Codes of Practice

There are three main codes of practice that a journalist should pay attention to:

Ofcom:
Simply put, Ofcome regulates all types of broadcasters. They have the power to fine companies, ban programmes and even shut down broadcasters by revoking their licences. Ofcom demands impartiality from its broadcasters and also makes sure no broadcaster shows bias.

PCC:
PCC stands for Press Complain Commission. The PCC regulates magazines and newspapers and is quite a mild form of regulator. Their code doesn't mention impartiality thus newspapers can get away with bias.

BBC code:
The BBC code is a self made guide for employees of the BBC and is similar to that of the PCC however they insist on absence of bias.

Confidentiality/Secrecy & Privacy

Confidentiality

Confidentiality within Journalism depends completely on the type of secret information in question.

A person is in breach of confidence if they pass on information that:

-Has the necessary quality of confidence i.e the information was important and not already known
-There was no permission to pass on the information
-Was provided in circumstances imposing an obligation i.e a conversation between a doctor and patient
-Detriment is likely to be caused to the person who gave in the information (definition of detriment is basically


Privacy.

The Humans Rights Act, Section 8, tells us all that we need to know about privacy when reporting.

Privacy is all about 'family life' i.e tabloid & celebrity journalism, where family/personal information is printed about anyone celebrity or not.

The defence against this is of course an injunction which is easy to obtain as the claimant will say there is a danger of a crime happening.
The benefit of an injunction is that an injunction against one media organisation, is an injunction against all publishers. People with something to hide (most celebrities!!) will often opt for an injunction in an attempt to cover up their secrets as they hope that the legal cloud will cover over the actual main point of the articles they have got an injunction against.

Recent Media Law Cases

Rooney VS News Of The World

Wayne Rooney accepted damages of over £100,000 from the News of The World paper following allegations in 2006 that he slapped his fiance Colleen McLoughlin (now Rooney) round the face in a Cheshire Nightclub.

Naomi Campbell VS Daily Mirror

In 2001 The Mirror published an article about Naomi Campbell’s drug addiction, including photographs of her leaving a meeting of Narcotics Anonymous that were secretly taken. Campbell brought an action against the newspaper for a violation of her common law right to privacy and a breach of her Article 8 privacy rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Ozzy Osbourne VS Daily Star

Ozzy Osbourne accepted undisclosed libel damages over claims that he was too ill to present the Brit Awards. The article claimed Ozzy was extremely ill and collapsed twice before the show was due to go live. Osbourne's lawyer John Kelly said the article had caused "considerable embarrassment and distress".

Cristiano Ronaldo VS Daily Mail

Ronaldo won substantial libel damages over claims he was "living it up" in a Hollywood nightclub and putting his injured ankle at further risk when he was supposed to be resting. The report that he put down his crutches to dance with four models caused offence and embarrassment, the court heard, and the Mail later admitted this report was false and were forced to pay out substantial compensation.

Peaches Geldof VS Daily Star

Peaches Geldof won libel damages after the newspaper claimed she worked as a prostitute.

Defamation/Slander/Libel

Defamation:

• Lowering someone in the estimation of right thinking people
• Cause a person to be shunned or avoided
• Disparage them in their business, trade or profession
• Expose them to hatred, ridicule or contempt

Defamation occurs in two different forms: Libel & Slander

Libel is a physical form of defamation e.g written

Slander is the spoken form of defamation e.g speech/said in an argument

When someone is suing for libel, there are three areas they have to identify :

•the publication in question is defamatory
•the publication in question refers to him/her and therefore is identifying him
•the publication has been published to the public eye

The person suing for libel doesn't actually have to prove the statement/publication is false nor does he/she have to prove they have suffered a loss of earnings, they simply have to prove that the statement has the potential or has caused their reputation to suffer as a result of the publication.

Defence against Defamation:

• Fair Comment - an opinion that is clearly recognised as an opinion where the subject commented on is in the public’s interest
• Justification - if the publication states facts and the matter must be proved true ‘on the balance of probabilities’
• Absolute Privilege - comes under law, to report this the journalist must be fair (balanced) and accurate (no substantial inaccuracies)
• Qualified Privilege - facts are thought to be freely known in the public interest (for example a press release)
• Accord & Satisfaction - an apology or a correction that has been accepted by the claimant

Copyright

Simply put copyright is protecting the physical expression of ideas. If one gives an idea or concept a physical form it is immediately protected, the individual in question doesn't need to register/claim copyright as it is automatic. Copyright in layman terms is similar to the offence of theft, it is the act of making beneficial use of somebody else's work without his or her permission.

The UK Copyright Service states that : "The law gives the creators of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works, sound recordings, broadcasts, films and typographical arrangement of published editions, rights to control the ways in which their material may be used.
The rights cover; broadcast and public performance, copying, adapting, issuing, renting and lending copies to the public.
In many cases, the creator will also have the right to be identified as the author and to object to distortions of his work.
International conventions give protection in most countries, subject to national laws."

Types of work protected under copyright laws:

Literary: song lyrics, manuscripts, manuals, computer programs, commercial documents, leaflets, newsletters & articles etc.
Dramatic: plays, dance, etc.
Musical: recordings and score.
Artistic: photography, painting, sculptures, architecture, technical drawings/diagrams, maps, logos.
Typographical arrangement of published editions: magazines, periodicals, etc.
Sound recording: may be recordings of other copyright works, e.g. musical and literary.
Films: broadcasts and cable programmes.

Fair Dealing, is the only defence against the offence of infringement of copyright law. Fair Dealing covers a set of possible defences against an infringement of copyright law. In the UK Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA), fair dealing is limited to the following purposes: research and private study (both must be non-commercial), criticism, review, and news reporting (sections 29, 30, 178).

There is no defence for the use of photographs. The image itself belongs and is copyrighted to the photographer who took the image and cannot be used without his/her permission. The lifting of pictures between newspapers is extremely common, there is no copyright in news story, though the actual words (especially quotes and even more especially bits of video, or clips of interviews) are protected by copyright. The reason is that the actual way in which the news story is written is the work of the journalist, as are the actual words in the quotes and as is the interview which may have been captured on film.