Journalism Law

There is not the space here to go into detail about media law, but it is really important that you have a proper understanding of it.

If you do not already have one, buy an up-to-date copy of McNae's Essential Law for Journalists and read it. It can be a bit dry in parts but it is a really useful tool and if you are not referring to it on an almost weekly basis then you are not using it enough.

Why You Need to Know the Law

Many journalists find media law difficult to understand and do not learn it as well as they should. The result is that they can write stories that are legally dubious. This can lead to your paper getting sued or found in contempt of court, which should both be avoided at all costs.

Other journalists go to the opposite extreme and censor their own copy unnecessarily because their lack of understanding of media law leads to them being excessively nervous. For example, a former colleague was once told by the newsdesk to remove the term "camp comedian" from an article about Graham Norton because it was apparently libellous.

The point is that a journalist should know where the legal line is so they can go as close to the line as possible without crossing it. This means they will be producing the most interesting stories possible without putting the reputation of the paper at risk and costing it a lot of money.

Your Standing in the Newsroom

Knowing the law is important when it comes to writing stories, but it is also important in how your colleagues view you. Someone who understands the media law will be seen as being more credible and worthy of trust than someone who does not, and that can mean they are given better stories to work on.

Libel and Contempt

In terms of priority, the libel laws are the most important thing to know about. You need to know what makes a statement libellous and how you can protect a statement from being libellous.

For example, if someone comes to you with a libellous statement then you can use your knowledge of the law to tell them that if they repeat the statement in a council meeting then it will have protection under qualified privilege.

The second most important thing is contempt of court. This mainly relates to court proceedings, but not exclusively. And you should realise that it is not always obvious that you will be in contempt. I once knew a reporter who ended up in front of a judge because he had mentoned that someone whose anonymity was protected had. This was because the condition was so rare that people in the local area would have been able to identify her.

Media Lawyers

One of the ways newspapers avoid being sued is using a media lawyer to check contentious articles. These can be useful because they will have a much better understanding of media law than either you or your editor.

But dealing with some media lawyers can be a frustrating experience. The problem is that they will get in trouble if they approve a story that leads to legal action but do not have any incentive to make sure an article is as interesting as possible.

Because of this, some media lawyers quite rationally err on the side of caution. But while this will minimise the chances of you getting sued, it can lead to your articles being toned down unnecessarily. If this is the case with the media lawyer you use, it is even more important that you understand media law, because it could be up to you to argue against their advice.

I once had an exclusive about how the father of shoe-bomber Richard Reid was running a crackhouse out of his Lambeth Council home. You can imagine my reaction when I was told we should not mention he was related to Richard Reid. "Whose privacy are we trying to protect?" I asked, "the guy who's running a crackhouse or the guy who tried to murder a plane-full of people?"