Question

3. In which case did the U.S. Supreme Court decide that the press was protected from libel suits unless the offended party could prove malice by the media?
A Schenk v. United States.

B New York Times v. Sullivan.

C Barron v. Baltimore.

D Lemon v. Kurtzmann.

E Lynch v. Donnelly.

Answer 1

Answer:

B New York Times v. Sullivan.

Explanation:

The correct answer is

B New York Times v. Sullivan.

In this case, in 1960, the NY times publish an advertisement and defense of Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement. The advertisement had some small facts stated wrongly, and so a police commissioner from Montgomery, Alabama, named Sullivan sued the NY Times for defamation. However, he could not prove that there was any malice in the ad. The US Supreme Court defended the NY Times, and defended the free reporting of the civil rights movement. So, it protected the press from libel suits unless the offended party could prove malice by the media.