Media
Law information
The best way to find information about
media and communications law is to look for a specific subject area. If you look for books and articles using the terms media law
or communications law, you may not find much.
Try terms
such as:
I.
Finding Books
Using Catalogs:
Use the WSU online catalog to find the location and availability of books, journal
titles, and media in Stewart Library. If we do not own a particular
book or article you need, we will borrow it for you from another
library through Interlibrary
Loan .
Reference books which may be
useful for this class include
-
West's Encyclopedia of American Law - online, be sure to check "within this publication " box
-
(1997 print version is located on Reference Index Table 2A)
- Black's Law Dictionary Reference Index Table 2A
KF156.B53 1999 - good place to find legal citation formats and definitions
-
Landmark Briefs and Arguments of the Supreme Court of the United States Reference KF101.8.L36, older years in General Collection, middle level
-
Great American Court Cases Reference KF85.A4G68 on Table 2A
-
Legal Information: How to Find It, How to Use It Reference KF240.O365
-
Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law Reference PN4783.A83 2002
-
Encyclopedia of Communication and Information Reference P87.5.E53
-
Keyguide to Information Sources in Media Ethics
Reference P94.M22
-
Encyclopedia of the American Constitution Reference Index table 2A
KF 4548.E53
II.
FINDING NEWSPAPER AND JOURNAL ARTICLES
The library has many article
databases which may be used to find articles.
-
Use the Article Databases page to locate databases by subject or by title of database
- If the article is available on the computer, you will see a link or an icon saying PDF or html.
- No icon? Click on the Find Fulltext link in the article record.
-
To see if the library owns a journal, use the library's Ejournal
finder. (Do not use this to search for articles.)
-
Want an article or book we don't own? Use our Interlibrary
Loan service.
Library databases
are available to WSU students, faculty and staff from off campus
See Connecting from Home for more
information.
Some useful databases
for this class include
-
Academic
Search Premier This database covers most topics and
includes full text, scholarly journals.
-
Communication and Mass Media Complete (CMMC) The best starting place for articles from communication journals
-
CIOS/ComAbstracts/Com
Index Wide range of articles and links to web sites in the
field of communication, by Communication Institute for Online
Scholarship (CIOS).
-
JSTOR Fulltext scholarly articles with some journals dating back to the 18th century. Some of the law review journals date from the early
1900s. WARNING: this is an archival database. Articles will be at least 3-5 years old.
-
Legal
Collection Full-text articles from 260 law journals
as well as documents and case studies.
-
Lexis/Nexis Academic offers numerous full-text articles. An excellent source for news (including international, foreign language and transcripts), legal information (codes and law reviews), and business topics. WARNING: be sure to use the specific search screens - you won't find much using the general search screen.
-
Lexis/Nexis Congressional the best place to find U.S. congressional and legislative
information.
-
ABI/Inform Global this database includes
the full text of the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. It is especially good for business
topics.
-
Proquest cross database search - To search several Proquest databases at once, go into a database such as ABI/Inform Global. Click on the Search Multiple Database link to the right of the database box to cross search a number of useful databases such as Ethnic Newswatch, Genderwatch, Criminal Justice Periodicals and more.
III.
FINDING CONGRESSIONAL INFORMATION
- CIS Congressional Universe (= Lexis/Nexis Congressional) The best place to start.
The world's most comprehensive access to U.S. legislative information. Includes fulltext of proposed legislation, status tracking, legislative histories, congressional committee information, campaign contributions and PAC activities, articles from 'National Journal' and more.
-
For other sources of information about Congress, look at GPO
Access which disseminates information from all three branches
of the federal government, Thomas
Legislative Information from the Library of Congress,
Project Vote-Smart, and Congress.org. Also check out USA.gov, the official federal government portal for consumers.
-
Federal
Register The official place of publication for Presidential
documents and executive orders, as well as notices, rules and
proposed rules from federal entities. Also available online via
Lexis/Nexis Academic . Print copies of the Federal Register are located in Government
Publications Reference AE 2.106, middle level North.
-
Utah government All Utah state documents owned by the library are listed in our online catalog. The Utah Code
is on Reference Table 2A and is available online via Lexis/Nexis Academic . For Utah Courts information, see the Utah Courts website. For information about Utah on the web, see www.utah.gov
IV.
FINDING LEGAL INFORMATION
Legal Citations
Federal Laws
-
U.S.
Code The subject arrangement of U.S. Laws. Also available
via
Lexis/Nexis Print copies are in Government Publications
Reference Y 1.2/5
-
Federal Register The chronological publication that lists Presidential documents and executive orders, as well as notices, rules and proposed rules from federal entities. Also available online via Lexis/Nexis Academic Print copies of the Federal Register are located in Government Publications Reference AE 2.106, middle level North.
Utah Laws
- The Utah Code in print is on Reference Table 2A. It is also
available on Lexis/Nexis and the web.
- For information about Utah laws on the web, see
Utah laws on www.utah.gov.
- All Utah state documents owned by the library are listed in the
library's online catalog.
Other legal information
Lexis/Nexis
includes codes and court cases from all states. Many law review journals
are available on Lexis/Nexis with full text articles.
Useful Legal Sites on
the Web
Legal Research
Guides on the Web
V.
RESOURCES ON THE INTERNET
AJR From the American Journalism Review, has a series of links for
information about Media and Communications law.
CIOS:
Communication Institute for Online Scholarship Provides
access to two communications databases as well as access to
a large number of useful internet links, articles on communications,
and so on.
The
Electronic Journalist Site by the Society of Professional Journalists
has lots of links, news
FBI
FOIA Files Online access to some of the FBI files released because
of the FOIA
First Amendment
Center Good starting place for anything dealing with First
Amendment rights
Journalism Ethics Cases from the University of Indiana. Provides information on a variety of cases whose subjects are of current interest.
IRE: Investigative Reporters and Editors Organization page with much
information on developing and maintaining skills, job postings and
other journalism information.
Journalism
Ethics Cases Online A good source of info on legal cases,
by the School of Journalism at Indiana University, Bloomington.
JournalismNet Has information about and links to resources for finding internet
information, finding people, online media, databases and reference
tools, story topics, etc. Based in Canada, but very useful
for anyone in the field.
Media Access Project From a
non-profit law firm that promotes First Amendment rights
National
Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting 'Net Tour Another
great selection of links
National
Security Archive A non-governmental research institute and library
located at George Washington University. It collects and publishes
documents obtained through the FOIA (some require payment to view)
Niles
Online
The section on Finding Data has a very useful annotated list
of links. Also provides a tutorial for understanding the types
of statistics used today.
Recording Industry Association of
America Useful information for anyone searching the issues surrounding
music piracy, file sharing, music and the Internet, etc.
The
Smoking Gun Another group that publishes FOIA and other
documents, more oriented to celebrities and "hot" news
Student
Press Law Center "A nonprofit organization dedicated to
providing legal help and information to student media and journalism
educators."
Yahoo
News & Media Many links to journalism, media ethics, etc.
VI.
Research Tips
-
Clearly identify your information need
-
Identify key words and search terms
to match your topic
-
Develop search statements using advanced search techniques
-
Use the Online
catalog to find books
-
Use article databases to
find journal articles
-
If articles are not full text, search Ejournals
to see if a particular journal is full text in another database
-
If a journal is not available full text online, check the online
catalog to see if the journal is owned by Stewart Library
in paper copy. Materials are arranged by their call numbers.
-
Use Interlibrary loan
to get materials that are not available through Stewart Library
-
Use search
engines to find Web information
-
Carefully
evaluate the information you find for usefulness and quality
-
Revise your search terms and strategy to expand or narrow your
results.
-
Use appropriate style to document and cite research
-
Ask for HELP at Reference in person, by phone or email.
