Page 134 - Historical Dictionary of Political Communication in the United States

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ROBERTSON, PAT
The study of persuasive communications has historic ties to debates between
the great Greek philosophers about the variables that affect the writer-reader,
speaker-listener relationship. Over the course of human time, the study of rhet-
oric has become more and more scientific as researchers try to quantify the
variables to improve the quality of the communication relationships.
It is obvious why political communicators are interested in the study of rhet-
oric: they want to create written and oral messages that have the best chance to
be understood and to be persuasive in the vast mix of multiple messages in the
mass media and in society.
SOURCE: Erik Bamouw, ed., International Encyclopedia of Communications, 1989.
Jacqueline Nash Gifford

RICHMOND NEWSPAPERS V VIRGINIA. In a 7-1 decision written by
Chief Justice Warren Burger, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the public (and
by extension, the press) has a right to attend criminal trials. Throughout the
1970s, the Court ruled that if the media could obtain information, then that
information could be published. Even if the material was obtained by possibly
illegal means (see Pentagon Papers), the press had a right to publish what it
knew. The question in Richmond Newspapers, however, concerned the right of
the press to obtain the information in the first place.
The case involved the fourth trial of a defendant whose previous three trials
had been reversed or declared mistrials. The trial judge, who had presided over
two of the three previous trials, closed the fourth trial, with no objection from
either the prosecution or the press. Late in the day, however, two reporters
argued that the trial could not be closed without a hearing to determine if the
defendant's rights could be protected in some way other than closing the court-
room. The judge refused to vacate his order, and the Virginia Supreme Court
upheld the order.
In overruling the state court, Burger said that under the First, Sixth, and
Fourteenth Amendments there is a presumptive right of the public and the press
to attend criminal trials. In a concurring opinion, however, Justice Potter Stewart
stressed that the right of access is not absolute. Yet the Court's ruling in the
subsequent Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court, County of Norfolk seems
to indicate that it is unlikely that closing of a trial is acceptable.
SOURCE: Richmond Newspapers v. Virginia, 448 U.S. 555, 1980.
Larry L. Burriss

ROBERTSON, PAT (1930- ) is credited for moving America's conservative
Christians into a powerful political force. He also founded the Christian Broad-
casting Network, which he uses as a vehicle for spreading his political and
religious views. Robertson is well educated and comes from a successful family.
His father was a congressman for nearly 34 years, and his mother was a zealous
Christian and a homemaker. This combination shaped his future.