Page 156 - Communication Cultural and Media Studies The Key Concepts

MEDIA LAW

Meaning is also the object of study in linguistics: see especially the
entries for pragmatics and semantics.

MEDIA LAW

The media are shaped through legislation, regulation and the legal
system. Government legislation specifies the laws that media
institutions and individuals must comply with, while the legal system
deals with how that law applies to a particular case. Legal systems vary
according to the nation and municipality within which they exist. In
general, however, media law (as common law) plays a significant role
in establishing what actions are considered permissible within the
media domain by setting precedents, whereby the outcome of
particular cases may influence decisions in future cases.
As Armstrong points out, there is no sufficient word to describe the
particular activities and occupations that media lawis concerned with
in particular. ‘To publish’ is often used in legal fields in the absence of a
more encompassing term and is applied to areas such as television, film
and advertising as well as print publishing. There is no designated body
of media law, but rather ‘most media law is the application of existing,
wider categories of law to the special problems of the media’
(Armstrong et al., 1988: 6).
The field of media lawincludes the following areas.
. Defamation involves communication that injures someone’s reputa-
tion. Libel refers to written defamatory statements and slander refers
to spoken defamation.
. Copyright is a component of intellectual property lawthat exists to
protect the rights of a creator of work to determine who
reproduces, publishes or performs, adapts or broadcast a work.
. Censorship involves setting standards in relation to controversial or
obscene material. It is a particularly problematic area in the US
where it is often found to contravene, or be in conflict with, the
First Amendment (constitutional law) right to free speech.
. Broadcast law is often reliant upon a combination of regulatory
institutions and legal rules. The basis for broadcast lawis to ensure that
ordered and compliant use of limited broadcast spectrum prevails.
. Antitrust, or media ownership laws are intended to prevent
monopoly control of media institutions and companies.

See also: Copyright, Intellectual property

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