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Journal of Media Law, Volume 5, Issue 1 (2013)

By Media Law Prof Blog

The Journal of Media Law, Volume 5, Issue 1 (2013) is available. Check out the contents further here.

JOURNAL OF MEDIA LAW

Volume 5 .Number 1 . 2013

Commentand Analysis

AnimalDefenders International: Speech, Spending, and a Change of Direction inStrasbourg

JacobRowbottom

Abstract: This article looks at thedecision of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in AnimalDefenders International, in which the Court found the UK’s ban on politicaladvertising on the broadcast media not to violate freedom of expression. In additionto examining the Court’s reasoning, the article considers the previousdecisions on political advertising, compares the ECtHR’s approach to that takenby the US Supreme Court in Citizens United, and outlines the main differencesin the dissenting opinions.

 

Google:Friend or Foe of Ad-Financed Content Providers?

ThomasHoppner

Abstract: The more content providedto Google by publishers, the more attractive the search engine becomes.However, the more content is consumed on Google, the less traffic reaches thecontent providers. But blocking the content for Google is not an option forcontent providers either. Antitrust authorities or the legislator will have tointervene in the end. This article examines the underlying tensions betweenGoogle and providers of premium content such as news, images and videos andoutlines possible regulatory instruments to address the conflict.

 

ClosedData: Defamation and Privacy Disputes in England and Wales

JudithTownend

Abstract: The Coalition Governmenthas prioritised ‘open data’ as a ‘powerful tool’ to ’empower citizens’, with a’transparency commitment’ to publish more crime and anonymised sentencing dataand the Ministry of Justice has set out an open data strategy covering bothcivil and criminal courts. However, legal researchers frequently encounterinaccessible or ‘closed’ data, when they attempt to access basic informationconcerning civil cases. Better-organised and more open information would helpinform public debates relating to procedural and substantive civil law – thediscussion around libel reform and privacy-related interim injunctions, forexample. This paper will argue that a lack of public data about defamation andprivacy litigation, indicated by the Impact Assessment for the Defamation Bill2012 and the report by the Master of the Rolls’ Committee on Super-Injunctionsin 2011, hampers the policy-making process, public debate and academic researcharound these issues of public interest.

 

Honourin a Time of Twitter

MeganRichardson

Abstract: This note reflects on tothe debate which took place about Lord McAlpine?s alleged pedophilia on Twitterin Autumn 2012 and in the wake of the revelation that the allegations werefalse his response in invoking the law of defamation against his detractors. Contraryto those who criticised McAlpine for taking this step, arguing that onlinepublic debate would be imperiled as a result, this note accepts that law shouldplay a role in framing the parameters of online communication?and points outthat historically the public sphere has not been a lawless sphere but hasrather been framed by laws such as defamation.

 

Articles

Theoryand Doctrine of ‘Media Freedom’ as a Legal Concept

JanOster

Abstract: The evolution of theblogosphere, the phenomenon of media convergence, and the reputed decline ofthe traditional media in both its public influence and in its quality, raisequestions as to whether the media should still be endowed with specialprivileges, what its duties and responsibilities are, and what ‘the media’actually is. The objective of the article is to develop a theoretical anddoctrinal framework for the definition and treatment of ‘the media’ as a legalconcept. In order to set the right incentives for journalists and mediaentities to behave in a prudent and diligent manner, the article argues infavour of a functional and content-based approach as a third way betweenstatutory regulation and media self-regulation. Rather than arguing thatbecause a person or institution is to be categorised as ‘journalist’ or ‘media’they enjoy certain privileges and have to abide by standards of conduct, thearticle suggests that if a person or institution contributes to matters ofpublic interest in accordance with certain standards of conduct, then they areto be conceived of as media and should enjoy special privileges.

 

Accessto Information as a Human Right in the Case Law of the European Court of HumanRights

PäiviTiilikka

Abstract: The author examineswhether the right to obtain information held by state or city authorities isconsidered to be a human right guaranteed by the European Convention on HumanRights (ECHR, or ‘the Convention’). The research question is studied by analysingthe practice of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR, or ‘the Court’).According to ECtHR case law, the right to obtain information may be based onArticle 2 of the ECHR (guaranteeing the right to life), on Article 6(guaranteeing fair trial), on Article 8 (guaranteeing the right to private andfamily life), and, finally, on Article 10 (guaranteeing freedom of expression).However, there is no general right to obtain information from publicauthorities and access official documents. The ECHR is still able to bringadded value to many access-to-information cases. It brings the scrutiny andsupervision of the ECtHR into play, and the Convention and the Court thatinterprets it set the minimum standard for publicity of information.

 

Anti-TerrorLaws and the News Media in Australia Since 2001: How Free Expression andNational Security Compete in a Liberal Democracy

JacquiEwart, Mark Pearson and Joshua Lessing

Abstract: This article backgroundsthe Australian experience with national security laws using case studies tohighlight tensions between Australia’s security laws and the media’s FourthEstate role. It compares the Australian and UK human rights contexts andsuggests a cautious approach to the renewal of such laws, particularly thoserestricting public debate about national security and its impact on humanrights.

 

Deathof a Convention: Competition between the Council of Europe and European Unionin the Regulation of Broadcasting

DaithíMac Síthigh

Abstract: This article considers adispute between the European Union and Council of Europe regarding theirrespective roles in the broadcasting field, so as to explain and assess itsrelevance for the development at the international level of media law andpolicy. The dispute is a long-running one and dates back to the adoption of thefirst EEC Directive and Council Convention on this subject in 1989. It isargued that the expansion of the scope of EU broadcasting law and theconsolidation of the European Commission’s role in external affairs left littleroom for the Council to continue to exercise influence over the regulation ofthe electronic media in the way it has done for some time. The exact nature ofthe dispute between the institutions, and the response of a vocal member state,is ascertained through consideration of published minutes and internalcorrespondence, set in the context of doctrinal and political developments. Thearticle concludes with analysis of possible future actions for the Council.

 

BookReviews

KatrienLefever, New Media and Sport: International Legal Aspects

A review byRachael Craufurd Smith

 

MarkWarby QC, Nicole Moreham and Iain Christie (eds), Tugendhat and Christie,The Law of Privacy and the Media

A review by Eric Barendt

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