Can a free press survive in an era of free content? An “entertaining and well-written” examination of copyright law, its history, and its purpose (New York Law Journal). You can’t copyright facts, but is news a category unto itself? Without legal protection for the “ownership” of news, what incentive does a news organization have to invest in producing quality journalism that serves the public good? Can a free press survive in the era of free content? This book explores the intertwined histories of journalism and copyright law in the United States and Great Britain, revealing how shifts in technology, government policy, and publishing strategy have shaped the media landscape. Publishers have long sought to treat news as exclusive to protect their investments against copying or “free riding.” But over the centuries, arguments about the vital role of newspapers and the need for information to circulate have made it difficult to defend property rights in news. Beginning with the earliest printed news publications and ending with the Internet, Will Slauter traces these countervailing trends, offering a fresh perspective on debates about copyright and efforts to control the flow of news. “A well-written, thoughtful book, demonstrating how copyright law has struggled to keep up with the development of news culture, setting out the historical context in great detail and supported by much research, and with interesting conclusions and predictions for the future. It is unreservedly recommended.” ––European Intellectual Property Review

"As traditional for-profit news media in the United States declines in economic viability and sheer numbers of outlets and staff, what does and what should the constitutional guarantee of freedom of the press mean? The book examines the current news ecosystem in the U.S. and chronicles historical developments in government involvement in shaping the industry. It argues that initiatives by the government and by private-sector actors are not only permitted but called for as transformations in technology, economics, and communications jeopardize the production and distribution of and trust in news and the very existence of local news reporting. It presents ten proposals for change to help preserve the free press essential to our democratic society"--

Fighting for balance / Avril Haines -- Crafting a new compact in the public interest : protecting the national security in an era of leaks / Keith B. Alexander and Jamil N. Jaffer -- Leaks of classified information : lessons learned from a lifetime on the inside/ Michael Morell -- Reform and renewal : lessons from Snowden and the 215 program / Lisa O. Monaco -- Government needs to get its own house in order / Richard A. Clarke -- Behind the scenes with the Snowden files : "how the Washington Post and national security officials dealt with conflicts over government secrecy" / Ellen Nakashima -- Let's be practical : a narrow post-publication leak law would better protect the press / Stephen J. Adler and Bruce D. Brown -- What we owe whistleblowers / Jameel Jaffer -- The long, (futile?) Fight for a federal shield law / Judith Miller -- Covering the cyberwars : the press vs the government in a new age of global conflict / David Sanger -- Outlawing leaks / David A. Strauss -- The growth of press freedoms in the United States since 9/11 / Jack Goldsmith -- Edward Snowden, Donald Trump, and the paradox of national security whistleblowing / Allison Stanger -- Information is power : exploring a constitutional right of access / Mary-Rose Papandrea -- Who said what to whom / Cass R. Sunstein -- Leaks in the age of Trump / Louis Michael Seidman the report of the commission, Lee C. Bollinger, Eric Holder, John O. Brennan, Ann Marie Lipinski, Kathleen Carroll, Geoffrey R. Stone, Stephen W. Coll -- Closing statement / Lee C. Bollinger and Geoffrey R. Stone.

With corporate balance sheets dictating what we read, freedom of speech is in peril -- and freedom itself may be compromised.

Newspapers played a key role in shaping and reflecting public opinion during the Irish Revolution, 1910-23. County Cork was home to Skibbereen's Southern Star and Skibbereen Eagle, and Cork city institutions the Cork Examiner and Cork Constitution, along with the Cork Free Press. These papers were joined by a number of fascinating but short-lived radical papers like Terence MacSwiney's Fianna Fáil. This book is not just concerned with the journalistic output of these papers and their diverse political outlooks, but also their staff, engaging with newsboys and editors alike. This inverts typical historical approaches which traditionally use newspapers primarily as historical sources, whereas this study showcases them as historical forces. Of course, these papers operated during an incredibly violent time. This book highlights how editors and journalists at this time did not sit on the sidelines during the conflict but were centrally involved and experienced very real danger; newspaper owners and employees were threatened, attacked, and shot. This book examines the experience of these papers, and the consequential, and often devastating censorship and suppression they experienced. Engaging with the leading issues of the day and acting as a microcosm of the conflicts and disputes that engulfed Ireland as a whole, the newspapers of Cork city and Skibbereen entered the revolutionary decade with opposing views and many enjoyed a rivalry that added a spice to their coverage. This is the story behind these storytellers.

In a time of uncertainty and change in the newspaper industry, this book provides a concise and thorough overview of the field, looking back at newspapers' history, and forward to their future - and insisting there will be one. The authors, former journalists who now teach the subject, review the practices of the profession - from defining news to examining who owns newspapers, from newspaper readership to the new media environment. Written in an accessible style, this comprehensive text is well suited for a range of courses on newspapers.