Newspaper and broadcast outlets were asked to describe the type of material demanded by each subpoena they received in 2001*. Broadcasters were given eight categories to classify subpoenas, and newspapers were given ten. Because subpoenas usually demand more than one type of information, total subpoenas by category will add up to more than the total number of subpoenas.

Newspapers reported receiving their largest number of subpoenas, 114 (61 percent), for testimony. Subpoenas for testimony at trial totaled 67 (36 percent), while subpoenas for testimony at depositions totaled 47 (25 percent).

Published stories and reporters' notes generated the next highest category of results at newspapers, with subpoenas for published stories totaling 74 subpoenas (40 percent) and subpoenas for notes totaling 70 subpoenas (38 percent).

Subpoenas for unpublished photographs numbered 47 (25 percent). Published photo subpoenas also numbered 47 (25 percent). Newspapers reported receiving 37 subpoenas (20 percent) for photograph negatives.

Some respondents noted that photographs of accident scenes seemed to prompt the most subpoenas. As a result, some — like The Advocate in Baton Rouge, La., and The Courier-Tribune in Asheboro, N.C. — have instituted policies instructing employees not to save photos of accidents.

"We do not keep photos of wrecks or other assignments that are not actually published," wrote Ray Criscoe of The Courier-Tribune. "And we have been instructed by our corporate lawyer to destroy notes of stories rather than save them."

Newspapers were subpoenaed only 16 times (9 percent) for internal memoranda, 14 times (8 percent) for written drafts, and 30 times (16 percent) for audiotapes.

For broadcasters, material actually aired accounted for the greatest number of subpoenas by a substantial margin - 541 subpoenas (85 percent). Subpoenas that included demands for unedited audio or videotape were the second-most demanded materials from broadcasters, with those subpoenas totaling 172 (27 percent). Demands for outtakes were slightly fewer than those for unedited audio or videotape at 121 (19 percent). Again, film of accident scenes was of particular interest to litigants. John Emmert of WINK-TV in Fort Myers, Fla., said the subpoenas to his station sought "mostly car accidents." One of the two subpoenas served to KDLT-TV in Sioux Falls, S.D., was from an automobile crash victim who wanted video to help describe the scene of the accident.

"It seems like the attorneys are getting more aggressive about trying to get raw video," said one Idaho broadcaster. "We have attorneys that tell reporters while they are interviewing them that they are going to subpoena the raw video and save it."

Broadcasters reported being subpoenaed for notes in 59 instances (9 percent), written drafts in 41 instances (6 percent), and internal memos in 17 (3 percent). Broadcast subpoenas for testimony at trial totaled 43 subpoenas (7 percent), while those for testimony at depositions totaled five (1 percent).

There were 11 subpoenas (1 percent) reported for material related to news organizations' Web site content. This is an increase from 1999, when subpoenas for Web site materials represented less than one half of one percent of all subpoenas.

Respondents indicated that in six instances (1 percent), subpoenas demanded the identity of a confidential source or information obtained under a promise of confidentiality. Of these subpoenas, four (less than 1 percent) requested confidential information, and two (less than 1 percent) requested the identity of confidential sources. Among the six subpoenas for confidential sources or information, three were served on print outlets and three on broadcasters.

Many news outlets reported charging processing fees to parties who subpoenaed them for materials, such as already-aired tape, that the news outlets were willing to release. Fees ranged from $25 to $650 for a single subpoena.

"It takes several hours to answer each subpoena — from archive search to dubbing," reported Paul Lewis of WTIC-TV in Hartford, Conn. "We bill whoever asks $250-$500 depending on [the] extent of the subpoena. We sometimes do get paid!"

Another broadcaster, WPMT-TV in York, Pa., reported charging a base fee of $100 per subpoena, plus $25 for each extra hour, after the first two, spent complying with the subpoena.

"We find the best way to get payment is to include a letter describing the contents and make the bill a part of it. The bill is then entered into the court record," said Jim DePury, WPMT-TV's news director.

[* Editor's note: This data covers the year 2001, consistent with the rest of this study. It was originally misreported as applying to 1999. This error was corrected in May 2005.]