Description

On a daily basis we are confronted with "more speech, not less"—more news reports, more television channels, more publications, more electronic communications. Communications laws have expanded in response to the proliferation of communications, and these laws affect everyone.

Communications lawyer Mark Sableman uses recent case studies, practical examples, and plain language to describe and analyze the broad spectrum of modern communications laws and policies. In these essays, Sableman helps communications professionals as well as informed citizens understand the law.

The constitutional foundation for the information age is settled: radical solutions on either side have been rejected. Neither First Amendment absolutism nor untrammeled content-based censorship will rule in America. But within the remaining middle area, many key policy choices are being made by courts and policy makers. Intricate webs of legal do’s and don’ts, practical pitfalls, and effective safe harbors are being developed across the broad spectrum of communications law.

In this guide to existing law, developing trends, and critical policy determinations, Sableman discusses privacy, Internet communications and policy, censorship, libel and slander, copyright and intellectual property, advertising, broadcasting, and journalistic confidentiality. Through actual cases and practical examples, he examines and explains both the existing rules for communications professionals and the developing policies that deserve the attention and scrutiny of informed citizens. Sableman approaches these subjects as a practicing lawyer experienced in both business and media communications.

The phrase "more speech, not less" describes not only the growing cacophony of the information age, but also one approach to legal policy—Justice Louis D. Brandeis’s preference for "more speech, not enforced silence" in all but the most extreme situations. Drawing from his strong advocacy of free speech, Sableman hopes to stimulate informed debate among all who are concerned about the power of information and the magic of words and images.

About the Author

Mark Sableman is a former newspaper reporter who has practiced law in Chicago and St. Louis, concentrating on litigation and communications law. He has handled over one hundred lawsuits involving libel, privacy, and other First Amendment issues. A partner in the Thompson Coburn law firm in St. Louis and a past president of the ACLU of Eastern Missouri, he is a frequent contributor to the St.Louis Journalism Review and other publications.

Praise For…

"History can teach us many lessons, and one is that freedom is not easily preserved. If there are not voices like Mark Sableman and others to remind us of our heritage, there will be a gradual erosion of our basic freedoms."—Paul Simon, from the Foreword

“Sableman, in his concise, highly readable book, asks us to revisit our knee-jerk reactions to offensive speech. He points out, in a variety of contexts, why even the most offensive speech is preferable to an imposed silence… More Speech, Not Less is likely to appeal to lawyers, journalists, and any readers with an interest in free speech and media issues.”—New York Law Journal