FIRE helped me defend my rights.
Student Story
When Haskell Indian Nations University silenced student journalist Jared Nally, FIRE intervened.
Are you a student journalist? FIRE has your back.
FIRE’s Student Press Freedom Initiative (SPFI) defends free press on campus by advocating for the rights of student journalists at colleges and universities across the country and offers helpful resources on student press censorship and information on the role of student media. If you face censorship, call 717-734-SPFI (7734) for guidance, resources, and answers to your legal questions.
Know Your Rights
FIRE’s Student Press Freedom Initiative offers helpful resources to student journalists at colleges and universities on subjects like press freedom, the First Amendment, libel and defamation, privacy law, and intellectual property. These resources also include student press censorship red flags to look out for and information on the role of student media.
Can I Publish This?
RESOURCE
SPFI's clickable guide to common media law and First Amendment questions. Learn more about topics like defamation and privacy law. If your college or university administration is pressuring your student publication in relation to content, FIRE may be able to help.
Free PRESSED: How Administrative Censorship is Squeezing Student Newsrooms
REPORT
Student journalists across the country are concerned about threats of administrative censorship against them and their publications.
Under Pressure: The Warning Signs of Student Newspaper Censorship
REPORT
Colleges are more obsessed with ‘protecting the brand’ than they’ve ever been before. The result? An epidemic of student media censorship.
Joining our student newspaper gave me a voice, and unfortunately it’s going to take a lawsuit for the university to listen to it.
VIDEO: FIRE launches Student Press Freedom Initiative for student journalists
Student Press Freedom Initiative on YouTube
Videos
Libel? Privacy? Intellectual property? When you’re producing a publication, there are so many legal risks to keep in mind. But don’t fear! We’ll go over tips and tricks for reviewing your own content to keep you out of the courtroom and in the newsroom.
Newsdesk
Stay Informed
FIRE’s award-winning Newsdesk covers the press freedom news you need to stay informed.
You're not alone — FIRE defends your rights on campus
The FIRE Student Network is a coalition of students who recognize the importance of advancing civil liberties on their campuses. Join the movement to make college campuses across the country places where students like you can speak freely.
"Can I Publish This?" Course for University Students
Learn With FIRE
Libel? Privacy? Intellectual property? For student journalists producing a publication, there are so many legal risks to keep in mind. But don’t fear! We’ll go over tips and tricks for conducting a self-directed prepublication review, that is, how to analyze your own content to keep you out of the courtroom and in the newsroom.
Become a Free Press Insider
Subscribe to FIRE updates to get the latest free speech news in your inbox as it happens! Or, if you’re facing censorship, call the SPFI hotline and a FIRE representative will quickly respond and provide rapid resources and answers to your legal questions.
