media law for today
Post on 06-May-2015
786 Views
Preview:
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Media Law and Communicators
What we need to know and why
Why do we need to know this stuff
Every decision about: what we communicate, how we communicate who we communicate to, or who we talk about
is made in a legal context
Journalists, PR consultants and corporate communicators are subject to the laws of the land; there is no exemption
Some specific laws are applied to acts of communication including: reporting on court cases, whether finished, or ongoing giving a reference for someone to an employer or other person communications covering children in certain circumstances situations in which privacy might be compromised situations in which commercial information is being communicated Instances where a ‘privilege’ can be claimed or denied
The most important reason
The most important reason for knowing about media and communications law is simply:SELF PRESERVATION
THE "Human Headline" Derryn Hinch is once again facing the prospect of jail time after being charged with contempt of court for allegedly breaching suppression orders covering the Jill Meagher murder case.
A FoxNews.com Reporter Is Facing Jail for Refusing to Identify Police SourcesBy CHRISTINE HAUGHNEYPublished: April 9, 2013
AFox news reporter is being asked to turn over information from her reporting on the theater shooting in Aurora, Colo., last summer
Privacy obligations are changing – is your consultancy ready?
Public Relations and Communication organisations have eight months to prepare for the vast changes to
our privacy obligations.
Time magazine and CNN suspended Fareed Zakaria, the writer and television host, on Friday after he apologized for plagiarizing a New Yorker article in his column on gun control in the Aug. 20 issue of Time.
Pearson’s Three Imperatives
Public responsibility Abusing freedom of speech is not
freedom of speech The public (greater) good must prevail Honesty is [mostly] the best policy
Self-protection Costly, painful mistakes, ruined careers Do unto others…
Professionalism Professional awareness sets us apart
from ‘amateurs’ and ‘charlatans’
Communicators and the Legal System
Australia’s legal system derives from the Constitution and British common law heritage
The High Court decides constitutional matters, including the constitutionality of legislation and legal statutes
Separation of powers provides a [modest] amount of independence for the judiciary
Judiciary + Parliament + Executive (including public service) + the Media = the Four ‘Estates’
Separation of powersunder the Constitution
Sources of Law in Australia
Statute Law
Legislation at state and federal levels
S.51 of the Constitution gives Commonwealth some powers
States get the rest: health, roads, education, police & emergency services
S.109 says Commonwealth law prevails in areas of disagreement
Common Law
Common law is also known as ‘judge-made law’
Cases decided in courts and also interpretation of statute law
Higher courts take precedence
An adversarial system
Civil and criminal law
Hierarchy of courts in Australia
Precedents are set in the higher courts and must be followed in the lower courts
Appeals from lower to higher courts
Civil & Criminal Law
Criminal Law
Offences against the state
Trial and punishment
Crimes Act (Commonwealth)
Criminal Code (State)
Drugs, theft, assault, sexual crimes, etc.
Trespass
Beyond reasonable doubt
Civil Law
The rights and obligations of doing business
The defence of reputations (defamation)
Intellectual Property
Trade practices (including advertising)
Penalties are usually financial or forms of restraint on action
Negligence
Balance of probabilities
Laws affecting creative content creators
Defamation – laws to protect reputation
Contempt – laws to protect the sanctity of the legal system
Copyright – laws to protect creativity and intellectual property rights
Trade Practices – laws to protect consumers from misleading marketing / advertising (also consumer law)
Privacy – laws to protect data about us – not to protect us from media intrusion
Broadcasting – laws about who controls radio & television and types of content
Blasphemy, sedition, censorship – laws to control content of communications
Family – to protect the rights of children and vulnerable people
Law is open to interpretation
The laws affecting the practices of communication are subject to both interpretation and change The techno-legal time-gap The ethico-legal paradox
“Despite what we may think, law is not simply about the black and white of what is wrong and what is right…While some aspects of the law can be stated with clear and precise certainty…other laws are subject to interpretation…”
Leiboff, 2007, p.5
Techno-legal time-gapMedia law does not always keep pace with technological change.For example, the law is still playing catch-up with many functions of social media
Ethico-legal paradoxWhat is legal maybe unethicalSometimes ethics and the law collide
top related