Copyright laws are in place to protect not only the original author of a particular work, but for others who may wish to utilize that work for any number of reasons.
As Randy stated if its an article you wish to reprint its often as easy as contacting the author asking for permission.
Numerous news agencies state that you may reprint up to 3 paragraphs of an article so long as you link to the original document and provide proper credit. Again you should first request permission to do so …
If you are using the article on a non-business site and in a non for profit manner there are free-use laws that may permit you to use the properly credited materials without prior permission.