Shield Shield
Home
Help  |  Search  |  Contact Us 
   

COMMUNICATION LAW

Comm 3650

 

 

 

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:  

  • press law

  • mass media,

  • First Amendment

  • freedom of the press

  • libel

  • privacy

  • Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

  • obscenity

  • protection of sources

  • Internet

  • copyright

  • intellectual property

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.

  • U. S. Government Manual The official listing of all U.S. government agencies with their duties, responsibilities, etc.

  • 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  

  • Local Government    The library has some Ogden/Weber government information. Use the online catalog to locate specific resources.  There are also web pages for Ogden and Weber County.  For other Utah links, see the library's Utah research guide.

 

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.

  • Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)  Subject-based listing of the rules and regulations of the various executive departments and agencies of the U.S. Government.  Print edition in Government Publications Reference  AE 2.106. Also available online via Lexis-Nexis


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.

Updated September 21, 2010 .  Send questions to Carol Hansen.
Weber State University, Stewart Library. Copyright © 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Stewart Library - Weber State University - Ogden, Utah 84408. (801) 626-6403 - Copyright © 2008 ALL Rights Reserved