Media Law & Ethics - Lecture 6, 26/02/14

Confidentiality; 

A breach of confidence is where someone on the inside has leaked confidential information to the press or other sources.

Papers have leaked material in the past; there is the example of an old case where the jury refused to convict as they had sympathy with the leaker and believed it was beneficial in the public’s interest.

There is a more recent case that is still circulating the news that breaches confidentiality laws; this being the Edward Snowdon and wiki leaks case. Edward Snowdon, a former employee of the CIA who specialised in computers came to international attention when he disclosed a vast number of classified documents  to several media outlets. These documents contained information about operational details of a global surveillance apparatus that was ran by the NSA (National Security Agency).

Qualified privilege; qualified is determined by circumstance and place.

As long as reports are;

• Fast
• Accurate
• Fair
• Without malice
• In the public’s interest
• No privilege outside of main proceedings

A defence is available when it is considered that the fact should be freely known in the public’s interest. The public is considered more important than any potential defamatory risk.

BBC News ‘Credit Suisse ‘aided’ US tax evaders’ there is a risk of their reputation being damaged as it is a defamatory statement however this headline can be printed because of qualified privilege.

Another occasion where qualified privilege may arise would be in an annual general meeting of shareholders where the shareholders may defame the company but as a journalist we have qualified privilege to report this.

There has been some tidying up of the law in this area which has helped journalists as it has regularised some of the areas that were particularly grey, especially during press conferences of high profile cases where a statement may have been made that is defamatory, as a journalist we need to known whether or not we can we quote this statement. 

Absolute privilege; absolute is determined by anything covered in court

Anything to do with absolute privilege refers to what we get when covering cases in court. It must be accurate, fair and competent.

There are different levels of qualified privilege that split into two; ‘without explanation and contraction’

• Public proceedings in a legislature anywhere in the world
• Public proceedings in a court anywhere in the world
• Public inquiries
• International organisation or conference

Part two privilege;

Subject to explanation and contradiction which are often found in;

• Public meetings
• Local councils and committees
• Tribunals, commissions, inquiries
• General meetings of UK public companies
• Company documents or extracts

Pressers;

• Pressers are public meetings (Lords 2000)
• Written hand outs are also covered
• Consider risks of live broadcasting; will there be wild accusations? For example alleged misconduct of injustice – allegations about the police may be made which you would not want broadcasted live on television. Even though you are protected under qualified privilege you would not be allowed to make defamatory statements without explanation.  

Inquests;

The purpose of an inquest is to establish the cause of death if it appears ‘violent or unnatural’.

• Conducted by coroners
• Does not rule on who may be responsible
•  Inquests provide great material for stories

Inquest juries;

In exceptional cases where the coroner rules that;

• Deceased was in state detention
• Death result of an action by police
• Result of workplace accident

Types of verdict;

• Narrative verdict – increasingly common
• Short form – ‘natural cases’/’misadventure’/’accidental death’/’dependence on drugs’
• Unlawful killing or open verdict

If there is a jury and a verdict of unlawful killing or open verdict is decided it makes a much more interesting report. As the inquest has gone ahead and a jury needed to made the final verdict it is clear that the police have taken a different view however if the jury says that someone was unlawfully killed it puts the case back to the police.

Media Rules;

·         Inquest is a court proceeding protected by absolute privilege

·         Covered by contempt of court Act – so no publishing of prejudicial material

·         Coroners can impose reporting restrictions – if a child is present or giving a statement.

Ethics and treasure;

• Be aware of bereaved families in your coverage
•   Coroners must decide whether found objects of value are ‘treasure’ and subject to reward.