If a publication may bring defamation action, what should a journalist do?
a journalist should seek legal advice
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What is defamation?
an attack on someone's reputation
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What is libel?
a defamatory statement that is written down or in permanent form
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What is slander
a defamatory statement that is spoken
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definitions of defamatory statements
- lowering a person in the estimation of right-thinking people
- disparaging a person in their business, trade, office or profession
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What is the test in law of what words mean?
what a 'reasonable person' would think they mean
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What is an inference?
a statement with a secondary meaning which can be understood by someone without special knowledge
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What is an innuendo?
a statement which seems to be innocuous to some people but is defamatory to people with special knowledge
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What is bane (poison) and antidote?
a defamatory headline which is then backed up by words in copy, however, journalists must be careful because people may not always read all the way to the end
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How have standards changed?
calling someone German would have been defamatory during WW1
calling someone gay would have been defamatory in the 80s
both of these are not defamatory now
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Why would a media organisation be reluctant to fight a defamatory case?
defamation law tries to strike a balance between the individual's right to a reputation and the right to freedom of speech
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Why may there be uncertainty how a judge will interpret meaning?
A statement that seems innocuous to one person may equally be defamatory to another
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Why might a journalist and editor find proving the truth hard?
in court, a witness' memory could prove unreliable and patchy and by the time of the trial the witness may not be able to travel
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What could happen if a media organisation loses the trial?
there could be huge costs and a media organisation considering contesting a defamation case could find it difficult to assess the damages which might be awarded should they lose
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How can an editor avoid trial?
editors may decide not to carry a story, or having carried, avoid trial by apologising and paying damages, a decision which saves on costs
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What is the 'no win, no fee' legal representation?
People who have been defamed could sue media organisations. They are represented by lawyers who receive nothing if they lost the case but could claim a success fee of up to 100% increase if they won
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Does defamation stop freedom of expression?
a defendant must prove a statement is not defamatory unless it has caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm to the claimant's reputation
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How should a journalist deal with errors?
a reporter who receives a complaint about something which has been published should refer the issue to the relevant executive or editor
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How can the court deal with a successful claimant?
a court could order the defendant to publish a suitable correction and apology and ban the defendant from publishing or further publishing the material
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How can a banning order have a worldwide effect?
The courts of member states could order the worldwide removal by online platforms such as Facebook or postings which they had found defamatory
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