Page 32 - Law and the Media

Introduction

An understanding of the law is essential for anyone working in the media, whether as a journalist, editor
or producer. Media lawyers must be aware of the legal principles that relate specifically to journalism
and the broadcast media. It is virtually impossible to present the daily news without reference to events
in the law courts or the rules of legal procedure, or to produce a television or radio programme without
consideration of the laws of libel and copyright.

The law is not simply a series of rules arrived at indiscriminately. It is a sophisticated and complex
system of rules and regulations devised over many years to meet certain social needs and to administer
the relationships between individuals, and between individuals and the State. In England and Wales,
unlike many other countries where the law originated with a single code or a set of codes, the law is
founded on a mix of ancient custom and judge made law, known as the Common Law, and more recently
Parliamentary legislation, known as statute.

The common law dates from the twelfth century, when the King’s judges were entrusted with the task of
setting up a system of laws that would apply throughout the country. The system was based on local
customary rules and became the first form of national law. Over the years, the common law has become
a body of legal principles and notions of public policy applied and developed by judges from one
generation to the next. Over the last few decades, Parliament has rationalized and codified the common
law through the enactment of statutes. However, what is passed as law by Parliament is not always as
clear as it should be. The result is that statutory legislation also relies heavily on the judiciary for its
interpretation and application. Every year there are ‘test cases’ aimed at setting the meaning and effect of
recent legislation.

Since, in general, the law reflects the standards of society, it does (albeit sometimes slowly) move with
the times. The three areas that have had the most impact on media law in recent years are new media, the
introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the development of new laws relating to privacy.

New media

In the 1990s, the media industry was revolutionized by what became known as ‘multimedia’ products
and ‘the information superhighway’. New media is extremely important to those working in the
media. Almost all traditional forms of publishing and broadcast are now stored and transmitted in new
media formats.

The rapidly changing world of new media presents the law with new challenges. Like most other
countries in the world, the law of England and Wales has not kept pace with technological advances.