Intro -- TABLE OF CONTENTS -- I: A JUSTIFICATION FOR LIBEL -- History of the Rationale -- Hedging the Immunity -- Broadening the Immunity -- II: LIBEL, PUBLICITY, AND PROCEDURE -- Communist" as Libel -- Personalizing and Publicizing "Loyalty" Investigations -- Committee Procedures and Privilege for the Press -- III: COMMITTEE PROCEEDINGS: THE PUBLIC FILES -- The Files Material -- The Public Files in Relation to Court Decisions -- News Reports Based on the Public Files -- IV: COMMITTEE PROCEEDINGS: FILES REPORTS -- The Files Report -- Files Reports in Relation to Court Decisions -- Public Files Reports as Legislative Proceedings -- Communications Media and the Public Files Report -- V: COMMITTEE PROCEEDINGS: INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS -- Subcommittee "Reports to the Public -- Appendix Nine -- Employees' Reports -- VI: COMMITTEE PROCEEDINGS: CREATION OF SUBCOMMITTEES -- Committee Practice in Creating Subcommittees -- Rules Applying to Creation of Subcommittees -- The Courts and Committee Procedure -- The Press and the Subcommittee Created by Chairman -- VII: COMMITTEE PROCEEDINGS: QUORUM -- The Courts and Committee Quorum -- Quorum in the House Committee on Un-American Activities Following the Christoffel Decision -- Quorum in Executive Sessions -- The Press and the Agency Lacking Quorum -- VIII: UNCERTAINTY IN THEORY -- The Theory Ignored -- The "Public" Requirement -- Identification -- The Inadequacy of the Theory -- NOTE TO NEWSMEN -- APPENDIXES -- NOTES -- A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY -- INDEX OF CASES -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- SUBJECT INDEX -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W.

Libel: In News of Congressional Investigating Committees was first published in 1961. This is a study of a perplexing problem in libel law, that which is involved in the reporting of news of congressional investigating committees. The danger of committing libel is a constant threat to newsmen in their attempt at fair coverage of the activities of these committees. The responsible reporter faces the challenge of reporting such news as fully as the public interest demands while, at the same time, working in a situation of uncertainty as far as libel law is concerned. Professor Nelson seeks to clarify some of the issues in the problem by a close examination of the proceedings of a single committee, the House Un-American Activities Committee. He also illustrates his discussion with examples from the proceedings of other committees, such as those of the McCarthy hearings. The basic question hinges on the concept of "qualified privilege," the legal protection of immunity from the libel findings in connection with the reporting of "official" proceedings. But which of the committee activities may be construed as official and which as unofficial, in the eyes of the law? This is the nub of the problem, and Professor Nelson's analysis will, it is hoped, throw light on a shadowy question. The book should prove useful and interesting to lawyers, government officials, and political scientists.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2018. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.