Student Press Law Center
Encyclopedia
The Student Press Law Center (SPLC) is a non-profit organization
in the United States
that aims at protecting the freedom of the press
for student
journalist
s, usually from high school
and university
student newspaper
s. It describes itself as "an advocate for student free-press rights [that] provides information, advice and legal assistance at no charge to students and the educators who work with them."
The SPLC was founded in 1974. It is the only legal assistance agency in the United States with the primary mission of educating high school and college journalists about the rights and responsibilities embodied in the First Amendment
and supporting the freedom of expression
of student news media to address issues and express themselves free from censorship
. http://www.scj.us/constitution/structure.shtmlhttp://www.idealist.org/en/org/8931-143http://www.poynterextra.org/centerpiece/highschool/law_splc.htm
The SPLC is a non-partisan 501(c)(3) corporation. It is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, just across from Washington, D.C.
, where it shares a suite of offices with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
.
and a corporate board of directors
composed primarily of journalism educators, professional journalists, and attorneys. http://www.splc.org/aboutus/board.asp The current executive director is Frank LoMonte, who began at the Center in January 2008.http://www.splc.org/news/newsflash.asp?id=1636http://media.www.redandblack.com/media/storage/paper871/news/2007/11/14/News/Univ-Law.Graduate.Earns.Prestigious.Position-3098705.shtml He was preceded by Mark Goodman, who led the organization from 1985 to 2007 before accepting a position as professor and Knight Chair in Scholastic Journalism at Kent State University
.http://jmc.kent.edu/index.php/Faculty/mark-goodman.htmlhttp://www.splc.org/news/newsflash.asp?id=1520
In addition to the executive director, the SPLC permanent staff consists of a full-time attorney advocate and an office manager. http://www.splc.org/aboutus/staff.asp A full-time publications fellow serves as managing editor of the Center's news content, much of which is produced by journalism student interns, who work at the Center for a semester. http://www.splc.org/aboutus/internships.asp In addition, the SPLC works with a development/communications consultant
and a West Coast
consulting attorney based in Ferndale, Washington
. http://www.zengerconsulting.com
campaign, spurred by a challenge grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000845322http://www.splc.org/newsflash.asp?id=1410
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
that aims at protecting the freedom of the press
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
for student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
s, usually from high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
and university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
student newspaper
Student newspaper
A student newspaper is a newspaper run by students of a university, high school, middle school, or other school. These papers traditionally cover local and, primarily, school or university news....
s. It describes itself as "an advocate for student free-press rights [that] provides information, advice and legal assistance at no charge to students and the educators who work with them."
The SPLC was founded in 1974. It is the only legal assistance agency in the United States with the primary mission of educating high school and college journalists about the rights and responsibilities embodied in the First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
and supporting the freedom of expression
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
of student news media to address issues and express themselves free from censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
. http://www.scj.us/constitution/structure.shtmlhttp://www.idealist.org/en/org/8931-143http://www.poynterextra.org/centerpiece/highschool/law_splc.htm
The SPLC is a non-partisan 501(c)(3) corporation. It is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, just across from Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, where it shares a suite of offices with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is an American nonprofit organization, founded in 1970, that provides free legal assistance to and on behalf of journalists. A number of prominent journalists presently sit on the organization's steering committee, including Dan Rather, and Judy...
.
Services
The SPLC:- Provides free legal help and information as well as low-cost educational materials for student journalists on a wide variety of media law topics, including laws regarding defamation, freedom of informationFreedom of information in the United StatesFreedom of information in the United States refers to the independent bodies of Freedom of information legislation at the federal level and in the fifty states.-Federal level:...
, copyrightCopyrightCopyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
s, invasion of privacyInvasion of privacyUnited States privacy law embodies several different legal concepts. One is the invasion of privacy, a tort based in common law allowing an aggrieved party to bring a lawsuit against an individual who unlawfully intrudes into his or her private affairs, discloses his or her private information,...
, reporter's privilege, obscenityObscenityAn obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious...
, censorship, and the First Amendment. Around 2,500 student journalists, teachers and others contact the center each year for help or information.http://www.splc.org/news/report_detail.asp?id=1167&edition=34 - Files amici curiae in cases where student media rights could be effected.http://penusa.org/go/news/comments/371/http://drugwarrant.net/files/bong/brief_SPLC.pdfhttp://www.thefire.org/pdfs/2eb65ceda4d6389b54625a329f2ab59a.pdfhttp://docs.justia.com/cases/supreme/515/819.pdfhttp://www.splc.org/news/report_detail.asp?id=222&edition=11
- Operates an Attorney Referral Network of approximately 150 volunteer media law attorneys across the country who may be available to provide free legal representation to local students when necessary.
- Maintains a full-service news operation covering issues relevant to student journalism. The Center's journalists write online news storieshttp://www.splc.org/news/newsflash.asp about ongoing censorship and open-records controversies, and produce the in-depth SPLC Report magazine in print and online.http://www.splc.org/news/report.asp
- Conducts workshops and sponsors speakers for student journalists, journalism educators and school administrators at regional and national conventions across the country.
- Presents annual awards to recognize student journalists, educators, and administrators that have shown courage in standing up for student press freedom.http://www.splc.org/aboutus/csjaward.asphttp://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=45&aid=91253
- Maintains a free Freedom of Information Law Letter Generator that creates a public records request tailored to the lawState lawIn the United States, state law is the law of each separate U.S. state, as passed by the state legislature and adjudicated by state courts. It exists in parallel, and sometimes in conflict with, United States federal law. These disputes are often resolved by the federal courts.-See also:*List of U.S...
of each of the 50 statesU.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
and the District of Columbia, for use by student journalists and others seeking access to public records. http://www.splc.org/legalassistance/foiletter.asp
Governance and staff
The organization is run by an executive directorExecutive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
and a corporate board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
composed primarily of journalism educators, professional journalists, and attorneys. http://www.splc.org/aboutus/board.asp The current executive director is Frank LoMonte, who began at the Center in January 2008.http://www.splc.org/news/newsflash.asp?id=1636http://media.www.redandblack.com/media/storage/paper871/news/2007/11/14/News/Univ-Law.Graduate.Earns.Prestigious.Position-3098705.shtml He was preceded by Mark Goodman, who led the organization from 1985 to 2007 before accepting a position as professor and Knight Chair in Scholastic Journalism at Kent State University
Kent State University
Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
.http://jmc.kent.edu/index.php/Faculty/mark-goodman.htmlhttp://www.splc.org/news/newsflash.asp?id=1520
In addition to the executive director, the SPLC permanent staff consists of a full-time attorney advocate and an office manager. http://www.splc.org/aboutus/staff.asp A full-time publications fellow serves as managing editor of the Center's news content, much of which is produced by journalism student interns, who work at the Center for a semester. http://www.splc.org/aboutus/internships.asp In addition, the SPLC works with a development/communications consultant
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
and a West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
consulting attorney based in Ferndale, Washington
Ferndale, Washington
-Demographics:As of the census of 2009, there were 11,681 people, 3,901 households, and 2,303 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,409.1 people per square mile . There were 3,292 housing units at an average density of 529.7 per square mile...
. http://www.zengerconsulting.com
Funding
The SPLC is supported by contributions from student journalists, journalism educators, and other individuals, as well as by donations from foundations and corporations. On January 23, 2007, the center announced it had successfully completed a three-year $3.75 million endowmentFinancial endowment
A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution. The total value of an institution's investments is often referred to as the institution's endowment and is typically organized as a public charity, private foundation, or trust....
campaign, spurred by a challenge grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is an American private, non-profit foundation dedicated to supporting transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts....
. http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000845322http://www.splc.org/newsflash.asp?id=1410