Tuesday, October 2, 2007

The Question of Legality

Journalism Law: the legal implications that arose from the act of new reporting and publishing. These laws relate to defamation, court reporting, contempt of coutr, and parliament, obscentity, media regulation, freedom of information legislations, intellectual property, trespassm and breach of confidence. (Pearson:199)

"Where there is no publicity there is no justice. Publicity is the very soul of justice. It is the very spur to exertion and the surest of all guards against improbity". Said by the famous 18th century Utilitarianist and philosopher, Jeremy Bentham. This quote has been revisitied in recent times to figure our the inextricable binding of these two disiplinaries.

Throughout the world we live in, both of these disiplinaries exist alongside each other but in a differing degree of balance. Our most present, common situation being where our law stifles comments often with strong brutality. Its very much the traditional 'pen versus sword' battle. In Australia we might not suffer from a dictatorial oppression, but instead we are subjected to an almost 'three's a crowd' situation where there is the always competing rewsponsibilty of the media/press our courts, the parliament, and our different levels of government

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