KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

laws regarding underground newspapers

In 1988, the Supreme Ct. decided Hazelwood School District v.Kuhlmeier, this decision gave high school official greater authority to censor school sponsored student publications if they chose to do so. Hazelwood also requires school officials to demonstrate some reasonable educational justification before they censor anything. Some states have "High School Free Expression" laws that give greater protection to students free speech rights than the Hazelwood decision, unfortunately Wisconsin is not one of them.

This ruling does not apply to publications that have been opened as "public forums for student expression". A "public forum for student expression" is when school officials have given student editors the authority to make their own content decisions. This can be done through policy or by allowing the publication to operate with editorial independence. In this scenario school officials are required to show the publication will cause "material and substantial disruption" of school activities.

The Hazelwood decision is the rule applied in cases like this. Although as mentioned earlier, if the school has a policy giving student editors the authority to make editorial decisions, or allows the publication to operate with editorial independence school are required to show that distribution of the publication will cause "material and substantial disruption" of school activities before it may censor it. This rule was set by the 1969 Supreme Ct. ruling in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District, where the Supreme Ct. said "It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional right to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." Check out your school's policy!

An underground or independent student publication is protected from censorship. A school can establish reasonable restrictions as to the time, place and manner of distribution of the underground or independent student publication, but they can't absolutely forbid their distribution on school grounds. A school must show substantial disruption before they an censor an independent publication. Underground/independent student publications are judged by the Tinker standard.

questions and answers

Q: Can I use freedom of information laws?
A: Yes, freedom of information laws (sometimes called "sunshine" laws), require government agencies such as public schools to open many of their official records and meetings to the public. You should keep a copy of the state's open records and open meetings laws in your news room.

Q: Can I be sued for libel, invasion of privacy or copyright infringement?
A: You have a right to express yourself by criticizing how the people at your school do their jobs, but you must be responsible in your criticism, not libelous. If you print something about a teacher you know isn't true just to make him/her look bad it could be considered libelous. If you write something deemed libelous, or that invades the privacy of another, or infringes a copyright, you personally and the editor cold be held legally responsible. If the school does not control the content of the publication they may be protected from liability.

Q: Is defamation the same as libel?
A: Defamation is written "libel".

Q: Can I use cartoon characters, song lyrics or another publication's photographs in my publications?
A: You may do so if you have obtained the permission of the copyright holder. Each of these item are protected by copyright law, which entitles you to use them only if you have obtained permission. Publishing a "credit line" does not take the place of permission. There is an exception to copyright law called "fair use", this allows you to take a small amount of the copyrighted work, or if you are using the material along with a news story about it. It also allows you to use a small amount of the work in creating a parody. A parody is when you closely imitate the authors work for comic effect or ridicule (think MAD magazine or Weird Al).

Eight Libelous Topics to Avoid:

Associating others with vicious diseases (such as leprosy or STD's)
Accusing others of sexual wrongdoing (this had traditionally applied to women, but is becoming a unisex thing)
Tarnishing another's honesty or integrity
Accusing another of committing a crime, or of being arrested or indicted
Accusing another of possessing racial, ethnic or religious prejudices
Doing damage to another's financial health or credit-worthiness
Accusing another of associating with criminals or other shadowy characters
Accusing another of incompetence or lack of ability in their trade, business, profession or office.

underground newspaper links

ACLU of Wisconsin Says Greenfield School District Should Re-admit Student Journalist Expelled for Free Speech
The Last A paper operating at Greenfield High School in Greenfield, WI.
Channel Zero (The Underground Newspaper Webring) A webring dedicated to underground publications
Doing It Underground An article in the SPLC Report which tells about various aspects of underground newspapers
Student Press Law Center An organization dealing with all aspects of the student press
American Society of Newspaper Editors An organization with interests in all aspects of newspapers--many useful resources for students