Legal Landmines
Thursday, March 15, 2012
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. • Meridian Convention Center
737 S. Meridian Ave., Oklahoma City
Provided through the Oklahoma Newspaper Foundation
Raymond and Mildred Fields Memorial Fund Educational Series
Most reporters and editors double-check their facts hoping to avoid corrections. Nobody likes to get an angry email or phone call (or visit to the newsroom) from someone who’s been inaccurately quoted or misrepresented in a story. But what if the email or phone call is from someone’s lawyer? Even a routine story can be riddled with legal landmines. OPA Legal Services Plan attorneys with Doerner, Sanders, Daniel and Anderson will help newspaper staff members find a safe path through legal landmines.
Learn how to navigate issues such as:
- Libel
- Slander
- Labor relations
- Telephone taping
- Retractions
- Cameras in the courtroom
- Open Records Act
- Open Meeting Act
- First Amendment
- Journalism Privilege
- Subpoenas/shield laws
- Reporting on juveniles
- Legal newspapers
- Privacy:
What are the four causes of action for an invasion of privacy lawsuit? What is “private” information”? When can you use a telephoto lens to get photos for publication? Should you participate in a “ride-along” with the police serving a warrant? If so, what can you photograph?
- Internet:
What do you need to know about posting a blog on a newspaper’s website? If information is obtained from the Internet, should attribution be used and if so, how? What are the legal obligations for newspapers published on the Internet? What is the Communications Decency Act and what protections does it provide for newspaper reports online?
- Advertising:
What language in an advertisement may violate discrimination laws? How could there be legal landmines in political ads? What do you need to know about the use of photos in an advertisement?
PRESENTED BY...
Attorneys Michael Minnis and David McCullough, with the firm of Doerner, Saunders, Daniel & Anderson, serve as counsel for the OPA Legal Services Plan. Michael Minnis and David McCullough both received journalism and law degrees from the University of Oklahoma and now practice Media Law and Indian Law.
Minnis takes on several cases each year for LSP member newspapers. He served on active duty in the United States Marine Corps as Trial/Defense Counsel for the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the United States Air Force Reserve.
McCullough is a founding member of FOI Oklahoma, an organization that promotes citizen access to government information. He currently serves on the board of directors for FOI.
LEGAL SERVICES PLAN: For more information on the OPA Legal Services Plan, visit OkPress.com/lsp. To join the Plan, contact Mark Thomas, OPA executive vice president, at 405-499-0020 or mthomas@okpress.com.
Registration Fee: $35
» Register online
» Download a registration form PDF
For more information, contact Eli Nichols, OPA Member Services Coordinator, at enichols@okpress.com, 405-499-0040 or 1-888-815-2672 (toll-free in Oklahoma.)