Write a paper in which you explore a current event in light of Communication Law, and propose a means of resolving the issue. YOUR DISCUSSION OF THE ISSUE SHOULD BE THE HEART OF THE PAPER.
Please note: This is a communication law class. There are many interesting and important legal issues which are outside the boundaries of this class. Your paper topic must address a question related to the study of communication law. At the same time, there are many communication law issues that we may not have covered in class. You are not limited to the topics or issues addressed in class materials.
1. Develop a topic concerning a current issue in mass media law. There are a vast number of possible topics. If you don’t have a topic in mind, spend some time reading news magazines, trade publications, newspapers and other general interest publication.
2. Frame your topic in the form of question or a conclusion: “Should the federal government have the power to restrict access to materials they consider to be obscene?”, “Is the current practice of looking up social media information an invasion of privacy and violates anti-discrimation policies?” or a statement like: “Government should have the power to prohibit pornographic expression.”
3. Do enough research to provide adequate understanding of the topic. There is no magic number of sources, but experience suggests that a solid research effort will enhance your paper (but 10 sources seems a minimum). The best papers are built on a foundation of good research. Your research may include extensive use of law research in general, but you are not required to make extensive use of legal materials or use case law to build your answer.
You must show that you have a solid grasp of the legal issue you are discussing but beyond that you are free (and encouraged) to develop any research strategy that will enable you to make a persuasive case. You may even have a fascinating paper primarily based on materials from Government Documents, personal interviews, trade organizations and other “non-legal” sources with minimal use of case law, law review articles or other legal materials.
4. Write a paper containing the following sections:
A. Introduction: State the topic of the paper, explain the importance of the topic and summarize your conclusion.
B. The Issue: Provide an overview of the various positions taken on the topic. For example, the tobacco industry takes one position on tobacco advertising and proponents of regulation take an opposite position. In this section you should briefly explain both positions.
