Reporter's Privilege guide: Rhode Island - Wyoming
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State-by-state guide to the reporter’s privilege for student media
Reporter's privilege laws vary by state. Some laws provide broad protection, shielding both unpublished and published information as well as confidential and non-confidential sources and information.
Reporter’s Privilege guide: Alabama – Illinois
Reporter’s privilege laws vary by state. Some laws provide broad protection, shielding both unpublished and published information as well as confidential and non-confidential sources and information. Others are less protective. While most states have not had occasion to consider whether their reporters privilege law is applicable to student journalists, those that have have generally not distinguished between student and commercial media in extending the privilege to cover student reporters.
Ask SPLC: Can we use yearbook photos on social media?
Q: Can we post photos we take for the yearbook or newspaper on a social media page? A: If they are staff-generated photos and not photos taken by a private contractor, yes. A private photo studio will have contractual limits on how its photos can be used, and typically (without a substantial extra charge) they are licensed… Continue reading Ask SPLC: Can we use yearbook photos on social media?
Ask SPLC: An advertiser wants to include a photo of himself holding a gun. Can we say no?
Q: I am the editor of a public high school yearbook. An advertiser — a local real estate agent — submitted a family photo as part of his ad. In it, he is holding a hunting rifle (we live in hunting country.) Given the many incidents of gun-related school violence I asked for a different photo, but… Continue reading Ask SPLC: An advertiser wants to include a photo of himself holding a gun. Can we say no?
Ask SPLC: Can we publish a photo of school employees smoking outside the lunchroom?
Q: One of my photographers took a photo of some school employees smoking outside the school lunchroom. Can we publish the photo or would that be invading their privacy? A: School employees have much the same privacy rights as anyone else. There are certain places (bathrooms, private office, other private spaces not generally accessible to the public,… Continue reading Ask SPLC: Can we publish a photo of school employees smoking outside the lunchroom?
PODCAST: What the privatization of Florida State University’s athletics department will mean for journalists
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Ginny Bixby: Access to public records can be the key to great journalism, especially at a public university. By examining public records, student journalists gain information about a school’s operations and hold school officials accountable for their actions. For student journalists at Florida State University in Tallahassee, covering the athletics department is about to become… Continue reading PODCAST: What the privatization of Florida State University’s athletics department will mean for journalists
These paid fall journalism internships are open now!
Every month, the Student Press Law Center publishes a list of paid journalism internships. Here are a bunch of fall internship opportunities that are still accepting applications. Did we miss any? Send an email to SPLC reporter Ginny Bixby to get internship information added. August 1 Slate (New York) Editorial Internship — Candidates for the… Continue reading These paid fall journalism internships are open now!
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Ask SPLC: Does including “in my opinion” protect me from a libel or defamation suit?
Q: Does including “in my opinion” protect me from a libel or defamation suit? A: Including the phrase “in my opinion” — for example, “In my opinion, the coach is a cheater” — does not create an automatic shield to libel. Neither does simply reprinting what someone else has said by saying something like, “‘The coach is a… Continue reading Ask SPLC: Does including “in my opinion” protect me from a libel or defamation suit?