Thanks class of 2017 for a great semester! Course papers were really a joy to read and many of them ought to be published.
Going over the final exams, I was struck by the depth of knowledge you have all acquired in 13 short weeks. Privacy, Trespass, Copyright, Defamation, Publication Bans, Search & Seizure, Contempt, and more. Well done.
Gave this interview a while ago (November 2014). Posting it as it might be a useful compendium of some of the things we talked about during the course.
This is a beautifully written piece about the breakdown of the justice system in a recent New Yorker. It instigated a lot of discussion across the country – and Canada – about issues such as timely justice, legal aid and incarceration. Do you think something like this could happen in Canada? Has it?
I also think this is an excellent example of not only writing about legal issues comprehensibly, but of using legal documents to report. While you read, think about the logistics of newsgathering in this story.
Compare and contrast from a journalistic perspective. Now compare and contrast from a defamation perspective. Now compare and contrast from the perspective of Canadian defamation law.
Four questions for future class discussion: 1. Is what Simmons said defamatory? 2. If Goodell doesn’t sue should ESPN take action? 3. If “sports journalism” is legitimate journalism, would not ESPN be backing Simmons up? 4. How do conflicts of interest (broadcast rights deals) in the sports world play into this?
Interesting piece reflecting on whether there is a right to be protected from information that is uncomfortable? What about information that is “offensive”? What about information that is “dangerous”?