Legal Research for MSTD 400 Media Law and Ethics

Legal research sites

• Link to Lexis / Nexis through RU library (You will be asked for your campus account and password)
• US Supreme Court cases, from the Cornell Law School web site. A first class free resource.
• Findlaw US Supreme Court Database
• Law Source -- American law sources on line, including federal and state courts and laws, tribal laws, some international bodies and a useful set of Amicus briefs.
• NYU Media Center site -- Full text of decisions in over a hundred major media law cases. No subject categorization other than "media." Some opinions are poorly reproduced.
• Oyez Real Audio files of US Supreme Court arguments
• Virginia Supreme Court -- free.

Ethics sites

Professional Media

• American Advertising Foundation code of ethics
• ASNE and the World Association of Press Councils ethics site
• Better Business Bureau code of advertising
• Soceity of Professional Journalists code of ethics
• Radio TV News Directors code of ethics
• International media ethics resources (Canadian site)
• International Journalists Network (ICFJ)
• Public Relations Society of America code of professional standards
• Outdoor Advertising Association of America Codes and Practices
• University of Texas Advertising Law and Ethics site

General

• Rotary International 4-way test ( Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned?Will it build good will and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?)
• Robert Cavalier's Online Guide to Ethics and Moral Philosophy
• The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Government regulator sites

• Federal Trade Commission -- Advertising regulation
• Federal Communications Commission -- Broadcasting regulation

Organizations

• Center for Democracy and Technology
• Electronic Frontier Foundation
• Privacy Rights Foundation
• Alliance for Competitive Communications -"An ad hoc coalition of the seven regional Bell companies.
• EFF Alternative Site
• Electronic Piracy Information Center
• American Civil Liberties Union
• Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
• SPA Anti-Piracy Home Page - From the Software Publishers Association.
• Society of Professional Journalists Freedom of Information Act, reporter priviledge and other topics
• Media Law Resource Center -- a New York non-profit supporting free speech.

Cases in important topic areas

libel and defamation

• Zeran v. America Online, 1997, Fourth Circuit decision and the District Court decision.
• Cubby v. Compuserve,
• Stratton Oakmont v. Prodigy
• Blumenthal v. Drudge, 1997
• "Foodspeak" A coalition of Nader's groups, ACLU and the SPJ about veggie libel laws.
• Amarillo Globe News coverage of Oprah trial
• Partial Text of Oprah Show
• How to recognize Mad Cow disease
• Blumenthal v. Drudge, Columbia Journalism Review
• Libel concerns for scientists who speak out, The Scientist March 18, 1996
• Wall Street Journal $200 million libel judgement reduced to $22.7 million
• Mac Libel case British libel case
• Harold Bays "The Press and Libel" about a personal experience with a defamatory patient.
• Leisa Goodman "Solutions to on-line lies" by the Church of Scientology.

copyright

• A& M Records v. Napster
• Recording Industry Association of America
• Copyright Dot Com by Dr. Robert N. Diotalevi
• Intellectual Property and Distance Learning University of North Carolina Horizon link site. (mostly fair use issues)
• Web Copyright FAQ Simple Questions and Answers
• Intellectual Property and the Digital Age -- McGraw Hill symposium May 1999.
• Report on Copyright and Distance Education -- PDF download site from Library of Congress (mostly fair use issues)
• Intellectual Property and Copyright Issues -- About.com link site Links to fair use and faculty IP issues.
• Digital Diploma Mills and the Automation of Higher Education -- Article by David Nobl

obscenity and indecency

• FCC April 9 2001 Report on Obscenity and Indecency

broadcasting

• Summary of Reno v. ACLU
• Text of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and supporting documents.
• U.S. Sen. Pat Leahy's opposition to the Telecommunications Act
• Negroponte's view of th e Telecommunications act

privacy and news gathering

University of Minnesota First Amendment Online

advertising and commercial speech

environmental law

• Major US laws -- NRDC
• World Environment Law -- Hieros Gamos legal research center
  
• Globle Law Links
  • Toxic Chemicals and Toxic Waste Trade Links
• Toxics and Environmental Law
• International Trade in Toxic Waste
• Human Rights and Toxic Waste in Cambodia
• Toxic Terror -- Third World Press