Law and the Media, 4th Edition

Law and the Media, 4th Edition

by Tom Crone, Tom Cassels, Estelle Overs
Released July 2013
Publisher(s): Routledge
ISBN: 9781136024412

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Book description

Tom Crone's classic text has been thoroughly revised by an impressive team of legal experts. It provides an essential source of reference for the key legal issues encountered by those who work in the media such as journalists, editors and producers, as well as media lawyers.

Topics covered include:

Protection of Reputation
Copyright and Rights Clearance
New Media
Breach of Confidence and Privacy
The Data Protection Act 1998
Reporting Restrictions, Contempt of Court and Protection of Journalistic Sources
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Official Secrets
Professional Regulatory Bodies and Advertising
The Human Rights Act 1998
The Law in Scotland and the United States of America

Comprehensive supplementary reference material is also provided, including a glossary of legal terms, addresses, telephone numbers and web sites of professional bodies, and specimen agreements including interview agreements and moral rights waivers.


With contributions from: Terence Bergin, Marietta Cauchi, Jane Colston, Mark Cranwell, Charles de Fleurieu, Simon Dowson-Collins, David Green, Peter Grundberg, Rebecca Handler, Joanna Ludlam, Rosalind McInnes, Hugh Tomlinson and John Wadham.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Halftitle
  3. Title
  4. Copyright
  5. Contents
  6. Foreword
  7. Editors’ Biographies
  8. Contributors’ Biographies
  9. Acknowledgements
  10. Table of Cases
  11. Table of Statutes
  12. Introduction
  13. PART I. Protection of Reputation
    1. 1. Defamation
      1. 1.1 Introduction
      2. 1.2 General principles
      3. 1.3 Defences
      4. 1.4 Procedure
      5. 1.5 Damages
      6. 1.6 Costs
    2. 2. Blasphemy, Seditious Libel and Criminal Libel
      1. 2.1 Introduction
      2. 2.2 Blasphemy
      3. 2.3 Seditious libel
      4. 2.4 Criminal libel
  14. PART II. Intellectual Property
    1. 3. Copyright
      1. 3.1 Introduction
      2. 3.2 Copyright work
      3. 3.3 Who owns copyright?
      4. 3.4 Infringement
      5. 3.5 Defences
      6. 3.6 No copyright
      7. 3.7 Duration of copyright
      8. 3.8 Remedies
      9. 3.9 Criminal offences
      10. 3.10 Other rights
      11. 3.11 The European Copyright Directive
    2. 4. New Media
      1. 4.1 Introduction
      2. 4.2 internet defamation
      3. 4.3 Copyright
      4. 4.4 The Data Protection Act 1998
      5. 4.5 Reporting restrictions
      6. 4.6 Obscenity and racial hatred
    3. 5. Rights Clearances
      1. 5.1 Introduction
      2. 5.2 Copyright, moral rights and performers’ rights
      3. 5.3 Assignments and licences of copyright
      4. 5.4 Rental rights
      5. 5.5 Music
  15. PART III. Privacy
    1. 6. Breach of Confidence
      1. 6.1 Introduction
      2. 6.2 What is breach of confidence?
      3. 6.3 Defences
      4. 6.4 Procedure
    2. 7. The Data Protection Act 1998
      1. 7.1 Introduction
      2. 7.2 The Data Protection Act 1998
      3. 7.3 Access to Personal Files Act 1987
    3. 8. The ‘New’ Right to Privacy
      1. 8.1 Introduction
      2. 8.2 Common law rights
      3. 8.3 The Calcutt Committee
      4. 8.4 The Human Rights Act 1998
      5. 8.5 The future
  16. PART IV. Comment on Court Proceedings
    1. 9. Reporting Restrictions
      1. 9.1 Introduction
      2. 9.2 The open court rule
      3. 9.3 The power to postpone the reporting of proceedings
      4. 9.4 The power to prevent the publication of the names of parties
      5. 9.5 Restrictions on the publication of information relating to children
      6. 9.6 Committal proceedings before the magistrates’ court
      7. 9.7 Hearings concerning sexual offences and indecency
      8. 9.8 Divorce cases
      9. 9.9 Fraud
      10. 9.10 Official secrets
      11. 9.11 Material made available on disclosure
      12. 9.12 Press challenges to reporting restrictions
      13. 9.13 Interviewing jurors
      14. 9.14 Tape recorders, photographs and sketches
      15. 9.15 Restrictions on reporting in other court
    2. 10. Contempt of Court
      1. 10.1 Introduction
      2. 10.2 The Contempt of Court Act 1981
      3. 10.3 Common law contempt
      4. 10.4 Penalties and injunctions
    3. 11. Protection of Journalistic Sources
      1. 11.1 Introduction
      2. 11.2 Section 10 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981
      3. 11.3 Police powers under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
  17. PART V. Prevention of Publication
    1. 12. Prior Restraint
      1. 12.1 Introduction
      2. 12.2 General principles
      3. 12.3 Defamation cases
      4. 12.4 Breach of confidence
      5. 12.5 Invasion of privacy
      6. 12.6 Contempt proceedings
  18. PART VI. State Restriction on Publication
    1. 13. Obscenity, Indecency and Incitement to Racial Hatred
      1. 13.1 Introduction
      2. 13.2 The Obscene Publications Acts
      3. 13.3 Indecent displays
      4. 13.4 Racial hatred
    2. 14. Freedom of Information
      1. 14.1 Introduction
      2. 14.2 Code of Practice on Access to Government Information
      3. 14.3 The Freedom of Information Act 2000
    3. 15. Official Secrets
      1. 15.1 Introduction
      2. 15.2 Section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1911: Spying
      3. 15.3 The Official Secrets Act 1989: specific disclosure of official information
      4. 15.4 The Defence Advisory Notice system
    4. 16. Parliamentary Proceedings and Elections
      1. 16.1 Introduction
      2. 16.2 Parliamentary proceedings
      3. 16.3 Elections
  19. PART VII. Media Regulation
    1. 17. Professional Regulatory Bodies
      1. 17.1 Introduction
      2. 17.2 The press: history of self-regulation
      3. 17.3 The Press Complaints Commission
      4. 17.4 Broadcasting: semi self-regulation
      5. 17.5 The Broadcasting Standards Commission
      6. 17.6 The Independent Television Commission
      7. 17.7 The Radio Authority
      8. 17.8 Other broadcast bodies
    2. 18. Advertising
      1. 18.1 Introduction
      2. 18.2 The Code of Advertising Practice
  20. PART VIII. The Law under the European Convention on Human Rights
    1. 19. The Human Rights Act 1998
      1. 19.1 Introduction
      2. 19.2 The basic scheme of the Human Rights Act 1998
      3. 19.3 The Convention rights
      4. 19.1 The HRA and the right to privacy
      5. 19.5 Other areas of impact on the media
  21. PART IX. The Law in Other Jurisdictions
    1. 20. The Law in Scotland
      1. 20.1 Introduction
      2. 20.2 Defamation
      3. 20.3 Reporting restrictions
      4. 20.4 Contempt of court
    2. 21. The Law in the United States of America
      1. 21.1 Introduction
      2. 21.2 Defamation
      3. 21.3 Copyright
      4. 21.4 New media
      5. 21.4.3 Data protection
      6. 21.4.4 Reporting restrictions
      7. 21.4.5 Obscenity and racial hatred
      8. 21.5 Invasion of privacy
      9. 21.6 Reporting restrictions
      10. 21.7 Contempt of court
      11. 21.8 Protection of journalistic sources
      12. 21.9 Obscenity and racial discrimination
      13. 21.10 Freedom of information
  22. Appendix A. Glossary of Legal Terms
  23. Appendix B. Professional Bodies
  24. Appendix C. Specimen Agreements
  25. Bibliography
  26. Index

Product information

  • Title: Law and the Media, 4th Edition
  • Author(s): Tom Crone, Tom Cassels, Estelle Overs
  • Release date: July 2013
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781136024412