Mass Communication Law in Georgia

As every student of Communication Law is aware, most of the law with which journalists deal on a day-to-day basis originates not in our nation’s capital but in the statehouse. This is true even though the U.S. Supreme Court has “federalized” much of Communication Law, setting standards for the states to follow. Because these standards allow for differences of opinion and approach, laws affecting freedom of expression still vary significantly from state to state, and even more today than when Dewey Benefield published Georgia Laws and Cases Affecting Newspapers in 1955.This book has been developed as a comprehensive survey of key Communication Law issues and problems in the state of Georgia. For more than 20 years, it has served as a primer or introduction to Communication Law in Georgia and a supplement to other texts which discuss Communication Law from a national perspective. Because of continual changes in the law on all levels of government and in our understanding of those changes, this material will be updated regularly on the author’s web site.This book has been prepared for reference use by journalists and students of Journalism and Mass Communication, but should not be used as a substitute for legal counsel.The author, Gregory C. Lisby, holds doctorate degrees in both Communications and in Law. He is a Professor of Communication at Geor¬gia State University, and also practices law in Atlanta.