We have tried to be selective and sites are only included here if they have made available significant amounts of substantive resource material without charge. If you are trying to find an organization that does not appear on this page, visit our Links Page.

Unfortunately, our small staff cannot respond to the hundreds of individual requests for help with research or interviews for research papers we receive each year.

Good luck with your project!

Student Media Law

If you haven't already done so, visit the SPLC Legal Research section of our Web site where you will find information on a wide variety of student media law issues, including censorship, access to meetings and records, copyright law and libel. Examples of real-life censorship and other student press battles can be found in the SPLC Report magazine and our NewsFlash

• Journalism Education Association Press Rights Commission
  In addition to basic information about student press rights, also includes sample publication guidelines, lesson plans for teaching media law and ethics and "CensorXd," a forum for posting material censored from high school publications across the country.

Media Law - General

• Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
  One of the best sites on the Internet for information on media law.

Student Journalism - General

• For Journalism Teachers Only
  A comprehensive Web site for journalism advisers and student editors.
  
  
• highschooljournalism.org
  Operated by the American Society of Newspaper Editors, this site contains much information about high school journalism in America.

Journalism - General

• J-Ideas
  A nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop and encourage excellence in high school journalism through on-site activities, tailored programs, distance learning and digital activities and scholarship.
• Newseum
  An interactive museum of news located in Arlington, Va., the Newseum takes visitors behind the scenes to see and experience how and why news is made. Its Web site includes a Cyber Newseum and Education Center with helpful tools for teachers.
  
  
• The Poynter Institute
  Poynter is a school for journalists, future journalists and teachers of journalism. Their site includes information explaining what journalists do and how they can do it better.
  
  
• Society of Professional Journalists
  The nation's largest journalism organization, the SPJ Web site includes information about the profession generally, as well as specific information on media ethics, freedom of information law and other journalism topics.

Media Ethics

• Journalism Ethics Cases Online
  Operated by Indiana University's School of Journalism, this Web site was created for students, teachers, researchers, professional journalists and consumers of news to help them explore ethical issues in journalism. Contains hundreds of cases that raise a variety of ethical problems faced by journalists.
  
  
• The Poynter Institute
  Take a look at the Institute's Media Ethics Resource File for articles and practical tips/guidelines on media ethics.

First Amendment

• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
  The ACLU is involved in a variety of civil liberty issues including free speech and the First Amendment.
  
  
• Education for Freedom
  Lesson plans produced by the Freedom Forum's First Amendment Center provide a good starting point for a discussion of the history and purpose of the First Amendment.

Internet Law - Filtering/Censorsware

• Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
  A reasonably solid collection of resources about school, library and other government attempts to block access to online material. Other places you might also want to look at: The Censorware Project, the ACLU's Technology and Liberty Project and Peacefire.org.

Civil Liberties - General

• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
  Whether your assigned topic is the death penalty, mandatory drug testing, locker searches, flag burning, lesbian/gay rights, free speech in Cyberspace or any other civil rights issue, the ACLU Web site is a good place to start your research.
  
  
• Freedom Forum Research Packages
  If you need to write a paper on a religious freedom, free speech or a free press issue, the Freedom Forum's research packages can provide you a starting point.