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Digital Journalist's Legal Guide
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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: 2013-05-20
Format: 2013-05-20
Philip Morris files $10 billion libel suit
April 5, 1994
Philip Morris files $10 billion libel suit 04/05/1994 VIRGINIA -- Philip Morris Cos. filed a libel suit against ABC in late March, following two "Day One" broadcasts that suggested tobacco companies add nicotine to cigarettes so that smokers become addicted. The suit, filed in state circuit court in Richmond, seeks $5 billion in compensatory damages and $5 billion in punitive damages. An ABC spokesman said the network stands by its reporting, the Associated Press reported.
National Security Council claims it is not subject to FOI Act
April 5, 1994
National Security Council claims it is not subject to FOI Act 04/05/1994 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- National Security Council executive secretary William Itoh in late March directed the agency's records management chief William Leary to revoke NSC's Freedom of Information Act regulations, claiming NSC exists solely to advise the President and is therefore not subject to the FOI Act.
Opinion column not defamatory, Utah court rules
April 5, 1994
Opinion column not defamatory, Utah court rules 04/05/1994 UTAH -- The Utah Supreme Court ruled in late March that a newspaper did not defame a mayor when it published an opinion column accusing him of attempting to manipulate the press. The court also ruled that a column's implication that the mayor reversed his position on an issue to get elected was an opinion protected by the state constitution.
Recruitment contracts are public, Wyoming high court rules
April 5, 1994
Recruitment contracts are public, Wyoming high court rules 04/05/1994 WYOMING -- After the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled in mid-March that physician recruitment contracts are public records, the Gillette News-Record discovered a local hospital promised doctors up to $50,000 a month to relocate there.
Commissioners' walk at wetland site held to be a meeting
April 5, 1994
Commissioners' walk at wetland site held to be a meeting 04/05/1994 CONNECTICUT -- An environmental "site walk" by wetland commissioners was a meeting that the public was entitled to attend unconditionally, a superior court ruled in early March.
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.