The recent changes in the media landscape have no doubt had an impact for libel lawyers in Northern Ireland. As advertising cuts continue to be made and the Leveson culture has exerted pressure on journalistic practice, the media are no doubt trying to resolve disputes in advance of legal proceedings being issued. Legal Aid is not available to libel claimants and conditional fee agreements and after the event insurance is not available in Northern Ireland, which also has an effect on the volume of this type of legal work. Continue reading
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As 2012 draws to a close, it is timely to take stock of some of the more important developments in the area of media law this year.
The courts have been very active in building on the solid foundation of media freedom which section 16 of our constitution protects.
The most important decision of the year was the Constitutional Court’s ruling in September in the challenge brought by Print Media South Africa and the South African National Editors’ Forum against aspects of the Films and Publications Act of 1996. Continue reading
Is it possible that the government has at last taken on board the concerns expressed by the Law Society, Bar Council, Lawyers for Media Standards and many others made in numerous papers and articles about proposed reforms over the past two years, despite having pushed through the LASPO Act without amendment? Continue reading
Amid all the manoeuvring by Cameron & Co as they try to avoid making editors and proprietors of the national press genuinely accountable for what they do, the idea of a Royal Charter has surfaced.It is a seasonably folkloric and tinselly addition to the debate. Her Majesty’s Privy Counsellors, no doubt clad in breeches and kneeling in her presence, will ceremonially apply a red wax seal to a vellum scroll and lo, all the problems of press regulation will be magicked away. Continue reading
Just a few days before the Defamation Bill receives its line-by-line scrutiny in the House of Lords Grand Committee, the Joint Committee on Human Rights has published its report on the Bill.
The report centres on what the Joint Committee considers to be the key elements of the Defamation Bill that impact on human rights, being the proposed codification of the Reynolds defence in clause 4, the new defence for website operators in clause 5, and the proposed single publication rule in clause 8. In this post, I follow on from my previous postings about internet libel and clause 5 (see Part 1 and Part 2) by commenting on the Joint Committee’s recommendations as to clause 5. Continue reading
Journalisted, week ending Sunday 9 December 2012, Autumn statement, Starbucks tax and Nelson Mandela
Journalisted is an independent, not-for-profit website built to make it easier for the public, to find out more about journalists and what they write about. It is run by the Media Standards Trust. It collects information automatically from the websites of British news outlets. Articles are indexed by journalist, based on the byline to the article. Keywords and statistics are automatically generated, and the site searches for any blogs or social bookmarking sites linking to each article. Continue reading
The Media Reform Coalition has released a new briefing paper on what the Leveson Report recommends about media ownership and plurality. It notes that, as the issue of ‘statutory underpinning’ heats up, it is easy to neglect this key area of media policy. The MRC believes that ownership of the media is a crucial part of ensuring a fair, free and independent press. Continue reading
A five-person panel has been appointed to consider the recommendations of the Leveson Report in Scotland. The expert group, to be chaired by former Solicitor General and Senator of the College of Justice Lord McCluskey, features Scots legal experts and representatives of journalism and those affected by malpractice. Continue reading
The Media Standards Trust supports Lord Justice Leveson’s proposal for a voluntary system of independent regulation. Lord Justice Leveson writes that the previous system of self-regulation, led by the PCC, “was simultaneously a panacea, a misnomer and a contradiction in terms” (1.4, p.1515). He says Continue reading
It is wrong to treat free speech as being a superior or primary right in a democracy as some reform campaigners have. Many of the values underpinning free speech – truth, individual autonomy and development, the maintenance of a democratic society – also underpin reputation itself. We should value robust protection for reputation for many of the same reasons that we value free speech itself. Continue reading
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