Abstract:
There seemed to be very little organized research or readily-available information regarding incidents of libel in college and university student publications. There were many and varying opinions among students and advisors concerning the frequency and characteristics of libel in student publications.Neither students nor publication advisors seemed to have a problem defining libel correctly and accurately. An existing wealth of research, published reports and numerous U. S. Supreme Court decisions dealing with libel in professional publications provided thin information.Rather, the problem seemed to be that neither students nor advisors could say with authority how extensive libel is in college publications or what factors were contributing to Its existence. Both students and advisors had opinions on the subject, but more were unable to support their position with factual research. Some could cite a case or a few cases on which they based their opinion, but were unable to provide an overview of libel in student publications.Due to a lack of research of the subject, student Journalists and their advisors were hampered by lack of information about libel in college publications. If they had some concrete information, based on a study, about the frequency of libel in college publications, students and advisors could more accurately have assessed the magnitude of the problem. They would have been more aware of how serious the problem of libel is to student publications.If students and advisors had some broad-based information about commonplace characteristics of libel in student publications, their enlightenment could have helped them avoid a lawsuit at some future date.Research into libel in student publications becomes important when it is considered that prior research does not give sufficient insight into the area to allow some basic agreement of opinion among students and advisors.Thus, a research paper providing information defining the frequency and characteristics of libel in student publications would help advisors and student Journalists become more effective in their respective roles.