Final paper assignment

length: 6-8 pages
due: Wednesday, May 29
revised version due: Wednesday, June 12

Preamble:

In this course, you've had a chance to think about the ways that freedom of expression tangles with modern communication media. It has hopefully become clear that the problem is complicated by the fact that what the media "is" is not as clear as we imagine, and that what free speech "is" is also unclear -- or at least highly contentious. And we have also seen that many factors affect this relationship (legal, economic, social, technological), with many consequences -- and that any intervention in order to repair or improve the situation is always itself fraught with complications.

It may be enough to convince you to throw up your hands in despair -- or, worse, to embrace a diminished vision of free speech or public interest, in order to reach a workable compromise and be done with it. The instinct to compromise is important, since these problems are rarely solved in the abstract terms in which we are encouraged to speak in the classroom. But as citizens and consumers, we do not have the luxury we do as students. We are embedded in this matrix of communication technologies and the various interests that shape it, we recognize there are real consequences to how communication systems are designed and implemented for our freedom of expression, and we must make decisions to create the best media system possible, to serve the best values possible. Which is why we finish the course with the question of media regulation.

Assignment:

In this paper, explain the role that First Amendment concerns (1) do play, and (2) should play, in media regulation. When setting rules for the media industries and the markets in which they function, how should the freedom of speech be taken into account? What are the most important interests that need to be protected, and what are the biggest risks that must be anticipated? Are they being taken into account now, and with what consequences? Use specific examples from regulation efforts we have encountered, as well as the kinds of problems we have noted in our current media environment, to make your point.

Be sure, in doing so, that you address both the practical and the theoretical; the best efforts in this world manage both. Address the relationship between media systems and speech rights in the abstract, as well as the relationship between the First Amendment goals and the realities of modern media. If you are bold enough to suggest priorities or plans, acknowledge what values you are pursuing, what you are willing to sacrifice to get them, and why that sacrifice is acceptable.

Practicals:

The first version of this paper is due Wednesday, May 29. This offers you two advantages. First, you can take some chances; try out a bold theory, or an unorthodox approach to the topic; if it falls flat, you'll have plenty of time to work out a different approach. At the same time, a paper of particularly high quality may buy you a pass on doing any more work. So I suggest putting the kind of effort into this first version that you usually do for a regular paper -- and also that you have some fun with it.

I will have the papers back to you, with substantial comments, in class on Wednesday, June 5. Your paper will be graded; an A paper means you do not need to hand in a second version. Anything lower than an A does not count as a grade; it is just a gesture to indicate where I think you are on the paper at that point.

The second and final version of the paper is due Wednesday, June 12. You can put it in my mailbox in the Comm building any time during the day (or before that day, of course). I will be in my office from 3:30 - 4:30pm; you can also hand the paper in to me directly then. After 4:30pm, papers are late, and lose a grade (B+ --> B) every 24 hours.

*** Please hand in your graded rough draft with the final version. ***