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Show Friday, February 1, 1991 The Daily Utah Chronicle - Page Two candidates to vital service Journalists perform American public despite criticism from page one In fact, journalists have performed essential services for U.S. citizens since the composition of the Constitution, Shea said. Fifteen of the 55 people that wrote the Constitution had some relationship to journalism. Because of these journalists' influence on the Constitution's fundamental principles, rights like those of free speech and free press were initially established. These two rights are essential in ensuring that other rights outlined in the Constitution are protected, he said. "I think that the whole constitutional model works only if there is a free flow of information." The media's "free flow of information" might have been 'J k V 1 CHRONICLE PHOTOEarl Cline Patrick Shea, attorney for KUTV News, said the media perform essential services for U.S. citizens despite criticism of journalists concerning libel and malice. By Allan Rubensteem Chronicle Staff Writer The media perform an essential function in American and are not all seeking to defame and desecrate the reputations of public officials, a media attorney said Thursday at the University of Utah. Patrick Shea, attorney for KUTV News, said in a lecture to student members of the Society of Professional Journalists that he wanted to dispel the idea that media people are not parasites, but important catalysts of the community. society threatened in recent cases concerning libel charges if the Supreme Court had not redefined and determined the media's role in society. The case of New York Times vs. Sullivan was the earliest test of the definition of libel. It was determined in that case, that libel along with malice was necessary for a criminal case to be held against media publications. In the case of public officials, journalists must show a definite intent of malice in their reporting for courts to justify their conviction. "Libel is to defame the reputation of an individual to such a matter as to hold him or her up to public mockery or ridicule," Shea said. "Constitutional malice is a reckless disregard for the truth." Shea said that the beauty of the New York Times vs. Sullivan case, was it then set up a judicial precedent, the basis for a trial court judge to make the decision. He said that the plaintiff has won in 85 percent of libel cases which have reached a jury trial. The burden on plaintiffs to prove intent of malice has freed up the press and championed the cause of the First Amendment, he added. Consequently, fewer libel cases have gone to jury trials and the pressure on the media has been alleviated. Shea spoke of Scott Mattheson Jr. who was a former attorney for The National Enquirer. Shea said Mattheson agrees that there is no objective basis now for determining what can be said in an article. With the loss of members from the Supreme Court, recently more and more libel cases are going to jury trial. The loss of judges that normally championed the cause of the First Amendment has hurt the media. For the Supreme Court, Shea believes that Justice Stevens is the closest representative to a champion of the First Amendment. "Justice Rhenquist, Justice Scalia, Justice White, and Justice O'Connor are not big advocates of the press," he said. institution, it is not. "ASUU has played a very apolitical role. We're a student government, comprised of students supposed to lead students. Politically we're nowhere. This government should take stances on the social issues around us," Ziouras said. The Persian Gulf War and education over racism are two such issues. "Without the education of the struggle and experiences of people of color, racism flourishes and we can't move forward," Ziouras said. Expanding curriculum to provide an honest portrayal of minority contributions is one way to increase education, Mu explained. "We're not saying scrap the system, just broaden it." Broadening students' knowledge of U.S. involvement in the Middle East is also paramount. Ziouras said ASUU should take a political stance on U.S. intervention and demand troops be brought home. student interests must also be met, Mu said. "Statistics show this campus is becoming more and and diverse. more "Older students are not interested in partying and going to concerts. They're interested in how to better their lives with an education...," she explained. Ziouras said gaining an education means more than having a degree it means becoming actively involved with campus and world issues affecting students. Many students have not experienced life after campus, Mu explained, and don't understand how taking a stance and "thinking for themselves" will be a benefit. "For too long we've been sitting back and allowing our government to make the decisions that affect our lives," Non-tradition- al non-tradition- al Mu said. She cited the Utah Legislature's handling of the abortion issue. ASUU should be a vehicle to voice students' opinions to the state, she added. While lack of student interest has been attributed to the U. being a commuter campus, Ziouras said there is as apathy on this campus" and the disinterest in student government is a reaction. "It's a reaction to the these students have experienced throughout the years." Ziouras said there are weaknesses in ASUU's current political structure. The structure does not allow ASUU to move politically forward, and there is no continuity between administrations, he said. And although forcing ASUU to keep up with the times is part of The Change Is Now! platform, Ziouras said the party has a greater responsibility. "Our responsibility lies in moving humanity forward, "no such thing through educating ourselves and organizing the appropriate actions." "All external reviewers considered review from page one of Regents' report which was released Friday. Two U. programs were cited by the reviewers as "commendable": the department of bioengineering and the department of educational administration. The department of bioengineering uses engineering principles to solve medical and biological problems by developing such technology as artificial organs. The Regents' report called the department "nationally prominent. ..with overall excellent faculty and graduate program. Hinckley from page one recreating the kind of structures that are needed to maintain peace in this very troubled region." Part of the current instability is linked to the conflict, Anderson said, despite Israeli-Palestinia- n claims by the George Bush that it is not. In the State of the Union address, the president spoke again about a new world order, he said, but military force should not provide the basis for the new world order. Rather, one should be created "so that ultimately the rule of law will replace the rule of force in international affairs." The strength of U.S. forces should not make the world see the U.S. military as a solution for future conflicts, he added. "I hope that we don't get caught up, so caught up, in the technology of the arts of war that we continue to look upon that as being the real method and the real way of projecting American power and influence." In fact, caution should be used in how the United States approaches when the war ends, he said. "I think that we are in the kind of period now when we have a right the department to be one of the best in the country, certainly within the top 10 nationally," the report said. The report pointed out, however, that the department has low faculty salaries and a poor program for attracting first-ye- ar students. The department of educational administration has undergone major internal reforms. In 1982, compared to other programs in the nation, the department was rated average. This year, however, one reviewer ranked the department's faculty top five in the nation. The department also produces two among the major journals, Educational Administration Quarterly and Review of Higher Education, each with a strong national reputation. Despite these strengths, the department faces funding problems. "Low salaries. ..along with the excellent reputation of the faculty, leave the department vulnerable to external raids," the report said. The remaining programs that were reviewed received an "acceptable" rating. The division of foods and nutrition faculty are "reasonably even in high quality, though. ..overloaded and have salaries...20-3- 0 percent lower than at comparable institutions," the report said. The health education department faculty ought to increase "scholarly productivity" however "they have. ..good morale and strong teaching ability and interest," the report said. The Middle East Center, the report said, "has a strong national reputation and is considered second only to UCLA as a resource center for Middle East Studies in the western region of the United States," but suffers from low faculty salaries. The department of music has a faculty "described as dedicated, talented, productive, and cooperative... yet confused about its hard-workin- g, identity and uncertain of its collective purpose," the report said. The theater department was commended for the quality of students' performances, the film studies program and the leadership of the department chair, but criticized for the low student recruitment financial support. to expect and demand that not just the military is going to determine what the map of the world looks like or what political arrangement shall prevail in years to come." The U.S. role in creating peace should begin with an international he said. The conference, Palestinians in Israel's occupied territories are being treated harshly and that situation must be dealt with. While on a visit to the Middle East "I saw the poverty, the misery, the running open sores, the the almost unbelievable, said. he conditions," unspeakable The Gulf War has also created additional problems in the region, speaker from page one Darity said. He added, "Things are not particularly good for the black off-trac- k, American, and they are not particularly getting better." "We could have a situation where we get to equality of results either by pulling the black scores up or by pulling the white scores down," Darity said. However it would be disadvantageous to society to pursue a social policy that would reduce earnings, income, and wealth levels of the white population, he said. He said, "The presumption typically has been that the way in which we achieve equality of results is by uplifting the black population." Actually, since the 1950s economic status has dramatically African-American- 's increased. This is how economists established the "Convergence Hypothesis." The idea is based on apparent evidence that the gap between blacks and whites, in terms pf economic indicators, is closing. Darity said, "Some economists say In the space of perhaps another 20 or 30 years, we might see uniformity in the average performance of blacks and whites in our society." Yet, Darity disagrees with the he added. For example, in Israel's occupied a Palestinian territories, philosophy professor was taken from his home and accused of "Convergence Hypothesis" because many areas were not being a Scud missile spotter for the Iraqis, he said. The professor will be detained for six months even though there is no proof, and no charges will be filed. This kind of treatment of the "There is a substantial unemployment gap between the youngest group of black American and the youngest Palestinians is human rights, examined. group of white Americans," violation of he said, so if a Palestinians find a hero in Saddam Hussein, the rest of the world should not blame them. "These people will turn to almost anyone for relief." CHRONICLE PHOTOBoone J. Chen U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East must be revised to prevent further conflicts in the region, John Anderson, former presidential candidate, said Thursday at the University of Utah Hinckley Institute of Politics. Darity said. He added, "We found that the unemployment rate for blacks that had completed some years of college, was higher than the unemployment rate of white outns who had dropped out ot school." ieh w |
