Episode 5: Tabloids on Trial
California v. Confidential Magazine
In 1957, California declared war on a tabloid magazine. Confidential magazine was the most powerful gossip magazine in the country, with millions of readers and the ability to make or break stars' careers. Movie studios hated the magazine and politicians worried that it was ruining the country's morals. When California charged Confidential with publishing libel and obscenity, many cheered. But others worried about what this case meant for free speech...
Episode Resources
Episode Transcript
Works Cited/
Referenced
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“American Library Association Releases Preliminary Data on 2023 Book Challenges,” American Library Association, September 19 2023.
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Samantha Barbas, Confidential Confidential: The Inside Story of Hollywood’s Notorious Scandal Magazine (Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2018).
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Samantha Barbas, “The Most Loved, Most Hated Magazine in America: The Rise and Demise of Confidential Magazine,” William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal vol. 25, issue 1, 2016-2017.
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Scott Bomboy, “The day the Supreme Court killed Hollywood’s studio system,” National Constitution Center, May 4 2023.
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“Book Ban Data,” American Library Association.
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Robert Harrison, “Hollywood vs. Confidential,” Confidential Magazine, September 1957, via Famous Trials.
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Gladwin Hill, “Counsel Appears for Confidential,” New York Times, August 20 1957.
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Douglas O. Linder, “The Confidential Magazine Trial: An Account,” Famous Trials, UMKC School of Law, 2010.
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Kasey Meehan and Jonathan Friedman, “Banned in the USA: State Laws Supercharge Book Suppression in Schools,” PEN America, April 20 2023.
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New York Times: “Laxity of Studios Charged in Trial” (August 26, 1957); “Retrial in Doubt For Confidential: A Court Hearing This Week May Reveal Decision on Prosecuting Magazine” (October 6, 1957); "Agreement Set on Confidential" (November 8, 1957); “2 Magazines Guilty in Obscenity Case,” (December 19, 1957).
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Anne Helen Petersen, The Gossip Industry: Producing and Distributing Star Images, Celebrity Gossip, and Entertainment News, 1910-2010, unpublished dissertation, The University of Texas at Austin, 2011.
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Jon Ponder, “Wrong Door Raid: The Celebrity Scandal That Irked Sinatra, Made a Fool of DiMaggio–All at Marilyn Monroe’s Expense,” West Hollywood History, November 6 2020.
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“The Press: Putting the Papers to Bed,” Time, August 26 1957.
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Eric P. Robinson, “Criminal Libel,” Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University, last updated February 18 2024.
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Henry Scott, Shocking True Story: The Rise and Fall of Confidential, “America’s Most Scandalous Scandal Magazine," (New York: Pantheon, 2010).
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“Special Committee on Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce,” United States Senate Senate Historical Office.
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Trial Transcript: People of the State of California, plaintiff, vs. Marjorie Ann Meade, Fred S. Meade, Confidential, Inc., Hollywood Research, Inc., Publishers Distributing Corporation, and Whisper, Inc. : reporters' daily transcript / Ward E. McConnell & James E. Vaughn, official reporters (in 16 volumes).
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Theo Wilson, Headline Justice: Inside the Courtroom–The Country’s Most Controversial Trials (New York: Basic Books, 1996).