (viewers age 18-24), a group that has grown up immersed in political correctness, read the value, meaning and intent of the show. The study uses Q methodology to extract several readings of the show. Four factors emerged from the study. The first factor reads the show as an intelligent critique on society that demystifies stereotypes by bringing its absurdities to light. The second represents a view of the show as low-brow humor aiming to make the viewer uncomfortable, but not as a product of bigotry. The third reads the show as a guilty pleasure, dismissing it as a silly cartoon, while understanding why people are often offended by it. The final factor reflects a perspective that reads the show as perpetuating the wrong message about minorities by turning sensitive issues into a joke. The article further discusses the characteristics of each perspective and the implications for audience studies and the acceptance of offensive speech.

Journal of Human Subjectivity, 2005

The mass appeal of television points to its intentional flexibility to be read differently by dif... more The mass appeal of television points to its intentional flexibility to be read differently by different audiences. Even a subject-specific show such as the West Wing, must be open to different readings in order to sustain popularity, marketability, and profitability. This paper examines the audience’s reading of this popular television series using Q Methodology. Three categories of Q statements were gathered from popular press articles: political policy statements, political value statements and entertainment value statements. A group of 25 viewers of the show were chosen, varying in political interest and political involvement. They were given 35 statements to sort. Factor analysis and Varimax rotation revealed threes strong factors. A romantic viewpoint of the show emerged describing the show as ideal, virtuous, and inspiring. A practical viewpoint was more suspicious of the show, suggesting that some viewers find the show to be impractical, fanciful and not an accurate portrayal of politics. The final factor to emerge, cynical viewpoint, perceived the show as being about the nature of politics and pushing certain policies, but not necessarily a model for the type of administration those viewers would want.

Legal Research by Jason Zenor

Communication Law Review, 2023

This essay examines how advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) could magnify the perceived ... more This essay examines how advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) could magnify the perceived problems of cancel culture in our communication ecosystem. First, the essay outlines how AI is already used in the communication ecosystem and the growth of Generative AI. Next, the essay examines how evolving AI advancements could inflame the worst aspects of cancel culture by increasing surveillance, doxing, deepfakes, and algorithmic bias toward outrage. The essay also shows how contemporary privacy and false speech laws offer little protection. Finally, the essay forwards possible legal solutions such as a right to be forgotten, a right to anonymity, and more transparency by tech companies.

University of New Hampshire Law Review, 2023

The way students communicate has also changed greatly over the last generation, but in the first... more The way students communicate has also changed greatly over the last generation, but in the first two decades of 21st Century, the U.S. Supreme Court had yet to answers questions about the extent of power for school administrators to control off-campus speech on digital technologies. Then in the case of Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L (2021) the U.S. Supreme Court finally answered this question by holding that administrators do have the ability to control off-campus speech. The Court did give some specific scenarios in which administrators had power to regulate off-campus, but it did not give a bright-line rule. As a result, the Court may have muddied the waters even more by expanding the authority of school administrators in a cultural environment where politics and education will only continue to mix. This article provides a more precise test for student speech cases that can be applied in various contexts. First, the article reviews the decision in Mahanoy v. BL. Next, the article outlines student speech precedent at the U.S. Supreme Court. Finally, the article forwards a new constitutional test by using the student speech precedent and drawing a parallel to the public employee speech test.

Elon Law Review, 2022

This Article attempts to resolve the issue by arguing for a balance between free expression right... more This Article attempts to resolve the issue by arguing for a balance between free expression rights and public accommodation through an intermediate level of protected speech by professionals. First, the Article reviews the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Next, the Article outlines the precedents for
religious freedoms and their recent turn toward using the Free Speech
Doctrine to decide such cases. Finally, the Article uses a similar
approach by applying a parallel to Government Speech Doctrine as a legal
test for compelled speech in contexts.

Denver Law Review, 2021

Artificial intelligence (AI) digital assistants, such as Amazon’s Echo Alexa and Apple’s Siri, ar... more Artificial intelligence (AI) digital assistants, such as Amazon’s Echo
Alexa and Apple’s Siri, are becoming quite common in our homes. Today,
these voices typically come from a small speaker. But soon, they will be
replaced by devices that appear more human than robot. As a result, our
relationships with them will change. We will talk to them and share information, including our secrets, with them. Of course, we will have to trust them with this information. But should we? If an AI is in the home and monitoring a person, what should it do if someone is exhibiting signs of alcoholism, depression, or violence? Accordingly, this Article postulates
how changes in our personal relationship with AI could lead to changes in
how privacy protections are viewed. First, this Article examines nascent
issues of AI assistants publicizing private activities and how these issues
could evolve in the future. Next, this Article outlines privacy law as it pertains to activity in the home. Finally, this Article postulates how cultural
expectations of privacy could erode in the future and offers suggestions on how to model laws that balance privacy with public safety.

Southwestern Law Review, 2019

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Matal v. Tam that the disparagement clause in the Lanham Act was ... more The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Matal v. Tam that the disparagement
clause in the Lanham Act was unconstitutional. This case was just another
in a line of commercial speech cases to expand the rights of corporations.
This ruling also further limits the legal options for tribes to protect their
cultural identity from exploitation. In response, this paper forwards a legal
argument applying the tenets of federal Indian law and commercial speech
doctrine to assist tribes in protecting their cultural sovereignty. First, the
paper examines prominent cases of cultural misappropriation in sports,
fashion and sin advertising. Next, the paper outlines the foundations of
commercial speech law and federal Indian law. Finally, the paper argues
that pursuant to the federal trust responsibility, Central Hudson and
Montana—tribal cultural property should receive special protection against
unauthorized use in the commercial sphere

Savannah Law Review, 2018

Throughout our history, civil rights for all persons was a not a common ideal. But, today, the po... more Throughout our history, civil rights for all persons was a not a common ideal. But, today, the possession of civil rights has moved beyond people to include corporations, animals, and natural habitats. This may be seen as the expected evolution of civil rights as our idea of who should be protected expands. But what will happen when artificial intelligence evolves to the point when it is on par or even surpasses human intelligence? Hollywood depictions often foresee AI forcibly asserting its position of power. But what if instead civil rights groups work alongside AI to use legal means of acquiring personhood? This Article ponders
that question by positing how a civil rights movement for AI could develop. First, the Article will outline predictions of AI evolution and ethical issues that may arise. Next, the Article reviews the development of legal personhood for non-humans. Finally, the Article suggests that an AI movement would parallel other civil rights movements and examines what legal doctrines could support legal personhood for artificial intelligence.

Capital Law Review, 2018

This Article argues that the current government speech doctrine actions is antithetic... more This Article argues that the current government speech doctrine actions is antithetical to fundamental free speech jurisprudence and needs to be narrowed. First, this Article outlines the decision in Walker v. SCV. Next, the Article examines the short history of the government speech doctrine. Finally, the Article argues why the government speech doctrine threatens the marketplace of ideas and then offers a more detailed and nuanced legal test.

John Marshall Review of Intellectual Property Law, 2017

In cases like Keller and No Doubt v. Activision, the Ninth Circuit held that use of a celebrity's... more In cases like Keller and No Doubt v. Activision, the Ninth Circuit held that use of a celebrity's likeness was a violation of the right of publicity. In response, EA Sports suspended production of college sports games. But most games still allow for gamers to create their own avatars. With game systems now being connected, gamers can download user-created content many of which will have the likeness of famous people, thus circumventing the holdings in Keller and No Doubt. Accordingly, this article examines how this type of user generated content fits within the law of appropriation. First, this article discusses how modding is changing gaming content and use. This article then outlines the law of misappropriation. Next, the article argues that these mods might be a violation of the right to publicity and that producers may be vicariously liable for creating the software. Finally, the paper extends this theory into virtual technology and how user generated content may refocus the law of misappropriation to likenesses of non-celebrities.

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL, 2017

In June of 2014, two teenage girls lured their friend into the woods and stabbed her nineteen tim... more In June of 2014, two teenage girls lured their friend into
the woods and stabbed her nineteen times. The heinousness of the
act itself was enough to make it a national news story. But the
focus of the story turned to the unique motive of the crime. The
girls wanted to appease the Slender Man, an evil apparition who
had visited them in their sleep and compelled them to be his
proxies. Many people had never heard of the Slender Man, a
fictional internet meme with a sizeable following of adolescents
fascinated with the macabre. Soon the debate raged as to the
power and responsibility of such memes. As for legal remedies,
media defendants are rarely held liable for harms caused by third
parties. Thus, the producers of this violent meme are free from
liability. But this law developed in an era of passive media where
there was distance between the media and audience.
This paper examines how media liability may change as
entertainment becomes more immersive. First, this paper
examines the Slender Man phenomenon and other online memes.
Then it outlines negligence and incitement law as it has been
applied to traditional entertainment products. Finally, this paper
posits how negligence and incitement law may be applied
differently in future cases against immersive media products that
inspire real-life crimes.

In the first presidential campaign following the controversial United States Supreme Court decisi... more In the first presidential campaign following the controversial United States Supreme Court decision in Citizens United, much attention was given to the record amount of money spent on the election—close to $3 billion. Ideally, more money spent on campaigning would permit more speech and add to the public discourse, and allowing more speech would encourage and permit bad speech to be countered with good speech. In 2012, however, claims arose that the candidates were being more negative than ever, including resorting to outright deception.
Many states have laws on the books that prohibit knowingly false campaign speech on material facts when there is a showing of actual malice, but the impact of these laws is unclear. In 2012, in the midst of the discussion surrounding the negative or untrue campaign speech, the United States Supreme Court quietly denied certiorari to a case that held one such law unconstitutional. That same month, the Court decided Alvarez v. United States, which held that the government could not punish a person for knowingly telling a lie without a showing of actual harm. Ultimately, it seems that the Supreme Court’s actions are the death knell for the remaining false campaign speech statutes. Accordingly, this Article will argue that the Supreme Court needs to reconsider the protection for false speech. The Article forwards a new legal test that parallels the political speech doctrine with the commercial speech doctrine by giving less protection to knowingly false campaign speech.

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest, 2016

In Lane v. Franks, the U.S. Supreme Court held that public employees who give truthful testimony ... more In Lane v. Franks, the U.S. Supreme Court held that public employees who give truthful testimony in court are protected so long as it was outside their ordinary job duties.1 This issue arose after ten years of the Garcetti rule which does not protect employee speech pursuant to their job dutiesa nebulous topic in the digital era.2 In applying Garcetti, lower courts have extended it to include any speech that is a product of job duties, even if it would serve the public interest.3 In Lane v. Franks, the Court amended the employee speech doctrine to protect subpoenaed testimony that is outside the employee’s job duties.4 This article applauds the new exception, but argues that the Court’s ruling was too narrow. Using the principles espoused in the case, this article argues that the Court should have amended the Garcetti rule and refocused the test on the public trust rather than the employee-employer relationship.

Journal of Sports Media, 2022

Northwest Journal of Communication, 2022

Florida Journal of Communication , 2018

International Journal of Communication, 2016

Parasocial Politics

Operant Subjectivity 36(1), Jan 2013

Operant Subjectivity, 37, 1/2, 27-40., Jun 2014

Journal of Human Subjectivity, 2005

Communication Law Review, 2023

University of New Hampshire Law Review, 2023

Elon Law Review, 2022

Denver Law Review, 2021

Southwestern Law Review, 2019

Savannah Law Review, 2018

Capital Law Review, 2018

John Marshall Review of Intellectual Property Law, 2017

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL, 2017

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest, 2016

In the last few years we have had a number of infamous national security leaks and prosecutions. ... more In the last few years we have had a number of infamous national security leaks and prosecutions. Many have argued that these people have done a great service for our nation by revealing the wrongdoings of the defense agencies. However, the law is quite clearthose national security employees who leak classified information are subject to lengthy prison sentences or in some cases, even execution as a traitor. In response to the draconian national security laws, this article proposes a new policy which fosters the free flow of information. First, the article outlines the recent history of national security leaks and the government response to the perpetrators. Next, the article outlines the information policy of the defense industry including the document classification system, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), whistleblower laws and the Espionage Act. Finally, the article outlines a new policy that will advance government transparency by promoting whistleblowing that serves the p...

Lincoln Memorial Law Review, 2015

In the last few years we have had a number of infamous national security leaks and prosecutions. ... more In the last few years we have had a number of infamous national security leaks and prosecutions. Many have argued that these people have done a great service for our nation by revealing the wrongdoings of the defense agencies. However, the law is quite clear- those national security employees who leak classified information are subject to lengthy prison sentences or in some cases, even execution as a traitor. In response to the draconian national security laws, this article proposes a new policy which fosters the free flow of information. First, the article outlines the recent history of national security leaks and the government response to the perpetrators. Next, the article outlines the information policy of the defense industry including the document classification system, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), whistleblower laws and the Espionage Act. Finally, the article outlines a new policy that will advance government transparency by promoting whistleblowing that serves the public interest, while balancing it with government efficiency by encouraging proper channels of dissemination that actually respond to exposures of government mismanagement

Nova Law Review, 2015

Newspersons’ shield laws are not meant to protect a privileged class of journalists.1 Nor are the... more Newspersons’ shield laws are not meant to protect a privileged class of journalists.1 Nor are they meant to protect whistleblowers whose acts fall under a different set of laws.

Communication Law & Policy, 19, 4, 563-589, Oct 2014

In the near future, pornography will be interactive, and people will be able to act out their fan... more In the near future, pornography will be interactive, and people will be able to act out their fantasies in virtual reality. What may be unsettling is that some of these fantasies will be quite deviant, including rape, pedophilia and bestiality. The question is how our culture will respond to new technologies used to fulfill these deviant fantasies. This article examines the coming changes in the sex industry and the possible legal challenges that will arise

University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy, 2013

A corollary of the right to publish must be a right to gather news. However, in times of war, on... more A corollary of the right to publish must be a right to gather news. However, in times of war, one of the first rights to be abrogated is the freedom of the press. A contemporary wartime restriction has been the Dover Ban, a policy which has restricted press access to arrival ceremonies for fallen soldiers of war. Though the Dover Ban was criticized by the press and by veterans, and challenged in court-it was never overturned. But, in February 2009, the Obama Administration changed the policy so that the press could have access if they received permission from the family of the fallen soldier. Though this change is progress for the free flow of information and is clearly less violative of a free press than was the prior outright ban, this article argues that it is still unconstitutional. First, the Dover arrival ceremonies have been traditionally open to public and the press and the history of Dover Ban’s creation and enforcement illustrate that it is a unconstitutional content-based regulation. Furthermore, the new policy is a de facto license where the family acting as a surrogate for the government decides the whether the press has access based upon whether the family perceives the content of the coverage will be acceptable. Finally, the policy is not permanent and an outright could be reinstated under a new president.

South Dakota Law Review, 2009

Longstanding United States Supreme Court precedent recognizes that American Indian tribes are pre... more Longstanding United States Supreme Court precedent recognizes that American Indian tribes are pre-constitutional sovereign nations, and thus, are outside the dictates of federal and state constitutional principles. Similarly, the United States Supreme Court has held that internal tribal matters fall within a tribe's exclusive jurisdiction. However, in Gilbert v. Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, the South Dakota Supreme Court adjudicated an internal employment dispute between a tribal member and a tribal government employer. Although the South Dakota Supreme Court upheld the Tribe's decision to terminate its employee as proper, the court arguably infringed upon tribal sovereignty by mistakenly applying both federal and state constitutional law. Furthermore, the court diluted tribal authority by failing to address fundamental federal Indian law principles of tribal sovereign immunity and tribal court jurisdiction. Consequently, the South Dakota Supreme Court has granted to the state, civil regulatory authority over tribes without any express consent by the tribe which overlooks federal law and United States Supreme Court precedent on the issue. It is imperative for tribes in South Dakota to restructure their administrative laws and procedures to reflect what other tribes across the nation have created to protect tribal sovereignty and tribal court jurisdiction over inherent tribal matters from expanding state jurisdiction.

The popularity of cable news, satire, documentaries, and political blogs suggest that people are ... more The popularity of cable news, satire, documentaries, and political blogs suggest that people are often absorbing and dissecting direct political messages from informational media. But entertainment media also discusses the important political issues of our time, though not as overtly. Nonetheless, consumers still learn, debate, and form opinions on important political issues through their relationship with entertainment media. While many scholarly books examine these political messages found in popular culture, very few examine how actual audiences read these messages. Parasocial Politics explores how consumers form complex relationships with media texts and characters, and how these readings exist in the nexus between real and fictional worlds. This collection of empirical studies uses various methodologies, including surveys, experiments, focus groups, and mixed methods, to analyze how actual consumers interpret the texts and the overt and covert political messages encoded in popular culture

Textbook, 2020

Emerging Media: Virtual Issues, Legal Principles introduces contemporary media and information st... more Emerging Media: Virtual Issues, Legal Principles introduces contemporary media and information studies students to the nexus between law and emerging media technology. With a goal to present a clear and succinct overview of communication and media law, the text presents legal doctrines in accessible terms and in the context of current issues and technology.

Author Jason Zenor encourages students to think critically about the psychological, social, and political harms that communication technology can cause. Students are exposed to a myriad of current examples that reflect issues in today's media environment, with legal analysis of how these issues could be resolved. Specific topical areas include censorship, false speech, privacy, civil liability, obscenity, identity rights, intellectual property, consumer protection, and market regulation. Each chapter concludes with a case study and discussion questions so students can apply the legal doctrine to a communication technology problem.

Emerging Media provides students with a timely and valuable focus on legal and policy issues attendant to new communication technologies.

Religious Freedom v. Equal Protection: Clashing American Rights , 2022

This chapter demonstrates how the Judeo-Christian religious practices have been long been privile... more This chapter demonstrates how the Judeo-Christian religious practices have been long been privileged both politically and legally in the U.S.. First the chapter outlines how Native Americans have long been denied the right to practice their religions. Next the chapter recounts the 20th century expansion of legal protections for minority religions. Then the chapter details the U.S. Supreme Court’s shift in limiting constitutional protection of free exercise led to several Congressional acts protecting religious freedom for minority religions. Then the chapter examines how Christian groups utilized statutory protections of religion to discriminate against the LGBT community, while Native American groups were still having to justify the sincerity of their religious practices in court. Finally, the chapter argues that constitutional protections need to evolve to either truly protect all religious practices or to balance the rights of religious practice with other rights.

Free Speech Theory: Understanding the Controversies, 2020

Over the last century, intellectual property law has evolved to give much greater protection to t... more Over the last century, intellectual property law has evolved to give much greater protection to those who created the works rather than to the public who may want to build on them. Yet, in the digital era of remixing and sharing, free speech protections have started to pierce the once impenetrable IP protection as courts recognize the social and cultural importance of fair use, while other attempts to move IP law towards recognizing different values, such as diversity and equality, have, by contrast, floundered.

Accordingly, this chapter examines this conflict through the lens of free speech theory. First, the chapter outlines two recent issues in IP law- disparaging trademarks and derivative works. Next, it examines how free speech theory exists within the IP regulatory scheme. Finally, the chapter applies free speech theory to help guide our understanding of contemporary issues.

An Integrated Approach to Communication Theory and Research, 2019

Participations: Journal of Audience and Recpetion Studies, 2017

At the end of the 20th century, it may have seemed as if the principles of free speech had triump... more At the end of the 20th century, it may have seemed as if the principles of free speech had triumphed and would continue to thrive as democracies emerged throughout the world after the end of the Cold War. However, the first two decades of the 21st century have witnessed the escalation of extremism across the globe. In the nations once colonies of the West, extremism has risen as outmoded geo-political lines disappeared. Elsewhere, Russia witnessed a re-emergence of authoritarianism as it tried to regain its position as a superpower. And as China opened up its economy to become a global power, it continued its heavy-handed approach to social control. Even in Western democracies, there have been significant moves toward populism and nationalism - two factors which have been historically associated with the rise of fascism ...

Social Media & Politics: A New Way to Participate in the Political Process, 2016

This chapter argues that judicial branch needs to adopt new technology to communicate directly to... more This chapter argues that judicial branch needs to adopt new technology to communicate directly to the public...

Encyclopedia of Social Media and Politics, 2014

Encyclopedia of Social Media & Politics , 2014

Issues in search and seizure law in the digital era.

Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 2013

Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 2016

Heroes and Scoundrels: The Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture. Matthew C. Ehrlich and Joe... more Heroes and Scoundrels: The Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture. Matthew C. Ehrlich and Joe Saltzman. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 2015. 241 pp. 95hbk.95 hbk. 95hbk.25 pbk.In the 1939 movie Nancy Drew, Reporter, the exuberant teenage heroine (played by Bonita Granville) ignores an assigned puff piece to investigate a murder. Idealistic and determined, she sneaks a camera into jail, breaks into a house, concocts a fake news story, and wiretaps a hotel room-all in the search for truth and justice. "It says right in my textbook on journalism that a newspaper man or woman must stop at nothing to get the news," Nancy tells her editor.This Hollywood blend of journalistic zeal and ethical stumbles illustrates the deeply ambiguous depiction of journalists in popular culture, where dramatic storylines prevail and journalists are routinely portrayed as either saints (Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck) or villains (poison-pen columnist Rita Skeeter in the Harry Potter books and movies).Despite such simplified depictions, authors Matthew Ehrlich and Joe Saltzman make a convincing case that fictional journalists are both ubiquitous and significant in pop culture-in plays, movies, television, novels, short stories, comic strips, graphic novels, video games, and so on. These images matter, they argue, because they "are likely to shape the people's perception of the news media as much if not more than the actual press does." At the societal level, the authors note that popular stories of fictional journalists "illustrate our expectations and our apprehensions regarding the press and its relation to democracy."Ehrlich, professor of journalism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Saltzman, director of the Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture (IJPC) project at the University of Southern California, focus their research largely on 20th-century popular culture in the United States. They catalog a range of journalistic myths perpetuated in popular culture and offer insights into the meanings and consequences of these myths. Importantly, too, they examine stories by female, minority, and gay or lesbian authors for their "unique take on issues of difference that many journalists confront."Ehrlich and Saltzman document many cases where pop culture venerates journalism, offering idealized examples of reporters serving the public good, as in All the President's Men. At the other extreme, pop culture trashes journalists as self-serving liars and moral deadbeats. "Fabrication, deception, obfuscation, plagiarism, and arrogance are all too common," they write. In cases such as Nancy Drew, Reporter, "Popular culture implies that whatever the niceties of ethics codes, journalists can resort to whatever means are necessary to serve the higher end of promoting the public interest." Not surprisingly, such mixed messages distort the public's view of the press. …

Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 2014

Race + IP Conference , 2017

The paper examines how Western IP Law- which promotes individualism, term limits, and profits- u... more The paper examines how Western IP Law- which promotes individualism, term limits, and profits- undermines cultural sovereignty by allowing for the use of indigenous cultural artifacts including music, dance, and art.

Law and Policy Division at the 2013 Conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, 2013

Presented to the Critical & Cultural Studies Division at the 2013 Conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, 2013

Newspapers are workhorse of local news industry and this information is important in order to hav... more Newspapers are workhorse of local news industry and this information is important in order to have an informed citizenry. But, the conventional wisdom is that newspapers are an endangered species and that something drastic needs to be done if this form of media is going to survive. Many proactive solutions have been forwarded such as charging for online content, using tablet and smartphone technology to publish newspapers and making newspapers more assessable to younger and more diverse generations. Another more conceding solution is to allow for greater relaxation on newspapers mergers and cross media ownership rules. But, this solution would be another irreversible step in the deregulation and conglomeration of the
communication industries. This paper argues that allowing more consolidation is a poor solution to answer the newspaper industry’s problem because, though it serves the economic interest of the corporate owners, it further injures the public’s interest in the free flow of information, media access, diversity of opinions and localism in coverage of public affairs. Using the FCC studies from its 2010 Quadrennial Review, this paper illustrates that internet and television journalism has yet to adequately replace traditional print journalism as the bastion of local news. The paper also argues that federal agencies charged with regulating media ownership should apply a new public interest standard that truly forwards the principles of competition, diversity and localism. These guidelines should empower agencies to begin to actively review the effects that the media deregulation of the last twenty years has had on the
free marketplace of ideas.

'What is Television?' Conference, Feb 2012

S.D. Supreme Court's Committee for the Study for Cameras in the Trial Courtroom, Jan 2010

burlesoninstitute.org, Apr 2009