Missouri Media Law Handbook
Media Law Committee
The Missouri Bar
Table of Contents
Introduction and Acknowledgements
The Media Law Committee of the Missouri Bar offers this handbook as a guide for journalists, lawyers, and others who seek guidance and information regarding Missouri media law. In particular, we hope that the articles and outlines that follow will assist those media professionals who seek information beyond the basics contained in the Missouri Bar/Press Commission's venerable News Reporter's Handbook on Law and Courts.
A few basic disclaimers are in order. The articles and outlines in this handbook represent the work solely of the authors and not of the committee as a whole. The contents of this handbook are intended only as a starting point for research; they cannot substitute for individualized legal advice.
Thanks are due to all of the contributors for taking the time from their regular legal work to research, write and polish their articles for the handbook. Particular recognition is due to Joe Martineau, Mary Schultz, and Mike Ramsey, authors of the centerpiece outlines on libel, privacy and access law, who joined this project in the beginning and promptly and loyally contributed all along the way. We also thank Jack Wax, media relations director of the bar, and Gary Toohey, the bar's communications manager, for their frequent assistance. Carol Tate of Thompson Coburn deserves special thanks for overseeing the organization and completion of the handbook.
Whether you are a journalist attempting to understand the laws that govern your activities, a legal generalist seeking an introduction to a media law topic, or a specialist interested in a knowledgeable analysis, we hope this handbook assists you.
Mark Sableman
Chair, 1995-1997
Media Law Committee
The Missouri Bar
Authors' Biographical Information
James T. Borelli is Senior Claims Counsel for Media/Professional Insurance in Kansas City, Missouri.
Sam Colville is a partner with Holman, McCollum & Hansen in Kansas City, Missouri. He is a member of the Missouri Supreme Court Task Force on Cameras in the Courtroom and Chair of the committee that wrote the Media Coordinator Guidelines for Administrative Rule 16. He has practiced media law for more than 25 years.
Sandra Davidson, Ph.D, J.D., is an Associate Professor of Journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law.
Frank Janoski is a partner with Lewis, Rice & Fingerish, L.C. in St. Louis, Missouri. His practice is focused on intellectual property law and related litigation. He regularly speaks and writes on many subjects, including the law of the Internet.
Thad N. Leach is an associate with Lewis, Rice & Fingerish, L.C. in St. Louis, Missouri. His practice includes intellectual property, health care law, and general corporate law.
Benjamin A. Lipman is an associate at Lewis, Rice & Fingersh, L.C. in St. Louis, Missouri, where he practices primarily media and communications law.
Jean Maneke is a member with The Maneke Law Group, L.C. in Kansas City, Missouri. She is counsel to the Missouri Press Association.
Joseph E. Martineau is a member of Lewis, Rice & Fingersh, L.C. in St. Louis, Missouri, where he practices media and communications law. He has written and co-written articles including II Missouri Tort Law, Chapter 5 "Defamation and Invasion of Privacy" (Mo. Bar CLE), and the Missouri section of the annual LDRC 50-State Survey of Libel Law.
John E. Petite is an associate with Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., in St. Louis, Missouri, where he practices media and communications law, First Amendment and privacy litigation, health care litigation, intellectual property litigation and commercial litigation. He is the co-author, with Mary Ann Wymore, of Ride-Alongs: Scrutiny of Officers During Searches Under Attack, First Amendment and Media Litigation Newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Spring 1996).
Charles M. Poplstein is a partner with Thompson Coburn in St. Louis, Missouri, where he practices labor and employment law.
Michael L. Ramsey is a staff attorney with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Regional Counsel in St. Louis, Missouri.
Linda Carroll Reisner is a partner with Thompson Coburn in St. Louis, Missouri. She practices commercial litigation, communications law and class action litigation.
Mark Sableman is a partner with Thompson Coburn in St. Louis, Missouri. His practice involves intellectual property, communications law, and commercial litigation. He is the author of numerous articles and the book More Speech, Not Less: Communications Law In the Information Age. He is listed in The Best Lawyers In America 1997-1998 and was the chair of the Media Law Committee of the Missouri Bar from 1995 through 1997.
Mary B. Schultz is a partner with Schultz & Little, LLP in St. Louis, Missouri, where she practices civil litigation and alternative dispute resolution, specializing in media and communications law. She assists clients nationwide in securing access to government information and records, and represents both print and broadcast media in Missouri. She has spoken or written on public access to government information, defamation and alternative tort theories, and the liability of on-line services. She is admitted to practice in Missouri and Illinois, is chair of The Missouri Bar Media Law Committee (1997-1998), and an associate of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Stephen Strauss is with Bryan Cave, LLP in St. Louis, Missouri. He spent 10 years as a broadcast journalist and was an instructor in television news reporting at the University of Missouri School of Journalism from 1990 to 1996.
Carol L. Tate is an associate with Wilkman, Harold in Chicago, IL. Her practice includes commercial and tort litigation.
Mary Ann L. Wymore is a principal with Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C. in St. Louis, Missouri, where her practice involves client counseling, pre-publication review, legal transactions and litigation in the areas of media, communications, First Amendment, intellectual property, advertising, privacy, entertainment, unfair competition, computer/Internet, and labor and employment. Among her publications are Ride-Alongs: Scrutiny of Officers During Searches Under Attack, First Amendment and Media Litigation Newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Spring 1996), which she co-wrote with John E. Petite, and Modernizing the Law of Privacy, Fed. Bar Assn. News & Journal (July 1993). Ms. Wymore and Mr. Petite would like to acknowledge Scott J. Golde, a legal intern who will be joining Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., for his significant contribution to Chapter 14.