The Communicator S Guide To Media Law And Ethics

This book offers an introduction to the key legal and ethical topics confronting Australian journalists and strategic communicators both at home and internationally and offers a suite of reflective techniques for navigating them.

This book offers an introduction to the key legal and ethical topics confronting Australian journalists and strategic communicators both at home and internationally and offers a suite of reflective techniques for navigating them. It starts by positioning morals, ethics, and the law in their historical and philosophical frameworks by tracing the evolution of free expression and professional media ethics. Media law and ethics are then contextualized in their modern international human rights framework. Readers are equipped with a skill set for reflecting on the law and ethics of professional media dilemmas - including mindful reflection, the Potter Box, journaling, concept mapping, and discussion. Such approaches are then applied to key topic areas, including free expression; reputation; confidentiality; privacy; justice; intellectual property; national security; discrimination and harassment; and conflicted interests. Each is examined in terms of its philosophical underpinnings, relationship to human rights, professional ethical context, international examples, legal principles, key Australian laws, legal cases, and strategies for applying reflective practice techniques. It concludes on a confident note - imploring communicators to engage in constructive and mindful strategic communication with the authority and confidence that results from a working knowledge of media law and ethics. This handbook is for professional communicators and students in all fields, but particularly in journalism, public relations, corporate communication, media relations, and marketing.

We are all journalists and publishers now: at the touch of a button we can send our words, sounds and images out to the world. No matter whether you're a traditional journalist, a blogger, a public relations practitioner or a social media editor, everything you publish or broadcast is subject to the law. But which law? This widely used practical guide to communication law is essential reading for anyone who writes or broadcasts professionally, whether in journalism or strategic communication. It offers a mindful approach to assessing media law risks so practitioners can navigate legal and ethical barriers to publishing in mainstream and social media. This sixth edition has been substantially revised to reflect recent developments in litigation, and the impact of national security laws and the rising gig economy where graduates might work in the news media, PR, new media start-ups, or as freelancers. It covers defamation, contempt, confidentiality, privacy, trespass, intellectual property, and ethical regulation, as well as the special challenges of commenting on criminal allegations and trials. Recent cases and examples from social media, journalism and public relations are used to illustrate key points and new developments. Whether you work in a news room, in public relations or marketing, or blog from home, make sure you have The Journalist's Guide to Media Law at your side. 'Whether you're an MSM editor or reporter, a blogger, a tweeter or a personal brand, this book might save your bacon.' - Jonathan Holmes, former ABC Media Watch host 'The leading text book from which most journos learned their law' - Margaret Simons, associate professor in journalism, Monash University

This book offers an introduction to the key legal and ethical topics confronting Australian journalists and strategic communicators both at home and internationally and offers a suite of reflective techniques for navigating them. It starts by positioning morals, ethics, and the law in their historical and philosophical frameworks by tracing the evolution of free expression and professional media ethics. Media law and ethics are then contextualized in their modern international human rights framework. Readers are equipped with a skill set for reflecting on the law and ethics of professional media dilemmas – including mindful reflection, the Potter Box, journaling, concept mapping, and discussion. Such approaches are then applied to key topic areas, including free expression; reputation; confidentiality; privacy; justice; intellectual property; national security; discrimination and harassment; and conflicted interests. Each is examined in terms of its philosophical underpinnings, relationship to human rights, professional ethical context, international examples, legal principles, key Australian laws, legal cases, and strategies for applying reflective practice techniques. It concludes on a confident note – imploring communicators to engage in constructive and mindful strategic communication with the authority and confidence that results from a working knowledge of media law and ethics. This handbook is for professional communicators and students in all fields, but particularly in journalism, public relations, corporate communication, media relations, and marketing.

This comprehensive textbook provides a thoughtful introduction to both the legal and ethical considerations relevant to students pursuing careers in communication and media. The fully revised, sixth edition continues to integrate fundamental legal and ethical principles with cases and examples from both landmark moments and recent history. It expands upon the previous edition's exploration of international and non-U.S. law, introduces a new chapter on digital and social media, and incorporates discussion of new technologies and media throughout its coverage of core topics such as privacy, intellectual property, defamation and commercial speech. Coverage of recent court cases and congressional hearings brings readers up to date on the evolving discussion surrounding Facebook, Twitter and today’s other major online players. This hybrid textbook is ideal for undergraduate and graduate courses in media and communication that combine law and ethics. Online resources including chapter PowerPoint slides, study guides and sample teaching materials are available at www.routledge.com/9780367748562

The professional communicator (journalists, public relations practitioners and literary writers) faces legal, ethical, professional and corporate challenges in their day-to-day work that are not easily reconciled. The new media landscape of the 21st century, including anti-terror, iniform defamation, cross-media ownership and intellectual property reforms, compound these challenges. Specifically designed for professional communicators, this book is a guide in charting the roles of professional communicators in context, while also looking at the relationship between media and the legal system. The work addresses each legal and/or ethical challenge or limitation faced by a professional communicator, ensuring they have knowledge of their legal rights and responsibilities. Essential topics coverse are : Freedom of speech, Freedom of information, Contempt of court, Intellectual property, Privacy.

The third edition of Media Law and Ethics features a complete updating of all major U.S. Supreme Court cases and lower court decisions through 1998; more discussion throughout the book on media ethics and the role of ethics in media law; and an updated appendix that now features a copy of the U.S. Constitution, new sample copyright and trademark registration forms, and the current versions of major media codes of ethics, including the new code of the Society of Professional Journalists. Extensively updated and expanded chapters provide: *more detailed explanations of the legal system, the judicial process, and the relationship between media ethics and media law; *new cases in this developing area of the law that has attracted renewed attention from the U.S. Supreme Court; *the new Telecommunications Act and the Communications Decency Act; *a discussion of telecommunications and the Internet; *new developments in access to courts, records, and meetings such as recent court decisions and statutory changes; and *more information about trademark and trade secret laws and recent changes in copyright laws, as well as major court decisions on intellectual property. The book has also been updated to include new developments in obscenity and indecency laws, such as the Communications Decency Act, and the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Reno vs. ACLU. In addition, the instructor's manual includes a listing of electronic sources of information about media law, sample exams, and a sample syllabus.