Media Law
MEDIA LAW
Three or two day course (negotiable)
Maximum number of students: 15
An intensive, practical coverage of legal aspects of court reporting, contempt of court, defamation, racial vilification and privacy. The three day version of the course also covers freedom of information legislation and rights to access public records, including rights contained in local government acts from state to state. Participants sit an exam at the end of the course. In the two day version of the course, this exam is administered as a take-home test. Participants are marked out of 100 on each question, and awarded a Distinction, High Credit, Credit, High Pass, Pass or Fail. Failure will reflect that a student’s grasp of the issues is not adequate to be considered “safe”.
MEDIA LAW REFRESHER
One day course
Maximum number of students: 15
Intended for those who have learned their media law on the job or some time ago, but who are out of date with recent changes to Defamation, Privacy and Contempt. The course both refreshes the memory on basic points of law and provides an update on recent changes.
MEDIA LAW FOR COMMERCIAL RADIO
Two day course (negotiable)
Maximum Number of students: 15
The course is designed to be highly relevant to radio broadcasters, whether presenters, announcers, producers or reporters. The course covers the areas where broadcasters can and do get into trouble with the law. It focuses on contempt of court (whether discussing court cases or reporting on the courts), the new uniform defamation code, racial vilification, privacy legislation and sedition as well as the relevant codes of practice and ethics. While the course is usually conducted over two days, content and the length of the course can be modified to meet the requirements of the group.
PHOTOGRAPHERS' MEDIA LAW
Half day course
Maximum number of students: unlimited.
A lecture and question and answer session on the main aspects of the law as they apply to photographers. Contempt, Defamation, Privacy and Trespass legislation are covered.
MAKING SENSE OF ETHICS
One day course
Maximum number of students 15
Journalists work under various codes of ethics, some created by their profession, some by the publishers and broadcasters for whom they work. The principles in these codes are easy enough to grasp – telling the truth, behaving honestly, avoiding exploitation – but applying them is not always easy.
When do we know we have “the truth” or enough of it to justify publishing? Is deception ever justified in obtaining material? In what circumstances, if any, is it justified? Are some forms of deception more acceptable than others? Why? What disclosures, if any, should be made to those deceived, and when? What duties do we owe to those whom we interview or take images of? How do we keep faith with those duties? How do we uphold ethical principles in the face of competitive or corporate pressures?
These are some of the questions dealt with in this course, which is designed to make concrete connections between ethical principles and the practice of journalism. During the course, participants are exposed to actual cases where major ethical dilemmas arose, and have the opportunity to raise and discuss ethical problems they have experienced personally. The purpose of the course is to help individual journalists develop decision rules for solving ethical dilemmas when they arise, and give them a framework for thinking about these matters.