Newsroom Law

This book is meant to guide, comfort and support journalists. While they may chafe against the many legal restrictions, they should know that there is a lot they can do and say within the law. With a better understanding of their legal rights, journalists can go about their business with greater confidence, knowing when to yield and when to stand firm. Kathy Ann Waterman Latchoo begins by placing journalism in a constitutional context and ends with an overview on damages for defamation and a glossary of legal terms. She describes our legal systems and the hierarchy of courts, which every journalist should strive to understand, whether or not assigned to the court beat. In Newsroom Law, she seeks to demystify libel law, including the Reynolds public interest defence, which has put fresh emphasis on what constitutes "responsible journalism". Other chapters alert journalists to the legal pitfalls in covering parliamentary affairs, elections and court cases. Cyber-libel, copyright and freedom of information are also included and the chapter on investigative journalism seeks to answer common questions such as whether photographers may use telephoto lenses to capture people in private; whether journalists may record conversations covertly; and whether it is ever permissible to break the law to expose evil.

An indispensable survival guide for anyone in the media industry and the lawyers who serve them Especially now, in an age of instant global access through digital media, it is vitally important that journalists, authors and publishers, as well as the lawyers who serve them, be fully up on the laws governing media, worldwide. The ultimate resource for all the media content providers and purveyors, this fully updated and expanded Third Edition of the critically-acclaimed handbook offers you instant access to relevant libel and privacy laws and important legal rulings in the Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. It clearly and concisely explains risks publishers should know about prior to publication, steps they can take in order to avoid legal conflicts, and legal defences available to them in the event of a claim. Offers nation-by-nation summaries of libel and privacy law written by local practitioners in an easy-to-use reference format Expanded to include coverage of important emerging territories—Mexico, Israel, and Argentina, et al—as well as the latest libel and privacy rulings Features new chapters on emerging media markets—including Israel, Mexico, Argentina, Jordan, and others—as well as valuable updates to the Middle East section Provides updates on all major media markets and nations, along with coverage of changes in libel laws in key jurisdictions, including Australia, the UK, Hungary and Germany

Into the Newsroom provides a rigorous investigation into the everyday rituals that are performed in the television newsroom, and offers a unique suggestion that news is both a highly haphazard and yet technologically complicated process of deliberate construction involving the interweaving of reflexive professional journalists as well as developing, unpredictable technologies. Arguing specifically for a recognition and an exploration of technological agency, this book takes the reader on an exciting journey into the digital newsroom, using exclusive observation and interviews from those journalists working on the BBC's recent pilot project of local television news as part of its empirical evidence. This is an essential introduction for both those seeking to understand news processes at the level of every day routines and practices, and for those students and scholars who are eager to adopt new and challenging ways to theorise news as practice.

This book interrogates the process of court reporting on rape and other sexual crime cases involving Australian footballers. At the intersection of sport, gender, media and the law, it uncovers the story behind rape myths and stereotypes in media. This book analyses newspaper reporting alongside transcripts of the trials they represent and interviews with the journalists themselves. Waterhouse-Watson’s work maps structural factors within newsrooms, and the complex relationship between the judiciary and media, that affect the practice of court reporting. This book approaches key journalism concepts like objectivity and balance critically, illustrating the layers of mediation that surround a complainant’s testimony; the way sport shapes the meaning of courtroom and media narratives in these cases; and the tension between racism and sexism when race is thematised or otherwise highlighted. Ultimately, the book proposes an ethics of court reporting that protects individual complainants, as well as advancing public understandings of the crime.

Through anecdotes, history, and analysis, this book offers sound advice to prepare prospective editors for the full range of their duties: editing copy, determining what is news, understanding graphics and design, directing coverage, managing people, and coping with a spectrum of ethical and legal dilemmas.

This book provides an extensive overview of producing in the ever-changing field of journalism for all types of newsrooms. Featuring interviews with renowned journalism professionals, A Complete Guide to Television, Field, and Digital Producing offers an in-depth look at the broadcast, field, and digital producing practices of newsrooms today. The book is divided into three parts: television news producing, field producing, and digital producing. Each part provides a clear explanation of the producing role before going into more detail on important skills such as developing stories, writing copy, creating graphics, producing live on location, audience engagement, and using social media. Each chapter includes a variety of supplemental material, including discussion questions, keyword definitions, classroom activities, and graded assignments, including rubrics. Written with a combined 64 years of journalism and journalism education experience, the book will prepare students to produce whatever their job requires. Taking an integrated approach to journalism education, this is a vital text for journalism and media students studying digital media, broadcast journalism, social media, and reporting.

Debuting in its first edition, Communication Law is an engaging and accessible text that brings a fresh approach to the fundamentals of mass media law. Unique in its approach and its visually attractive design, this text differentiates itself from other current texts on the market while presenting students with key principles and landmark cases that establish and define communication law and regulation, providing a hands-on learning experience.