Media Law- Libel and Defamation.

'Law exists to protect the moral and professional reputation of the individual from unfair attack'.
My understanding of Defamation is a false statement of published or spoken facts about a person, company or organisation. It can lower their reputation or make other people think less of them without justification. 

The following examples show how reputation can be lowered and therefore, when a statement becomes defamatory.

• Exposes them to hatred, ridicule or contempt
• Causes them to be shunned or avoided
• Discredits them in their trade, business or profession 
• Generally lowers them in the eyes of right-thinking members of society

Journalists have to be extra careful with their statements, as they can be sued for anything that can’t be proved. For example, if a publisher tells a story about a person who is a liar or a cheat or in financial difficulties, the statement can easily be considered as libel unless the publisher has a defence, such as evidence.

Another ‘tricky’ thing that Journalists have to take special care of is words that carry more than one meaning. (English can complicate your life sometimes!). There are statements such as Inferences, which can be read/understood by someone in a wrong way. They have secondary meanings, a person could read them ‘between the lines’ and then can make a wrong conclusion.

The statement, however, can be protected by defence in libel law. A claimant has to show the court three tings when suing for libel:

1. The publication is defamatory,
2. A defamed person has been identified
3. It has been published to a third party.

It is quite similar to Slander, which is the type of defamation with no permanent record. Normally it's a spoken statement. It requires defamation and identification but NO publication to a third party. For example, it can be seen as a form of conversation.

Journalists need to remember that the defamed person doesn’t have to prove that the statement is false. If it is defamatory then it is obvious that the statement is false, however if the journalist can prove their facts than that’s their evidence, therefore, defence. The defamed person doesn’t have to prove intention or any proof of actual damage. All they need to do is to show the false statement.

There are four main defences that journalists can use:

1. Justification- The defamed person needs to prove that defamatory statement identifies them. On the other hand, the publisher needs to prove that the publish statement is true, by using essential evidence.

2. Fair comment- A statement has to be an honest opinion based on fact. No malice should be included. The subject commented on must be a matter of public interests.

3. Absolute privilege – It’s a complete answer and bar to any action and defamation. It doesn’t matter whether the words were true or false, or spoken maliciously.

4. Qualified Privilege- which is a specific protection against an action of defamation given in the first place to judges, lawyers, and witnesses in court cases. It is also a defence where it is considered important that the facts should be freely known in the public interest.

There are a few situations where defence cannot be used. This is when reporters:

• Haven’t checked their facts,
• Haven’t ‘referred up’,
• Haven’t put themselves in the shoes of the person or company they write about,
• Got carried away by an exciting story
• Haven’t bothered to wait for their lawyer’s opinion.  

This is a lot of rough notes and definitions, but they are one of the most important law rules that a journalist needs to know in order to be able to report and never be sued.

McNae’s- The essential law for journalists helped me write up these notes. 

Reporting Crimes and Courts

Knowing criminal law is an essential skill for all journalists, as they have to know exactly what they can and can’t include in their reports in order to make them accurate, fair and to avoid committing contempt of court.

All journalists are at risk of being sued for their stories, therefore it is important that they know how to avoid that risk. Prejudice is one of the main things that can put them at high risk. Prejudice means ‘pre-judging’ something; if a reporter makes a statement about a person or an event based on false beliefs or before knowing the case well, they are most likely to be rightly sued for their report. It is important for reporters to get their facts right and to get to know the story well before reporting on it, as well as staying objective and open minded, trying not to pass the judgment too quickly.

Standard of proof in criminal law

For anyone to be convicted of a criminal offence, guilt must be admitted or proven in court ‘beyond reasonable doubt’.
The court journalists can start reporting on the case when it becomes ACTIVE. That happens when the police make an arrest and when the person gets charged. However, the case is not active when an arrest is made with no evidence. In that case the suspect can only be kept under arrest without charge for 24 hours. By law, if they have not been charged within that period, the person has to be released.

The pre trial reports include 7 points of what a reporter can include in statements. That includes:
- Names of defendant, ages, addresses, occupation.
- Charges faced or close summary.
- Name of court and magistrates’ names
- Names of solicitors or barristers present
- Date and place to where the case is adjourned
- Any arrangements as to bail. ( Bail is a system by which a defendant is given his/her liberty until the next court case)
- Whether legal aid was granted.  

Criminal charges are divided into three main categories. Reporters are expected to be able to tell the difference between them, as each category requires different rules for reporting. There are some details that the Automatic reporting restrictions don’t allow to include in reports on some hearings at magistrates court. Journalists need to be able to distinguish those restrictions.

1. Indictable-only offences, which are the most serious crimes, punishable by the longest prison terms.  Possible sentence of 5 years or more. Examples for this type of crime would be murder, rape or robbery.

2. Either-way offences- such charges can be dealt with either at a Crown court or at Magistrates court. Magistrates can decide whether a particular case is a serious one which needs to be dealt with in Crown court, or if the magistrates can deal with it

3. Summary offences are very minor ones compare to the other two, they include crimes such as common assult, drunkenness. These are also relatively easy to deal with and they stay with Magistrates court.

Media Law, Week 1 Lecture 1- Hierarchy of Courts.

‘The media are the eyes and ears of the general public’.

Law in the UK allow citizens to ‘free press.’ Some of them, especially journalists are aware that this kind of freedom, especially freedom of expression, must have some strong restrictions by the law. There has to be a balance between the media being free to expose wrongdoing and an individual being able to defend themselves from baseless attacks. Therefore, the UK law provides the law of defamation – LIBEL and SLANDER- which tries to get that balance.


The Hierarchy Of Courts in England and Wales.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) consists of four countries: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Some law applies throughout the whole of the UK and some applies in only one, two or three countries. In our first Law lecture we talked about the hierarchy of courts in England and Wales in order to help us understand their importance.

HOW CRIMINAL LAW IS ENFORCED IN ENGLAND AND WALES

If a crime has been committed, the police are being informed in order to conduct an investigation. If, after arresting and interviewing a person, the police believe that the person committed the crime, that individual is charged. A report of the case is then sent to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

If the case has been considered successful by the CPS and if it would be in the public interest to do so, it will start criminal proceedings against the suspect, who becomes the defendant in the case. In court, the CPS bears the burden of proving, beyond reasonable doubt, that the defendant committed the crime.

Minor offences, such as speeding, are heard by Magistrates’ Courts. Many towns in England and Wales have their own Magistrates’ Court, where cases are heard by three magistrates. Magistrates do not need any legal qualifications, and they are advised by a Clerk, who is a qualified lawyer. Magistrates do not state reasons for their decisions.

Very serious offences, such as murder and rape, are heard in the Crown Court. The Crown Court is based in about 90 centres throughout England and Wales. A jury consisting of 12 people chosen at random from the local population will decide, without giving reasons, whether the defendant is guilty of the offence.

Some intermediate offences, such as theft, may be tried in a Magistrates’ Court or the Crown Court.


References:
McNaes, page 3.
http://www.ilex.org.uk/about_legal_executives/the_uk_legal_system.aspx