Home Browse Media Law Resources News
Digital Journalist's Legal Guide
Tablet and mobile phone showing news online

Everything online journalists need to protect their legal rights. This free resource culls from all Reporters Committee resources and includes exclusive content on digital media law issues.

News

Format: 2013-05-07
Format: 2013-05-07
Ethics advisory opinions to judges must be published in full form
April 5, 1994
Ethics advisory opinions to judges must be published in full form 04/05/1994 RHODE ISLAND -- The Rhode Island State Supreme Court ruled in early March that future advisory opinions on ethics, issued by the ethics committee to judges, must be published in unredacted form and supporting documents must be released.
National Archives issues new rules requiring preservation of electronic mail messages
April 5, 1994
National Archives issues new rules requiring preservation of electronic mail messages 04/05/1994 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The National Archives in late March released new rules that require federal agencies to treat electronic mail messages like other government records -- preserved as required under federal records statutes and subject to the Freedom of Information Act.
Report: Clinton slow to change information policy
March 22, 1994
Report: Clinton slow to change information policy 03/22/1994 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Despite campaign promises to "reinvent government," the Clinton Administration has been slow to make real changes in government information policy, according to a Reporters Committee report. To mark Freedom of Information Day, The Reporters Committee released its first annual summary and analysis of "The Clinton Administration and The News Media" in mid- March.
Judge bars newspaper from printing pictures of students punished for drinking
March 22, 1994
Judge bars newspaper from printing pictures of students punished for drinking 03/22/1994 TENNESSEE -- A Sevierville newspaper cannot publish photographs of students taken when they attended an alternative learning center class as punishment for drinking alcohol on a school trip because it would violate a state law that keeps educational records secret, a judge ruled in mid-March.
Court upholds family control over JFK autopsy photos
March 22, 1994
Court upholds family control over JFK autopsy photos 03/22/1994 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The family of the late President John F. Kennedy can control the access to his autopsy photographs now held by the National Archives, a federal district court in Washington ruled in late February.
La. high court ruling strengthens reporter's privilege
March 22, 1994
La. high court ruling strengthens reporter's privilege 03/22/1994 LOUISIANA -- The Louisiana Supreme Court in New Orleans in late February clarified the state's First Amendment journalist's privilege, and deferred review of an appeal seeking to deny that privilege to an investigative book author.
Panel kills bill to start publicly funded news council
March 22, 1994
Panel kills bill to start publicly funded news council 03/22/1994 KENTUCKY -- A bill to establish a publicly appointed mediation council to hear complaints about the news media was killed in the state House of Representatives in mid- March.
Legislature passes bill to allow reporters to witness executions
March 22, 1994
Legislature passes bill to allow reporters to witness executions 03/22/1994 TENNESSEE -- The legislature approved a bill requiring that the state designate seven reporters to view executions. The bill was sent to Gov. Ned McWherter in mid-March.
Appeals court says cellular-phone bill is public record
March 22, 1994
Appeals court says cellular-phone bill is public record 03/22/1994 PENNSYLVANIA -- In late February, an appeals court upheld a trial court decision stating that the Washington County government's entire cellular phone bill, including itemization sheets, is a public record. However, the district attorney will be able to black out more numbers than before because the Commonwealth Court broadened the trial court's interpretation of the investigation exception to the open records law.
Minnesota declines to review decision forcing newspaper to disclose photos
March 22, 1994
Minnesota declines to review decision forcing newspaper to disclose photos 03/22/1994 MINNESOTA -- The Minnesota Supreme Court in St. Paul refused in late February to hear an appeal by the Duluth News-Tribune of an order to disclose unpublished photographs of an accident scene.
Hillary Clinton criticizes news reporting on violence
March 22, 1994
Hillary Clinton criticizes news reporting on violence 03/22/1994 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton said that "exhaustive and perhaps excessive" news reporting on violence could be harmful to children during a satellite presentation in early March at a conference on "Children and the News Media" in Palo Alto, Calif.
Supreme Court rules parody of song may be 'fair use'
March 22, 1994
Supreme Court rules parody of song may be 'fair use' 03/22/1994 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The commercial parody of the rock 'n' roll classic, "Oh, Pretty Woman," by the rap group 2 Live Crew may be protected as a fair use under copyright law, the Supreme Court ruled in early March. The high court rejected a federal appeals court's finding that the commercial purpose of all parody makes it presumptively unfair.
Privacy Act bars disclosure of home addresses, Supreme Court rules
March 8, 1994
Privacy Act bars disclosure of home addresses, Supreme Court rules 03/08/1994 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in late February that federal unions cannot get home addresses of agency workers within bargaining units because the federal Privacy Act bars disclosure. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion. The union had argued that the addresses should be released under an exemption to the Privacy Act that allows disclosures required by the federal Freedom of Information Act.
Television reporter files libel suit, claiming he was blamed for agents' deaths
March 8, 1994
Television reporter files libel suit, claiming he was blamed for agents' deaths 03/08/1994 TEXAS -- A Waco television reporter filed a libel suit in state court in Waco in late February against two journalists alleged to have blamed the reporter for the death of four federal agents in the February 1993 raid on the Branch Davidians, the Associated Press reported.
Court keeps governor's schedule secret
March 8, 1994
Court keeps governor's schedule secret 03/08/1994 KENTUCKY -- The governor may keep his schedule of daily activities private because it is a "working document" not subject to the state Open Records Act, a circuit court judge ruled in mid-February. Gov. Brereton Jones's schedule is intended to reflect public business appointments. It is not created for his personal convenience, but rather for the convenience of his staff in their conduct of official business, the court said.