Student Press Law Center

09/04/2026

Though Franklin College's student body may be small, its student reporting program, TheStatehouseFile.com, has produced nationally award-winning journalism for four years running.

Most recently, incoming junior Olivia O'Neal was recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists for best in-depth reporting for her powerful story on Afghan evacuees living in Indiana. The Student Press Law Center was proud to arrange free, pre-publication legal vetting for the piece.

Read how SPLC’s pre-publication review services help students gain extra confidence in their work.

🔗 https://loom.ly/u9LPp9A

Incoming junior Olivia O’Neal was recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists for best in-depth reporting at schools with 10,000 or fewer students for her powerful story on Afghan evacuees living in Indiana. The Student Press Law Center was proud to arrange free, pre-publication legal ve...

09/03/2026

NEWS: A large student media coalition warned the 11th Circuit that student press freedom is at stake in its review of the University of Alabama’s decision to close two magazines because they focused on women and Black students.

The coalition includes the Student Press Law Center, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Associated Collegiate Press, College Media Association, Society of Professional Journalists and 55 student newsrooms and editors.

In an amicus brief filed yesterday, the coalition asked the court to reverse a lower court decision that treated the student-led magazines as government speech. That decision ignores six decades of case law protecting student press freedom, a principle born in Alabama.

If the decision is upheld, it could put robust student journalism at the whim of the very administrators it covers.

“What the 11th Circuit decides here will reach far beyond the University of Alabama, either securing or chilling student media at public colleges across the region,” said Gary Green, executive director of the Student Press Law Center. “Calling a student magazine ‘government speech’ because the university pays the printing bill or lends its name would hand administrators a veto over every story student journalists write. That is not a rule that independent student reporting can survive.”

See the brief: https://loom.ly/HvPcNsk

09/01/2026

📣 Big news: The Student Press Law Center is proud to announce that longtime media lawyer Melissa Bevan Melewsky will join SPLC on Sept. 28 as our first-ever legal director.

Melewsky spent 20 years as media law counsel at the Pennsylvania News Media Association, guiding journalists through First Amendment issues, public records disputes, pre-publication review and more. Now she's bringing that expertise to the fight for student press freedom.

“Melissa joins the Student Press Law Center at a transformational time for the organization,” Executive Director Gary Green said. “As we roll out our new strategic plan, student journalists are playing a larger role than ever in their local news ecosystems, even as they face escalating legal threats for doing that important work. Melissa brings more than two decades of media law and legislative experience defending press freedom, and she’s joining us at an exciting time when students need a fierce advocate more than ever.”

Read more about Melissa: https://splc.org/2026/09/melewsky-to-join-student-press-law-center-as-legal-director/

08/31/2026

🚨 In a major First Amendment win for The Stanford Daily, a federal court ruled Friday that the government violated the Constitution by using immigration law to punish international students for their speech. Read more: https://loom.ly/K3e9tzc

The Stanford Daily, and its attorneys at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, had argued that the targeting of international students' speech — including that of a Tufts University student who co-wrote an op-ed in the student newspaper — had reshaped The Daily's newsroom. International staff turned down stories, resigned or asked for articles to be taken down, while sources refused to speak on the record out of fear.

That argument was amplified by a coalition of 55 student news organizations and leaders who joined the Student Press Law Center last fall in an amicus brief highlighting the widespread chilling effect: https://loom.ly/_aBsitk

“This ruling is a victory for the First Amendment and a clear affirmation that the government cannot weaponize immigration law to punish and silence speech it doesn’t like, including that of student journalists, their sources or their contributors,” SPLC Executive Director Gary Green said.

As Judge Wise put it: "Stated plainly, in the United States, freedom of speech belongs to the people. It is not the government's to take."

A federal judge ruled Friday that the Trump Administration unconstitutionally used immigration law to silence the speech of international students, including within student media.

08/27/2026

Want to make a difference for student press freedom this fall? Apply to be SPLC's inaugural Rosalind G. Stark Student Press Freedom Intern! ✨

This paid internship is open to law and journalism students and offers hands-on experience supporting SPLC’s work in a mix of journalism, communications, legal and advocacy.

The internship honors former SPLC board chair Rosalind “Roz” Stark.

Reviews begin Aug. 31, so don’t wait. Learn more and apply: https://loom.ly/g5foqzo

Applications are open for Fall 2026 for the Student Press Law Center's Rosalind G. Stark Student Press Freedom Internship.

08/26/2026

We are disappointed by the failure of SIUE officials to respond or address concerns raised by SPLC and our partners at FIRE over a new policy requiring university communications staff to be present for any interview between student journalists and university employees. SPLC and FIRE sent a second joint letter calling for an end to the media-minder practice this week.

"Rather than work amicably with us to address these deficiencies, SIUE has met our concerns with apparent indifference," the letter said.

SPLC and FIRE are demanding a substantive response from SIUE and confirmation that The Alestle may interview willing university employees without mandatory monitoring by a communications official.

Read the letter: https://loom.ly/aSiLk2s

We are disappointed you have failed to address our concerns and have not even attempted to work productively with us to improve the atmosphere for the student press at SIUE, a joint letter said.

08/26/2026

Educators, do you plan to teach your students about the law this year?

Let us do it! Did you know you can invite an SPLC attorney into your classroom or newsroom (virtually & for free 🤠) to give a presentation on a media-law topic of your choice?

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Let us meet you in your classroom or newsroom! Invite an SPLC legal expert to speak to your class or newsroom via Zoom. Speakers will join you for up to 45 minutes (including Q & A) and can present on one of these topics: To book a time with an SPLC legal expert, fill out… Continue reading SPLC in...

08/25/2026

Student journalists in Virginia are looking to secure student press freedom protections in 2027.

“We don't want administrators to teach student journalists that the first thing they have to do is ask permission from those in power about what they can and cannot write about," said Kirk McPike, a Virginia state delegate working on New Voices legislation.

Read the full story below.

https://loom.ly/X6llYRo

Student journalists across Virginia are forming a new coalition to create protections for free speech in the classroom.

08/24/2026

When Indiana University administrators began interfering with the Indiana Daily Student’s editorial independence last fall, then-Student Media Director Jim Rodenbush and the IDS team knew who to call.

For them and many others, the SPLC Legal Hotline has been a pillar to lean on during times of uncertainty.

In our new Impact Report, read about how SPLC helped the Indiana Daily Student respond to administrative pressure and restore their print edition.

🔗 https://loom.ly/WhVUdXQ

The Student Press Law Center supported the Indiana Daily Student’s staff and advising team before, during and after the university exerted control over the students’ reporting.

08/21/2026

Reporting on a story and need help getting the info you need?

Public records are one of the greatest reporting tools available, and SPLC’s free Letter Generator can help you access them. Simply describe what records you’re looking for, and we’ll create a formal letter with legal citations that you can send to your local or state government agency.

🔗 https://loom.ly/oTOZvKo

Creating an open records request is easy with our fully automated, fill-in-the-blanks state open records law letter generator.