Examining the effects of the Hosty v. Carter decision and prior restraint on the collegiate press : a qualitative study

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on May 27, 2011).The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file.Thesis advisor: Dr. Charles Davis.Includes bibliographical references.M.A. University of Missouri--Columbia 2011.The purpose of this study was to determine what effects, if any, the Hosty v. Carter decision had on the collegiate press in the Seventh Circuit. The researcher aimed to determine if student editors of newspapers at public universities in Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois had encountered instances of prior restraint and were self-censoring or altering the tone of their writing to avoid prior restraint. Through a series of in-depth interviews with eight student editors, the researcher found that members of the collegiate press have not been met with any successful prior restraint attempts since the Hosty decision was handed down. This is due to the fact that many of the student newspapers were historically independent, funded by a variety of sources, often extracurricular in nature, and served as public forums. The student newspapers were also able to maintain their independence with the help of a supportive faculty advisor. Research participants also expressed their belief that a policy of prior restraint would have a negative impact on the quality of a student newspaper and the journalism curriculum at a public university