| TABLE OF CONTENTS | The News Media & The Law | Vol. 25, No. 1 |
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The News Media & The Law Winter 2001 Eyes Wide Open: A strong Florida records law allowed unparalleled access, but the media didn't always win the recount access battles |
In this issue:
Cover Story Although the presidential election vote recount in Florida caused tension for the candidates and the country, state law was kind to reporters seeking access to the ballot-counting process and to the ballots after the election was certified.
(Bush v. Palm Beach County Canvassing Board)
Prior Restraints & Secret Courts As use of the Internet quickley expands around the globe, people and nations are learning about its risks and rewards. The fact that the Internet makes posted information readily available to any person at any time has proven to be both an advantage and disadvantage, depending on the substance of the posted information.
Confidentiality The number of subpoenas media organizations received in 1999 fell to an average of three per outlet, down from 4.6 in 1997, according to a survey by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. But journalists around the country still found subpoenas for their work product burdensome.
(In re Subpoena Issued to Nancy Phillips; New Jersey v. Neulander)
Broadcasting & Copyright The Federal Communications Commission continued its plan to license new low-power FM radio stations, and approved the application of a number of "microbroadcasters" in December. But the commission's plan still faces opposition from the broadcast industry and Congress -- and the commission itself, as new Bush Administration changes reshape the balance of power there.
(New York Times v. Tasini)
Libel & Privacy The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in December in Bartnicki v. Vopper, a case that likely will have a significant impact on the way the media obtain and use third-person recordings in reporting on issues of public concern. Bartnicki is the first major First Amendment press case the Court has decided since 1991, when it decided two cases involving press rights.
(Desnick v. ABC)
(Weyrich v. The New Republic, Inc.)
Freedom of Information In the only Freedom of Information case on the U.S. Supreme Court calendar this session, the justices must decide whether an exemption of the federal law includes documents submitted to a federal agency by American Indian tribes in the Pacific Northweast.
(Department of the Interior v. Klamath Water Users Protective Assoc.)
(Ford v. City of Huntsville)
(Fisher v. King)
(Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information)
(Forest Guardians v. U.S. Forest Service)
Newsgathering The urgent voices of dispatchers and emergency personnel intermingled with the montonous whir of radio static are disappearing in newsrooms, as more and more emergency services move to digital radios -- and refuse to allow the media access.
(Kincaid v. Gibson)