Newsgathering

Appeals Court to Filmmaker: Turn Over Your Footage to Chevron

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A federal appellate court has issued a swift ruling, in a high profile reporter's privilege case, that requires a filmmaker to surrender some of his unpublished footage to a powerful oil company.

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Court Battle for Filmmaker's Footage Spurs National Debate on Reporter's Privilege

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A filmmaker's fight against an oil company seeking his raw documentary footage has spurred a national debate on the reporter's privilege, pitting media organizations and filmmakers against powerful corporations and criminal defense attorneys.  At stake is the breadth of the protection given to unpublished newsgathering materials and, ultimately, the basic trust between journalists and their sources.

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Eric Robinson and Reporter Ron Sylvester Discuss Social Media in the Courtroom on Lawyer2Laywer

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CMLP contributor Eric P.

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New Hampshire Supreme Court Upholds Free Speech Rights for Online News Sites

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The New Hampshire Supreme Court today issued an important decision upholding the First Amendment rights of online publishers.

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New Hampshire Supreme Court Rules Website Covered By State Reporter's Privilege

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This morning, the Supreme Court of New Hampshire handed down an important decision holding that a mortgage industry website, The Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter, is entitled to protection under the state's reporter's privilege.

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Government Data: This Data Was Made for You and Me?

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In March, Google launched its Public Data Explorer, expanding upon its public data search feature that's been around since last spring.

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Police Seize Gizmodo Reporter's Computers Over iPhone 4 Leak

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Gizmodo announced this afternoon that California police seized computers and servers from the home of its reporter/

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Lost and Found: California Law and the Next Generation iPhone

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Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the past few days, you've heard that a newfangled iPhone mysteriously turned up in a fancy beer bar in Redwood City, California, and photos of it ended up on

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Student Journalists in Virginia Need Strict Enforcement of Privacy Protection Act

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James Madison University students celebrate each semester with a large block party in a popular neighborhood near campus.

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Recording Police and Defining 'Plain Sight'

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As bicyclist Eli Damon tells the story, a police officer pulled him over on March 20 as he rode his bike in Hadley, Massachusetts.

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Keeping 911 Recordings Public and Online

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When a grizzly bear mauled bicyclist Petra Davis two years ago in an Anchorage park, she called 911 from her cell phone, barely able to speak: "Please help ... bear," she struggled to say. "I can't talk." A fellow biker quickly came to her rescue, grabbing her cell phone and calling again for help: "I have a young girl here who was mauled by a bear and who is in pretty bad shape," Peter Bassinger told the operator.

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Why Are Bloggers Still Sitting at the Kids' Table? The Popularity of Online News and the Federal Shield Law

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Well, it turns out this whole Internet thing is getting pretty popular. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, more Americans now get their news from the Internet than from old-fashioned newspapers.

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The Catsouras Photos: Will a Family's Privacy Interest Impede Press Access?

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The tragic story of Nikki Catsouras continues. I considered not giving yet more attention to the horrific accident photos she is now most known for, but the case still elicits a great deal of emotion and for that very reason it's important to address the law that is being decided in California. 

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The Borings Are Back! Lawsuit Against Google Revived on Trespassing Theory

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Of all the crazy things I've seen on the Street View feature of Google Maps, including house fires,

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The Free Citizen as a Nuisance

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"I'm willing to admit that the policeman has a difficult job, a very hard job. But it's the essence of our society that the policeman's job should be hard. He's there to protect, protect the free citizen, not to chase criminals, that's an incidental part of his job. The free citizen is always more of a nuisance to the policeman than the criminal. He knows what to do about the criminal." - Orson Welles

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Will This Revolution Be YouTubed?

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YouTube CourtThere are a couple of laws in California that the U.S. Supreme Court should consider before it announces tomorrow whether or not the Proposition 8 trial can be broadcast on YouTube: § 240 and § 422.  These two laws don't address same-sex marriage, discrimination, or even access to courts, as you may have expected.  Instead, these sections of the California Penal Code make it a crime to either assault or threaten to use violence against another person. 

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Massachusetts High Court Applies Fair Report Privilege to Anonymous Account of Closed Meeting

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As both a journalist and a techie, I'm pretty keen on the free flow of information, and thus pretty keen in turn on the importance of protecting journalists, both professional and citizen, who are in the business of facilitating that flow. So it was reassuring to see that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled on the side of the angels this week in the case of Howell v. Enterprise, granting protection from libel claims to reporters who fairly and accurately report official government proceedings.

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CMLP Publishes Guide to Live-Blogging and Tweeting from Court

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As part of our legal guide series on documenting public proceedings and events, today we published a guide to Live-Blogging and Tweeting from Court.  Over the past year, we've published guides addressing how to stay out of legal trouble while

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It's Election Time Again: CMLP Announces Updated Guide to Newsgathering at the Polls

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Voters head to the polls again on November 3 to cast their ballots in mayoral, city council, and even a handful of gubernatorial elections.  In addition, there are some important ballot measures up for consideration, like the referendum in Maine seeking repeal of the state's newly enacted statute legal

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Washington Redskins v. Steinberg

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Date: 

10/01/2009

Threat Type: 

Correspondence

Party Receiving Legal Threat: 

Dan Steinberg; Washington Post

Type of Party: 

Large Organization

Type of Party: 

Individual
Large Organization
Media Company

Legal Claims: 

Other

Web Site(s) Involved: 

The Washington Post: D.C. Sports Bog

Publication Medium: 

Blog

Status: 

Concluded

Disposition: 

Material Removed

Description: 

According to Techdirt, a representative of the Washington Redskins football team requested that The Washington Post remove photos from Dan Steinberg's Post-hosted D.C. Sports Bog because of alleged violation of the Redskins' credentialing policy. 

Steinberg published a post about Redskins' fans' discontent with the team and its owner, Dan Snyder.  The post included photographs Steinberg took of fans at a Redskins game, in which the fans displayed their unhappiness with the team in various ways, including by wearing anti-Dan Snyder t-shirts.

The Washington Post removed the photos from Steinberg's blog in response to the request.  According to Cheap Seats Daily, the Post removed the photos because it did not want to jeapordize its access to the team.

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CMLP Notes: 

EK - editing [10/22/2009]

Priority: 

1-High

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