Ithaca College

Tribal sovereignty, education, foster care, land rights, ownership, racism, criminal justice, healthcare, missing and murder women, and precedent-setting laws of the American Indian communities in the United States were a central focus of discovery for 28 journalism law students at Ithaca College in the Roy H Park School of Communications. 

In a debrief session held on Tuesday, December 15, 2020, the students reflected on their journey to frame a legal story with a journalistic lens.  As well, they were asked to reflect on their experience in submitting a FOI and interpreting the laws and federal regulations associated with the Native Americans. This particular semester was conducted entirely in a virtual platform due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the experience of filing a FOI request during this time period made for a unique student experience. The podcast series will go live on Friday, December 18, 2020, at soundcloud.com/icjournalismlaw.

“Laws impact the way journalists are able to do their jobs and what information they are able to report to the public,” says Ann-Marie Adams, instructor for the Fall 2020 journalism law course. “In this course, we reviewed the principles underlying relevant law and court cases with an emphasis on jurisdiction and precedents.” 

This course offered by the Department of Journalism at Ithaca College examines the American legal and policymaking systems so that students can gain an understanding of how laws address a range of issues involving freedom of speech and press, including courts of law, defamation, libel, prior restraint, shield laws, open access, privacy, and the public’s right to know. 

The presentation case study assigned during the course involved case law analysis, individual investigative work, and requests for information (FOI) to frame a podcast series produced by the students. The students present this series as an ethical and case law analysis focused on identifying issue areas, the evidence or facts that pertain to a particular case, and the extrinsic factors that inform the outcomes in law. 

Fall 2020 Journalism Law Podcast Components

Introduction ~ John Turner IC’22

Segment 1 ~ Broken Promises

Mikayla Rovenolt IC’22

James Baratta IC’22

Alyssa Spady IC’22

Isabelle Ozkurt IC’22

Christian Maitre IC’22

Segment 2 ~ Racism in Policing and the U.S. Criminal Justice System

Cella Beaks IC’22

Leah Aulisio-Sharpe IC’22

Ryan Bieber IC’22

Sharifa Abukari IC’21

Segment 3 ~ The Fight Over Environmental Resources

Willy Wright IC’22

Brennan Carney IC’22

Jay Bradley IC’22

Segment 4 ~ Justice in Education

Maia Noah IC’22

Matilde Catarino Bechet IC’22

Lauren White IC’22

Elizabeth Henning IC’22

Gabrielle Topping IC’22

Segment 5 ~ Copyright and Trademark

Gigi Grady IC’22

Mike Dirkes IC’21

Segment 6 ~ Failures of the American Indian Healthcare System

Alyshia Korba IC’22

Nick Macaluso IC’21

Alexis Manore IC’22

Malick Mercier IC’21

Segment 7 ~ Missing Murdered Indigenous People

Sydney Keller IC’21

John Turner IC’22

Marisa Thomas IC’22

Makayla Carozzolo IC’22

Close ~ FOIA in Reality ~ Ariel Dowdy IC’22

For more information about the course or to learn more about the podcast series contact Ann-Marie Adams, instructor via email at aadams4@ithaca or cell phone at (607) 229.8071.