Eyes and ears of the general public - an introduction to media law

It is quite different having studying a year of History and Context of Journalism where we have been encouraged to think, philosophise and engage with the ideas of famous thinkers such as Nietzsche, Zola, Rousseau – then going on to our third year and studying Law for Journalists, where nothing is left to think and speculate about for yourself as everything follows strict lines and patterns; law.

It is essential to know how the law works in the UK, otherwise you as a journalist would probably defame and slander people, report illegally on court proceedings and other serious incidents, as you wouldn’t know how it all works with identification issues, the public’s interest, freedom of expression and so on. So this is what we will be focusing on throughout this semester, and make sure that we can be journalists of top quality and report fairly and accurately on what is going on in our society.

Our course book, McNae’s Essential Law for Journalists 20^th Edition, goes through the major points in law that is necessary for a journalist to know by heart before graduating as a qualified journalist. Obviously, law as everything else, do slightly change from time to time with new media expanding and as new ways of exposing people’s life become available – this is why we do law in our third year as well as in our first year – to properly keep updated with what’s the latest we need to know as journalists. Also, graduating from a university doesn’t mean that you can let go of the law and remember is at it was while you were still studying. You need to keep on top of it and make sure you always follow the latest changes as the outcome can be devastating if you don’t.

So throughout this semester I will keep my blog updated with the latest course material we have gone through, with ongoing cases that deal with the points of law that we are and have been taught throughout the lectures. I will also try to explore different areas within the law more than others with additional reading, as this to me is as important to me to get the bigger picture – otherwise it is much harder to understand the reading as a whole if you have nothing to compare it with or stand it up against.

Recap of major points from course book:

· The media are the eyes and ears of the general public

· A free media are an essential element in maintaining parliamentary democracy

· In general journalists in the UK have no legal rights to gain information, or to publish it, beyond those enjoyed by other citizens

· The European Convention on Human Rights has codified fundamental freedoms, including that of freedom of expression

· Journalists must be alert to challenge unreasonable or unlawful restrictions on this freedom

· Two constitutional bulwarks protect freedom of expression in the UK – jury trial and the rule against prior restraint

· Sources of UK law include custom, precedent, equity, statutes and statutory instruments, and European Union regulations

· The two main divisions of the law are criminal and civil law, and journalists need to use correctly the legal terms appropriate for the type of court they are reporting

· Codes of ethics guide journalists in their work

(McNae’s, p. 38)

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Week 2 - Crime and Court reporting