Judith Townend’s doctoral research at the Centre for Law, Justice and Journalism, City University London, examines how English defamation and privacy law affect media publication processes.
My research focuses on legal restraints on the media, in particular, the pre-publication process; the interaction between media organisations and privacy/defamation law; and notions of self-censorship and the ‘chilling effect’. Research interests include: injunctions, defamation/privacy law, legal data, open justice, online publishing and blogging, media ethics and accountability.
Publications
- Townend, J. (2011) ‘Navigating digital publishing law without a ‘night lawyer’: an exploration of informal legal support networks’, Cultural Policy, Criticism and Management Research 5: 27-46.
- Townend, J. (2011) ‘Battle of (t)wits? Using Twitter as a journalistic tool’ in Face the Future: Tools for the Modern Media Age, Arima, edited by John Mair and Richard Lance Keeble
- Townend, J. (2010) ‘The ethics of the ‘blind story’ and ‘fair game’ gossip’, Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics, Vol 7, No 1 2010
Conference presentations
- Panellist, Rebellious Media Conference, London, October 2011
- Participant, Annenberg-Oxford Media Policy Summer Institute, July 2011
- Speaker, Face the Future journalism conference, Coventry University, November 2010
- Speaker, Is World Journalism in Crisis? Coventry University, October 2009
- Speaker, Institute of Communication Ethics annual conference, Coventry University, October 2009
Teaching
- Guest talks at Kingston University London; University of Lincoln; City University London; Southwestern Law School (UCL)
- Social media and community journalism seminars, MA Interactive Journalism, City University London
