Page 76 - Historical Dictionary of Political Communication in the United States

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HUTCHINS
outhouse.
in
an
his mother COMMISSION Falwell sued for libel and lost because as a public
figure he was required to prove malice. He did, however, win $200,000 for
"intentional infliction of emotional distress" because the trial court ruled it was
not necessary to prove malice to collect damages for that. But in a unanimous
1988 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the damage award and ruled
that malice would thereafter be a necessary condition for a damage award for
emotional distress.
SOURCES: Wayne Overbeck, Major Principles of Media Law, 1997; Hustler Magazine
v. Falwell, 485 U.S. 46, 1988.
Marc Edge

HUTCHINS COMMISSION. Robert Maynard Hutchins, chancellor of the Uni-
versity of Chicago, chaired the Commission on Freedom of the Press (1942 -
1947). Conceived by Henry Luce and funded by Time and Encyclopaedia Britan-
nica, the commission was formed in reaction to several challenges to press barons.
These included threats posed by media critics to enforce press responsibility
through more liberal libel laws and even direct government control or regulation.
Another challenge was the increasing tendency of courts to define freedom of the
press as the right of individual citizens to accurate and comprehensive informa-
tion, rather than freedom from government control for the news industry.
The commission's report called for self-regulation. Also, "free press" should
provide the public with:
1. A truthful account of the day's events in a context that gives them meaning.
2. A forum for the exchange of comment and criticism.
3. A representative picture of constituent groups in society.
4. The presentation and clarification of the goals and values of society.
5. Full access to the day's intelligence.
Reaction by publishers and editors was negative due to the closed proceedings
of the commission, its attacks on the triviality and sensationalism of news cov-
erage, and the lack of direct participation by journalists. Nevertheless, many of
the recommendations of the commission have been adopted.
While the main report of the commission was in a brief book entitled A Free
and Responsible Press, six other books on various aspects and issues of the
media were produced by members of the commission.
SOURCES: Stephen Bates, Realigning Journalism with Democracy: The Hutchins Com-
mission, Its Times, and Ours, 1995; Margaret Blanchard, "The Hutchins Commission,
the Press and the Responsibility Concept," Journalism Monographs, No. 49, 1977; Com-
mission on Freedom of the Press, A Free and Responsible Press, 1947; Frank Hughes,
Prejudice and the Press, 1950.
David C. Perlmutter