By Don Williamson
It’s a complicated legal world out there, and it’s getting more complicated every day. From contracts to Web publishing, from telemarketing to defending the student press, from ABC rules to parental-consent forms, NIE managers and youth-section editors are faced with a myriad of legal issues on a daily basis.
Some legal concerns have become a part of work routines and require filling out forms, contacting parents and teachers and following good accounting practices. Other issues are less obvious and result in violating regulations of which many managers and section editors may not have been aware.
To help you navigate this legal maze, we look at a few of the most common areas where problems surface and offer suggestions of how to avoid legal snafus and where to go when you have questions about the right thing to do.
W hen Jim Abbott, vice president of NAA Foundation, became an NIE manager in Portland, Maine, in 1981, it was a kinder, gentler, less legally stressful time.
“My biggest legal concern was using photos of kids in promotional materials and getting release forms and that sort of thing. The society was not as highly litigious as it is now,” says Abbott. “There’s been a change in society where lawsuits are the norm, rather than the exception. I’ve heard of NIE folks being sued. We’ve become more careful about things like field trips and releases for having kids work on student papers. There’s a whole new world.”
That new world offers a host of questions. What legally can or can’t be said about an individual or organization? Where do fears offending someone in a student article cross over into the area of censorship? What information do student reporters have a right to obtain and how do they go about getting that information? What about quotes, pictures, release forms? Can materials purchased from vendors be shared with other managers and editors? Are the laws governing Web sites and Web publishing different from those pertaining to print products?
Defending the Student Press
The first line of defense is consent. Signed parental release forms are necessary for everything from having students write stories to using student quotes and pictures. It may seem like an inordinate amount of work, but signed releases are an essential part of how business has to be done.
“We have a thorough application process for student reporters and a strong permission-slip process with parents,” says Jill Armstrong, NIE program coordinator at the Denver News Agency. “We get permission slips to run photos of kids, and the schools have permission slips from parents in order for any picture to run. It’s the same with quotes from kids.”
After the permission slips are signed, there is nothing more important than ensuring that articles are written correctly, and that the potential of libel is limited as much as possible.
“I make lessons on ethics and libel the first things we talk about to student reporters,” says Loraine Eaton, education editor at The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk. “It’s surprising how many young people don’t even know things like having to identify themselves as a reporter.
“Those lessons are essential before letting them into the field and then you still have to check behind them. I fact-checked a million facts when I was youth editor. They had no basic understanding of ethics or libel. They were a clean slate. Every youth editor or adviser should assume that.”
A major area of concern for many NIE managers and youth section editors is the issue of what can or can’t be said in published articles, especially articles written by students. There are ongoing, serious concerns about libel, censorship, access to information, copyrights and privacy issues.
One place to go for answers to questions about media law is the Student Press Law Center (SPLC). It is a not-for-profit organization that provides free legal assistance and information to student journalists and the people who work with them.
“The SPLC was created as the result of a national study in 1974 that found censorship was a tremendous problem for high school newspaper staffs and their advisers,” says Mark Goodman, SPLC executive director. “Students had certain legal rights they were unaware of and had no way to enforce those rights. The study recommended the creation of some sort of organization.
“We respond to questions from students, teachers and advisers from all over the country. We hear from hundreds and, more recently, thousands of students and what they are confronted with,” says Goodman. “We serve in the role that a legal counsel would for a commercial newspaper. Student publications have the same legal issues and nowhere to turn.”
The SPLC also attempts to educate a broader cross-section of journalism students by producing materials that describe media-law issues in a way that students and advisers can understand. Recently, NAA Foundation and the SPLC have produced a CD: Press Freedom in Practice, A Manual for Student Media Advisers on Responding to Censorship, available online as a PDF download.
While the majority of questions SPLC receives are related to censorship, they also answer inquiries about Freedom of Information requests, libel, etc.
“If it’s a media-law question, we hear about it,” says Goodman. “We need to know that students don’t exist in a vacuum. When they are denied access, they translate that to lessons that will follow them in life. Most student journalists will not become professional journalists. But their attitudes toward the press and press freedoms are shaped by their student experiences.”
Getting the Copyright Right
NIE is a community of caring professionals who wants children to read newspapers and wants to help one another succeed. One of the most common ways for one NIE program to help another is to share information and materials. Unfortunately, a lot of that sharing may be illegal.
“I believe 100 percent of the NIE people who violate copyrights don’t do it knowingly or intentionally,” says Debby Carroll. “Overall as a community, NIE is welcoming and sharing. They don’t know they’re stealing something.”
Carroll is the president of Hot Topics, a small company that produces NIE tab features and serialized stories and is one of more than at least 25 NIE vendors. For 16 years, before starting her own business, she was NIE manager at the Philadelphia Inquirer. One of her major concerns is the copyright infringement that occurs when NIE managers share materials that they have no right to share.
“If you create material yourself, you’re free to share it. If you didn’t create it, you might unknowingly infringe on someone’s copyright,” says Carroll. “It’s become a bigger concern since NAA Foundation started the NIE E-Forum.”
The NIE E-Forum began five years ago with 150 people. Now 1,025 NIE professionals and other interested parties use it to ask questions, share successes and stay in touch.
“There is a lot of networking of things from the E-Forum” says Diane Goold, NIE director at the News Press in St. Joseph, Mo. “Most folks cite sources, but often you don’t now where the material originates from. You just say it came from such and such a newspaper.”
It has become a real problem.
“The whole copyright issue is so big,” says Abbott. “Because it’s so easy to post things, many vendors are wary. Once it’s posted, it can be picked up everywhere, and their [the vendors] creative work can be used and not paid for. I go on the E-Forum and remind people that they can’t share copyrighted materials.
“NIE professionals want to represent their papers well and don’t want to get involved in copyright infringement. Most understand and abide by the rules.”
But Carroll worries about the few that don’t. She mentions one woman who announced on the E-Forum that she was sending someone an Ann West guide.
“She had no idea that she was essentially stealing Ann West’s material,” Carroll says. “It’s a small community, and you don’t want to be hard-hearted, especially since these programs all have tight budgets. But we all have to make a living.
“Information is the key. I have complete faith in NIE people. If they know they are hurting people, they won’t do it.”
Award-winning journalist Don Williamson has written for several newspapers and industry publications.
|
These articles are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. |
|