NEWSDESK LAW

The final episode in the series concludes with a look at the more practical and common sense aspects of reporting on court proceedings..

This 30th episode is our final look at media ethics for the time being but from the perspective of OFCOM - the Office for Communications. There is, however, a surreal twist...because the interview was conducted using artificial intelligence - in this case, ChatGPT impersonating an Elvis Presley impersonator...Why? Well all will become clear when you listen to the episode...but be warned, this may be one of the worst Elvis Presley impersonations you are ever likely to hear...ever.

This episode continues the overview of ethics with a look at IPSO - the Independent Press Standards Organisation - and a discussion of what it does with its Head of Complaints, Emily Houlston-Jones.

This episode features an interview with Lexie Kirkconnell-Kawana, the Chief Executive of the Independent Monitor of the Press - better known as IMPRESS. Here she outlines the work of IMPRESS and how it seeks to support its members to navigate the challenges of ethical journalism and promote good practice.Note: During the discussion, there is a reference to the term SLAPPs - a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. This is a type of legal action aimed at preventing lawful investigation into a matter of public interest.

This is the first of a series of episodes focusing on media ethics with an introduction centred around an interview with Professor Chris Frost, the leading authority on journalism ethics in the UK. Here he outlines what ethics is, why they matter in journalism and some of the key ethical challenges facing journalists and content creators in the contemporary media environment.

An overview of Copyright - what it is and why it is so important for journalists to understand and anyone else for that matter who uses information they have not created themselves.

This episode outlines the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FoI), why it is useful for journalists and anyone else for that matter, seeking to obtain information from a public body and how to go about making a request for such information under the act.

An outline of what data protection is, its relationship to privacy and how the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) fits in to all of this.

An examination of privacy injunctions and more landmark cases and their shaping of our understanding of Privacy under English Law.

This episode outlines and briefly examines specific ‘landmark’ cases charting the way the law on privacy has both developed and changed over the past two decades and further explore what is meant by breach of confidence.

This episode continues to examine the development of the law of Privacy in English Law with a focus on how the courts decide issues concerning a misuse of private information.

An introduction to the law of Privacy and its development in English law.

This episode outlines briefly the background and current application of the Public Interest Defence set out in the 2013 Defamation Act.

This episode outlines the defence of Statutory Privilege and its two main categories - Absolute Privilege and Qualified Privilege.

This episode outlines the Honest Opinion defence in defamation when it could used and the pitfalls to be wary of when expressing opinions on social media.

An outline of the key defences in defamation before focusing on the first one: Truth, including the key principles and examples from case law.

Introducing the first of five episodes examining defamation, beginning with its definition and its two forms - Libel and Slander.

This episode outlines the structure of civil courts and the rules around media coverage of certain categories of civil cases.

An outline of what a coroner’s court does and the issues journalists must consider when reporting inquest proceedings.

An overview of the current law concerning sexual offences and the rules around the identification of victims, alleged or otherwise.

We continue our examination of examples of Contempt of Court but with a particular focus on social media.

This episode examines the law that oversees how Crown Court proceedings can be reported to ensure that a subsequent trial, if it takes place at all, is fair.

The process involved in a jury trial and the types of issues a reporter would need to consider when reporting such proceedings are outlined in this episode.

This episode outlines the court where the most serious criminal cases, concerned with indictable offences, are heard - the Crown Court: What a court room looks like and who takes part in proceedings held there.

This episode examines the rules around reporting proceedings in youth courts and the restrictions on reporting cases involving children in adult courts.

We look at the first example of how media law impacts directly on journalism- through what we can and cannot report concerning magistrates' court proceedings.

In this episode we continue our overview of the criminal court system with a particular focus on categories of criminal cases and who's who in the magistrates court.

Introduction to the basics of reporting criminal proceedings - from arrest to initial court appearance.

The second part of our focus on the legislative process with an overview of the UK parliamentary process involved in proposing, debating, examining and approving law.

An overview of the UK legislative system - history and law-making process.

Introduction to a podcast all about media law and ethics in the UK. It is primarily aimed at journalism students, journalists and content creators. It covers the basics of Contempt, Defamation, Privacy, Data Protection, Freedom of Information and Copyright. Based on original content in the book Newsdesk Law by Vincent Kelly LLB.