TALKERS Books Announces Publication of Playing the Clip: The Digital Media Creator’s Legal Guide to Fair Use
TALKERS Books announces the release of, Playing the Clip: The Digital Media Creator’s Legal Guide to Fair Use, by media attorney (and 
TALKERS magazine associate publisher) Matthew B. Harrison, a work designed for today’s news/talk media environment where audio, video, screenshots, and quotes are not just supporting elements – but serve as the actual content itself. This technique has become particularly prevalent on YouTube and even cable news/talk TV but increasingly appears in audio form as what used to be called “actualities” – sound from another source.
The book introduces and defines what TALKERS identifies as the “Play the Clip” technique: the now-standard practice across broadcasting, podcasting, streaming, and social platforms of presenting the source material rather than merely describing it. Although this practice has become ubiquitous, it leaves content creators and providers vulnerable to legal ambiguity, uncertainty, and consequences.
At a time when creators increasingly rely on third-party media to inform, critique, and engage audiences, Playing the Clip addresses a persistent gap between how content is created and how the law evaluates it. The
book explains the legal concept of fair use not as a permission structure, but as a legal defense raised after copying has already occurred – an uncomfortable but essential distinction that underpins the entire analysis.
Rather than offering abstract theory or checklist-style guidance, the book focuses on how courts actually evaluate real-world uses. It examines the operational realities creators face: platform incentives, inconsistent enforcement, monetization pressures, and the false sense of security created by what “everyone else is doing.”
The central premise is straightforward: infringement is the starting point, not the conclusion- and fair use, when it applies, is the justification that must be built from there.
Playing the Clip is now available:
Free to TALKERS subscribers
In addition, TALKERS is making the book available at no cost to its readership for a limited time.
Below is a form just for TALKERS readers. Just submit your email address to receive access to a free digital copy, available in either EPUB or PDF format, depending on preference. This offer is intended to ensure that working media creators -regardless of platform or budget – can access the material during its initial release window. To receive a free book, please click here.
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Books, 2022) by Dr. Murray Sabrin. The book has been an Amazon bestseller and a popular vehicle sparking conversations on political news/talk shows across America. Its author, Murray Sabrin, Ph.D. is emeritus professor of finance, Ramapo College of NJ. Dr. Sabrin – a prolific author – is considered a “public intellectual” for writing essays about the economy in scholarly and popular publications as well as being a prolific guest and “go-to” resource on hundreds of radio and TV talk shows and podcasts. According to publisher Michael Harrison, who wrote the book’s provocative foreword, “From Immigrant to Public Intellectual is a truly American story about an immigrant child’s rise from humble beginnings to forge a stellar career as an educator, author, candidate, and media influencer. Murray Sabrin explains libertarianism in plain language using his own life story set against a half-century of changing times. Talk show hosts have been tapping into this articulate scholar’s knowledge and views for more than three decades since his impressive third-party showing as the Libertarian candidate for Governor of New Jersey in 1997.” To learn more about Dr. Murray Sabrin please visit murraysabrin.com and murraysabrin.substack.com.