Page 10 - Law and the Media

Foreword

Over the last decade much has changed for the newspaper editor, writer or producer. Today’s journalist
or broadcaster must be aware of an ever-increasing amount of legislation and number of regulatory
schemes, as well as a rapidly evolving succession of communication systems. Traditional print media
now incorporates new forms of publication such as the internet, news providers rely on videophones
to relay instant images from the deserts of Afghanistan to the homes of digital viewers and
broadcasters constantly reassess the methods of delivering their product to the public.
Understanding the law is consequently vital to those working in the media at every level. Editors,
journalists and broadcasters talk to their lawyers daily about potentially contentious stories and
programmes. Much of the daily news is concerned with events in the law courts and Parliament and
consideration must always be given to the laws of libel, reporting restrictions and official secrets. All
written material and every television and radio programme must conform to the laws of copyright,
rights clearance and breach of confidence before publication or transmission, whatever the format.
Of equal importance is the fact that new methods of communication have broken down long-
standing international legal barriers. The modern journalist or broadcaster must confront the laws of
countries other than their own, or run the risk of legal proceedings for libel, breach of copyright,
contempt of court or invasion of privacy in another legal jurisdiction.
This book is therefore to be warmly welcomed. It is written by lawyers prominent in their respective
fields of expertise. It sets out the fundamentals of the law most likely to be of concern to those working
in the media and provides guidance on the legal issues subject to current debate: new forms of media,
the Human Rights Act 1998 and the thorny question of privacy. It sets out the law in Scotland and the
United States of America, the two countries where journalists and broadcasters in the United Kingdom
are most likely to run foul of different legal principles, and provides invaluable assistance to the busy
journalist or broadcastder through comprehensive appendices which include the web sites of relevant
professional bodies and specimen agreements. It is a book which deserves to be within easy reach of
journalists, writers and broadcasters at every stage of their working day.

Rosie Boycott
Former editor of the Independent, the Independent on Sunday and the Express
Presenter of BBC2’s Life Etc and BBC Radio 4’s A Good Read