2. 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
3. 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 Sources
By CHRISTINE HAUGHNEY
Published: 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.
4. Pearson’sThree 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’
5. 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’
7. 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
8. 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
9. 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
10. 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
11. 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-gap
Media 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 paradox
What is legal maybe unethical
Sometimes ethics and the law
collide