White rejects constitutional immunity for the entire-act broadcast
Byron R. WhiteU.S. Supreme Court justice, writing for the majority
White holds that the Constitution does not immunize the entire-act broadcast, while leaving states free to privilege such use under their own law.
“Wherever the line in particular situations is to be drawn between media reports that are protected and those that are not, we are quite sure that the First and Fourteenth Amendments do not immunize the media when they broadcast a performer's entire act without his consent.”
Original text
Original text
Where this statement fits
Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard: performer challenges broadcast of his entire act; broadcaster claims press protection
The Supreme Court split over a station's broadcast of Hugo Zacchini's entire act without consent. The majority rejected constitutional immunity while leaving state-law protection open; Powell's dissent argued for First Amendment protection of routine news use.
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Original text
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Full opinion text, including the majority and both dissents, reproduced by the Legal Information Institute.
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About this source
The Supreme Court considers a news broadcast of an entire human-cannonball act. The opinions include the broadcast script and the competing constitutional arguments.
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The majority addresses the difference between ordinary reporting and appropriation of a complete performance.
After the quotation
The Court reverses. Ohio remains free to privilege the press as a matter of state law.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to the station's broadcast of Zacchini's entire act, White rejects its claimed constitutional immunity from a damages action.
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More from this case
Read the full casePowell defends the broadcast as routine news coverage
“When a film is used, as here, for a routine portion of a regular news program, I would hold that the First Amendment protects the station from a "right of publicity" or "appropriation" suit, absent a strong showing by the plaintiff that the news broadcast was a subterfuge or cover for private or commercial exploitation.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "White rejects constitutional immunity for the entire-act broadcast". First published: 2026-11-02. Last updated: 2026-11-02. https://disputeindex.com/events/7675-white-holds-that-the-constitution-does-not-immunize