News aggregation has been around about as long as the Internet itself, but the problem of what is legal and what is not legal is still being hotly debated and litigated in the courts. Still, the notion that aggregators are hurting the news publishing industry is supported by many, such as News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch and Associated Press Dean Singleton, a white paper, by Kimberley Isbell, of the Citizen Media Law Project, explains. And the argument isn't likely to be solved soon.

The Nieman Journalism Lab has reproduced the report, which explains the legality of various types of news aggregation. Although the paper is based on copyright laws in the United States, it is "likely to be a useful point of reference for anyone dealing in online content," Journalism.co.uk noted.

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Isbell, explains:

"According to this theory, news aggregators from Google News to The Huffington Post are free-riding, reselling and profiting from the factual information gathered by traditional media organizations at great cost. Murdoch has gone so far as to call Google's aggregation and display of newspaper headlines and ledes "theft." As the traditional media are quick to point out, the legality of a business model built around the monetization of third-party content isn't merely an academic question - it's big business. Revenues generated from online advertising totaled $23.4 billion in 2008 alone.

But for all of the heated rhetoric blaming news aggregators for the decline of journalism, many are still left asking the question: are news aggregators violating current law?"

Content aggregation will continue to be a grey area for some time to come, according to the paper. However, aggregators would be wise to follow five rules for best practices to avoid ending up in court:

1. Reproduce only necessary portions of the content, and do not reproduce an entire article.

2. Limit the use of articles to those that are directly relevant to your audience - don't use all or even a majority of the content from one source.

3. Identify the source. Prominently.

4. Link to the original source.

5. Add your own context or commentary whenever possible.