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