Media Law & Ethics - Main Topics of Study
The Legal System
- Sources of law
- The legal profession
- Court system
Court Restrictions
- Open court rule
- Reporting restrictions in court
- Industrial tribunals
- Access to information
- Gaining access
- Challenging court decisions on access
Breach of Confidence
- Obligation of confidence
- What is confidential?
- Defences
Contempt of Court
- Strict liability rule
- Defences
- Injunctions
Libel
- Principle of libel
- Libel and slander
- Libel and malicious falsehood
- Defamation
- Plantiff’s case
- Defences against libel claims
- Procedure, injunctions and damages
Criminal Libel
- Distinction between civil and criminal libel
- Criminal libel in newspapers
- Defending criminal libel actions
- Penalties
- Blasphemous libel and seditious libel
Copyright
- Copyright works
- Who owns copyright
- Infringement
- Duration
- Remedies
Journalist Sources
- Legal implications and restraints
Obscenity, Indecent Displays and Racial Hatred
- Definition of obscenity
- Deprave and corrupt
- Search, seizure and forfeiture
- Public good defence
- Indecent displays
- Incitement of racial hatred
Elections and Parliament
- Broadcasting controls
- Statements about candidates
- Parliamentary privilege and contempt
- Freedom of speech
Professional Regulatory Bodies
- Regulatory systems and roles
Right to Privacy
- Basic propositions
Recommended Reading
Main Text:
Law & the Media – Tom Crone (Butterworth Heinemann)
Alternative Text and Further Reading:
McNae’s Essential Law for Journalists – Tom Welsh & Walter Greenwood (Butterworth Heinemann)