In this post, which originally appeared on the LSE Media Policy Blog, Damian Tambini discusses Hugh Tomlinson’s Inforrm post last week “Should journalists have privileges?“. The post is reproduced with permission and thanks. Read the rest of this entry »
Who is a journalist and why it matters – Damian Tambini
30 11 2011Comments : 1 Comment »
Categories : Journalism
Case Law: Davison v Habeeb & Ors – the liability of blog platforms in defamation cases – Gervase de Wilde
30 11 2011
A blog offers unprecedented scope for self-publication. But can the providers of blog platforms, whose business model is to make the process as easy as possible, be held liable for their contents in English law? This question was addressed in the case of Davison v Habeeb ([2011] EWHC 3031 (QB)) handed down on 25 November 2011 by HHJ Parkes QC (sitting as a judge of the High Court). The decision was made on an application by Google Inc. to set aside an earlier order in a defamation action in which it had been named as a party. This was due to its ownership and control of popular blog publishing tool Blogger, which had been used to publish material about the claimant, Ms Andrea Davison. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 5 Comments »
Categories : Caselaw, EU, Libel
Practice Guidance on Interim Applications to Restrain the Publication of Information – Brid Jordan
29 11 2011
In July 2011 the Master of the Rolls issued Practice Guidance on “Interim non-disclosure orders“. This included a Model Order which it is now recommended should be used as the starting point for any privacy injunction. We have made this is available as a “Word” document in order to assist practitioners. In the post below, which originally appeared on the RPC Privacy Blog, Brid Jordan analyses the guidance in detail. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 2 Comments »
Categories : Privacy
Law and Media Round Up – 28 November 2011
28 11 2011
Last week was once again dominated by the Leveson Inquiry, with oral evidence from a variety of high profile figures: some famous for their role in entertainment and sport; others thrown into the limelight by traumatic circumstances. Written statements from the witnesses can be found here. Video archive can be found here.
This week’s witnesses included Hugh Grant; Steve Coogan; Garry Flitcroft; Bob and Sally Dowler; Margaret and Jim Watson; Joan Smith; JK Rowling; Max Mosley and Gerry and Kate McCann. Inforrm published reports for day one (Monday 21 November); and days two and three (Tuesday 22 November; Wednesday 23 November). Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 2 Comments »
Categories : Legal, Media
Case Comment: Sawant v Times Global Broadcasting Limited – an extraordinary award of compensatory damages by an Indian court
27 11 2011
We had a post last week about the extraordinary defamation case of Sawant v Times Global Broadcasting Co Ltd – where a petition for stay was recently rejected by the Supreme Court. We have now located a copy of the Judgment [pdf] of the Judge of Pune District Court, V K Desmukh, in which she awarded the plaintiff, retired Indian Supreme Court justice, Parshuram Babaram Sawant, the sum of Rs 100 crore (£12 million). Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 5 Comments »
Categories : India, Libel
Should journalists have privileges? Part One: Journalists and Citizens – Hugh Tomlinson QC
26 11 2011
The boundary between the journalist and the citizen is becoming increasingly blurred. As the mainstream media downsizes, the “citizen journalist” has become an increasingly important figure. On one view, the absence of clear boundaries between journalist and citizen is a positive, democratic, development. Freedom of expression is something that everyone enjoys – it has the same positive social benefits whether exercised by a “journalist” or anyone else.
Comments : 9 Comments »
Categories : Journalism
Another petty act of press intimidation – Brian Cathcart
25 11 2011
A few days ago something happened which we in Hacked Off had been hoping to arrange for many months. For the first time, a large group of people who have been victims of press abuses met informally in central London and were able to offer each other support. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 6 Comments »
Categories : Leveson Inquiry, Media
Public Inquiry by tweet – Part 2 – “Woman on the left” – Judith Townend
25 11 2011
Discussing the “woman on the left” started as a bit of fun for Twitterers watching Hugh Grant’s Leveson evidence on Monday, but was soon picked up by national press and has even been discussed within Court 73.
As Inforrm reported last week, this is the first Public Inquiry fully live streamed and tweeted – both in and outside the courtroom. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 2 Comments »
Categories : Leveson Inquiry
Leveson Inquiry: Evidence Days 2 and 3, more evidence from victims, Mary-Ellen Field to the McCanns
24 11 2011
On the second and third days of evidence at the Inquiry, Lord Justice Leveson has continued to hear evidence from victims of press misconduct. This included powerful evidence on Wednesday afternoon from Kate and Gerry McCann. This was the main front page story in the “Guardian” under the headline “‘Lives are being harmed by these stories’, say McCanns” – which describes it as “damning two hour testimony”. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 2 Comments »
Categories : Leveson Inquiry
News: El Naschie v MacMillan – science on trial? – Gervase de Wilde
23 11 2011
Egyptian academic Mohamed El Naschie’s libel claim against prominent scientific journal Nature continues in the High Court in London this week. Nature and their publishers Macmillan are represented by Andrew Caldecott QC and Aidan Eardley of One Brick Court, while El Naschie is a litigant in person.
The Claimant was editor-in-chief and founder of Chaos, Solitons and Fractals (‘CSF’), which is a journal “in the interdisciplinary field of Nonlinear Science, and Nonequilibrium and Complex Phenomena” and is published by Elsevier, the dominant force in the publication of scientific journals. Read the rest of this entry »
Comments : 10 Comments »
Categories : Libel
