Forty-six percent of all news organizations said they received at least one subpoena in 1999.

I promise I'm not getting a cut from this.

I would be remiss, however, if I didn't alert you to a fantastic new legal resource published by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press that will assist all reporters - professional and student - in understanding and responding to court-issued subpoenas and other outside demands for information they have collected as part of their newsgathering efforts.

Responding to subpoenas has become a significant problem for the news media as "lazy" lawyers and law enforcement agencies routinely look to journalists to act as their unpaid, private investigators to dig up and provide evidence that will advance their cases. Indeed, in the most recent report from its five-year study on the incidence of subpoenas served on news media, The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press reported that 1,326 subpoenas were served on 440 news organizations in 1999. Forty-six percent of all media responding said they received at least one subpoena that year. Some news organizations said that they had even altered their news coverage because of the threat of subpoenas.

While the numbers are not so high for student media, we regularly hear from about a dozen student journalists each year who have been served with a subpoena and many more who have been threatened or who are working on stories that pose a significant subpoena risk.

Published in December 2002, The Reporter's Privilege is a one-of-a-kind, 50-state compendium of information on the reporter's privilege - the right not to be compelled to testify or disclose sources and information - in each state and federal circuit. Never before has there been a single resource that provides American journalists with such clear, concise, readily accessible answers to the most common questions that arise when faced with a court order to disclose reporter notes, photos, sources or other reporters' "work product." Each state's guide is written by a media lawyer that practices in the state.

The guide is free and available online at: http://www.rcfp.org/privilege/

While The Reporter's Privilege is the most comprehensive resource on the topic available, it falls one step short for student media. Before student journalists can take advantage of a reporter's privilege, they must first determine whether or not the privilege covers them - and not just professional journalists. In most cases, this shouldn't be a problem. Courts have generally not distinguished between student journalists and professional journalists in deciding whether a reporter's privilege is available. In a small number of cases, however, courts have determined that the language in a state shield law excluded student media. For example, in New York the shield law covers only those publications with a "paid circulation" and a second-class postage permit - criteria that leaves out most student publications. (Fortunately, in such cases, student journalists can usually seek protection under the less restrictive common law qualified privilege.) To help student media fill in this gap, the Student Press Law Center will soon publish a 50-state guide that specifically addresses the applicability of reporter's privilege laws to student media. It should be available in May 2003 on the SPLC website.

Student media are cautioned that neither of these guides is meant as a substitute for working with a qualified, local media law attorney should you receive a subpoena. If your student news organization does not have an attorney, the Student Press Law Center can help you try to find a pro bono lawyer in your area.

Still, knowledge is power. And knowing where you stand both before and after a subpoena arrives can make a great deal of difference.

Visit the Student Press Law Center online at http://www.splc.org.