FAQs for LEGAL ISSUES
Student Press Law Center’s Top 10 College Media FAQs
Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s Can I Publish This? Guide and Student Press Freedom Resources
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press First Amendment Handbook
LEGAL RESOURCES
- An independent, non-partisan 501c(3) which works to promote, support and defend the First Amendment and press freedom rights of high school and college journalists and their advisers. Workshops, training, legal reviews, and a legal hotline are offered for free to college news-academic partnerships through the SPLC.
- FIRE defends fundamental rights on college campuses through programming, including student and faculty outreach, public education campaigns, individual case advocacy, and policy reform efforts. There’s an interactive map of the state of free expression for most college campuses nationwide.
- The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press provides pro bono legal representation, amicus curiae support, and other legal resources to protect First Amendment freedoms and the newsgathering rights of journalists.
State Organizations
- Many states have First Amendment Foundations (like Georgia’s GFAF) or the state press or broadcasters associations have legal components (like Illinois’ First Amendment Center) or lawyers that you can partner with or consult.
University Affiliation vs. Independence
- SPLC’s Model Guidelines for College Media
- “Who’s protected by a free student press? Part I: The right to editorial independence” and “Who’s protected by a free student press? Part II: Viewpoint diversity and neutrality in the newsroom” from FIRE
Media liability insurance and contracts
- SPLC Model Copyright Agreement
- “Why media liability insurance is crucial: new INN case study” and Media Insurance Assistance from the Institute for Nonprofit News
- Media Liability Insurance for LION Publishers Members
ETHICS RESOURCES
- Provides a nationally accepted framework of ethics, along with professional development, advocacy, and local news support within the journalism industry — plus a section for journalism educators.
- Provides journalists and news organizations with the ownership and flexibility in creating an ethics code that meets their needs in our widely varied profession with a digital emphasis.
- Offers resources to help journalists make better ethical decisions – on and off the job – for themselves and for the communities they serve with a broadcast focus.
- Using research, learning and sharing with the industry, they explore how to incorporate trust-building into journalism’s standards and practices, through products such as the Trust Kit for Ethics.
- Encourages the highest standards in journalism ethics by fostering vigorous debate about ethical practices in journalism and providing a resource for producers, consumers and students of journalism.