Today was my first chance to grasp the subject of law, never been touched on before I was essentially a law virgin. Even the term ‘law’ is a pretty intimidating one so you could say I was fairly concerned at the thought of being thrown in at the deep end with the make or break topic of a journalist’s career.
I had prepared myself for the highest level of confusion to set in somewhere within the first fifteen minutes after the slight struggle of McNae’s. To say that this didn’t happen throughout the entire lecture is a delightful surprise for both me and the other journalism students I’m sure.
Globally, there are certain societies where free press is extremely limited and in some cases completely oppressed by authoritative regimes. The UK media could be envied in this sense fulfilling the role of the public’s watchdog in order to directly express the views of the people and to accurately inform them. Usually the majority can only participate indirectly in shaping public life, for example voting in the elections, forming pressure groups and reporting to the authorities. These actions in turn can easily be incited or inspired by the media which may have never before entered the public’s thoughts.
Although the European Convention on Human Rights helps to safeguard freedom of expression, this is the journalist’s job alongside safeguarding the principle of an independent judiciary when reporting the courts. In the UK, there are a growing number of restrictions on what can and cannot be published in the form of statutes. In particular, the Leveson Inquiry has toughened laws and made both the public and the most important people in the country more aware of their involvement with the media. So for us as journalists the law is integral not as a guideline but a permanent code of conduct that can never be strayed from. The punishments are almost always severe; a lucky escape would be a suing for liability where a million pound fine is not uncommon in the courts. I use the term lucky very loosely but as the penalty for contempt of court is a maximum of ten years imprisonment, I think it’s a small sacrifice.
In the lecture, we looked over the brief yet vital basics in Journalism practice such as: confidentiality, malice, accuracy, legality and regulatory issues. As students, we could still be penalised for these crimes in our blogs via the aforementioned suing and imprisonment. The burden of proof in its entirety is solely based on the journalist themselves; misrepresentation of sources and quotes is a dangerous aspect where accuracy can ruin a career. The basics in journalism can be somewhat overlooked in ‘new’ media, this being an importance in precision English. Sales can seem the primary concern over quality in the industry, perhaps ‘dumbing down’ for the generation we are today: disinterested in the facts of politics and desiring the gossip columns of Z list celebrities.
McNae’s defines the sources of law as custom, precedent and statute.
Custom; when the English legal system was shaped in the Middle Ages, royal judges administered the ‘law and custom of the realm’ this developing into the common law.
Precedent; the decisions recorded by lawyers giving the facts considered by court and their justifications. These precedents bind together all lower courts to shape future rulings.
Statute; when the common law can be changed by Acts of Parliament.
As mentioned earlier, the UK media are subject to the European Convention on Human Rights this is due to Britain’s involvement in the EU. Contained within the convention (article 8) is the guarantee of ‘the right to respect for privacy and family life and the right to freedom of expression.’ Countries that believe a breach of this right has occurred can put a case forward to the Strasbourg Court.
McNae’s states two divisions of the law as civil and criminal.
Civil law deals with tensions between individuals and organisations including the compensation of torts. Carelessness in medical environments, defamation and copyright breaches are all torts.
Criminal law concerns offences that affect entire communities; these are crimes against the sovereign.
In reality the two divisions frequently overlap.
It may also be worth noting that lawyers can either be barristers or solicitors. Solicitors have direct involvement with the client and may represent them in court. However, barristers are known as the counsel and after ten years in the role can apply to the Lord Chancellor for appointment as a Queen’s Counsel, reaching the height of their profession.
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