In many respects, Chapters 7 and 8 are companion chapters. Chapter 7 addresses limitations and safeguards specifically imposed by the law with regard to gathering information, and Chapter 8 examines how and to what extent journalists may protect information (including sources of information) once it is obtained.

A dominant theme in newsgathering law is that journalists have no greater access to information, or to locations where sought-after information may be, than any other person. Thus, the First Amendment freedom of press clause accomplishes virtually nothing for journalists in this area. Laws that govern newsgathering are generally applicable. They apply to everyone in the same way—First Amendment or no First Amendment, journalist or someone else.

Trespass, for example, is a law that applies equally to everyone, journalists included. Going onto private property, even for the purpose of gathering information, is a violation of the law. Students likely will be interested in the laws that specifically target newsgathering techniques, especially photography, on private property via drones (e.g., ag-gag statutes) and even on public property when they seem to harass or potentially harm (e.g., anti-paparazzi laws in California). At the same time, however, courts are responding to recent protests over police behavior and seizure of cameras with rulings that protect the right to non-disruptively photograph government officials in public.

An interesting tangent of trespass is the ride-along. Until relatively recently, journalists who were invited by officials—for example, police officers and firefighters—to accompany them onto private property were thought to be in the clear. No more. A series of rulings make it clear that the consent of the owner or occupant of the property is required. A Chapter 7 sidebar that excerpts an article on ride-along cases by First Amendment expert Rodney Smolla is illuminating.

Trespass is a pitfall or problem area for the newsgathering journalist. Harassment, fraud, and misrepresentation are other legal/ethical problem areas professional communicators (including people working in advertising and PR) should know. Within the latter two categories falls Food Lion, still an important case on a number of levels.

A common newsgathering method is recording conversations—face-to-face and via telephone—and visual images. The laws that govern recording are varied, both state-by-state and according to the kind of recording at issue. Chapter 7 provides an overview of these laws.

Access to military operations is limited by the non-public-forum nature of military facilities, the need to protect the security of military operations, and the safety of all involved and the confidentiality of many types of military planning and procedures. However, such limitations on access have sometimes expanded to virtual bans on press contact by military personnel and newsgathering by reporters beyond reliance on military PR. New rules on the use of social media by military personnel may provide some insight into the lives of those individuals but do not clearly enhance access to official military information.

In addition to these newsgathering limitations, Chapter 7 also examines various protections that the law affords. These include measures designed to provide access to government-held records such as the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Various aspects of FOIA are analyzed, from general stipulations and how to file a request to its specific exemptions. FOIA stipulates deadlines for response to records requests, but recent surveys indicate that government compliance is less than exemplary. FOIA also serves as a model for state record access measures.

Within this context, however, are measures that limit access to various kinds of records— student, medical, and driving, for example.

In addition to records, journalists frequently seek access to government meetings. Measures such as the Government in Sunshine Act help to provide that access on the federal level. Similar laws work in the same way on the state level.