Re: a legal matter-- minors on radio or TV

[Dib9@aol.com]

In a message dated 9/30/98 8:42:12 PM EST, dlh@donnahalper.com writes:

<< Could you nice folks settle a disagreement?  A student of mine at Emerson
 shot some video of a news event and a little kid was in the video.  I say
 she (the student) needs a parent's permission to use the child in the
 video.  But several other people I asked said there is no rule or law about
 when you can use the image or likeness-- or the voice of a minor-- that
 it's mainly a courtesy to ask a parent.  Can that be true???  I was taught
 when I studied journalism that no radio newsperson could use any minor's
 voice without first getting permission.  Did that change somewhere along
 the line? >>

I have no idea what the law is on this issue or if there are any laws or
regulations on this point, but it has always been my understanding that if a
person is in a public place that use of video including that person is fair
game.  If that was not the case, it would be very hard to do some news
stories.  It may be a good policy to get parental permission before using a
minor's voice, but I do not think it is a legal requirement.

Dan Billings
Bowdoinham, Maine

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