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.
Since stringent medical privacy regulations went into effect in 2003, the media have been forced to learn the new rules, work around them in some cases, and in others battle them in court.
Yet the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's privacy rule remains a prickly issue for reporters, hampering routine reporting assignments and big investigative pieces.
The federal laws that control the information a state can disclose about its citizens are usually meant to protect individual privacy rights, but many open government experts say states are interpreting the laws too broadly and it is interfering with journalists’ newsgathering ability.
As recent history shows us, few stories are more important to the every day lives of Americans than those that deal with life-and-death struggles of the business community. For those reporters who have made a career of business news coverage, this guide describes the tip of the iceberg of knowledge. But for those just beginning, or reporters who cover business only occasionally, this guide to business records and proceedings hopefully will serve as a basic “how-to” guide that helps you get started.
A state-by-state guide to obtaining government data
Reporters have a tool that allows them to report on entire populations and do original analysis on a subject for their stories, rather than relying solely on anecdotes. Computer-assisted reporting helps journalists do important stories that otherwise would not be covered.
In 1999, reporters for the Miami Herald used voter databases to show widespread fraud in the city’s mayoral election. The series overturned the election results and won the staff the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting.
Every journalist who requests records from the federal government through the Freedom of Information Act should be familiar with its administrative appeals process. Unfortunately, for various reasons, federal agencies at times fail to adhere to FOIA’s disclosure requirements. When this occurs, journalists are not without recourse. They can appeal adverse decisions to higher authorities within an agency and often must in order to enforce their rights.
