Media law and ethics » bloggers

Announcement: Launch of new survey on the legal experiences and views of journalists and online publishers

jtownend — Tue, 14 May 2013 08:00:03 +0000

A new survey for journalists and bloggers, which can be found at this link, aims to collect information about their experiences of and views on libel and privacy law

A system of arbitration is at the heart of Lord Justice Leveson’s recommendations, and different versions are included in the the government’s draft Royal Charter and the industry’s own proposals [PDF].

The suggestion is that an arbitration service could deal with libel and privacy complaints that would otherwise go to court.

Last minute amendments to the Crime and Courts bill (now Act) would allow for bloggers to opt into the regulatory arbitration system and receive costs benefits.

Additionally and separately, recommendations have also been made for Mediation and Early Resolution in defamation disputes.

However, there is very little solid data about the nature and quantity of legal claims made against the media, including small bloggers. Because the majority of libel claims, for example, are believed to be resolved out of court, there is no complete record of disputes.

In short, little is known about bloggers’ and journalists’ actual legal experiences and opinions.

In an effort to build a better picture and to help inform the development of new alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, I am launching a survey as the final part of my doctoral project at the Centre for Law, Justice and Journalism (CLJJ), City University London.

This questionnaire is open to all types of journalists and online writers who expect their readership to be predominantly based in England and/or Wales.

Please take part and share your experiences and encourage your colleagues and friends to participate as well.

All data will be collected anonymously with no identification of organisations or individuals.

The questionnaire can be found here:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/medialawsurvey

Many thanks for your help! If you have any questions you can email me (judith.townend.1@city.ac.uk) or tweet me (@jtownend).

About the project

This survey is part of Judith Townend’s doctoral project at the Centre for Law, Justice and Journalism (CLJJ), City University London. The research project, which has been given ethical approval by the CLJJ, explores how journalists and online writers are affected by libel and privacy law, as well as other social and legal factors. It will draw attention to the issues faced by online writers and journalists, and help inform the development of resources in this area.

About this questionnaire

The questionnaire is open to all types of journalists and online writers who expect their readership to be predominantly based in England and/or Wales.
It should take between 10 and 30 minutes to complete, depending on your experiences and views. Some questions require an answer so you can be taken to the next relevant question.
All data will be collected anonymously with no identification of organisations or individuals.
The information you have submitted will included in a final report to be published in 2013/14, which may be used for future online and print publications.
Please contact Judith Townend with any questions, or to obtain the final results.

Contact details:

Judith Townend, c/o Peter Aggar, Centre for Law, Justice and Journalism, City University London, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, Tel: +44 (0)20 7040 8167

E-mail: judith.townend.1@city.ac.uk

Consultation for bloggers: ‘small-scale’ publishers and media regulation

jtownend — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 10:54:06 +0000

The Leveson Inquiry’s focus was on the “press”, but a new system of media regulation implemented through a Royal Charter and the Crime and Courts Bill could have a much wider remit, depending on how a “small-scale” publisher is defined.

Many online writers are concerned by the potential negative consequences if they don’t join the new regulator. Others may wish to be part of a new regulator, in order to access its arbitration services (see Carl Gardner here, for example) but are unsure how it will work in practice. There are numerous practical issues to be dealt with, beyond the question of expected membership (see another post by Gardner here).

The Media Reform Coalition has launched an online survey: answers can be submitted anonymously but it asks you to identify the type of publication on whose behalf you’re responding. There is also a briefing document entitled “Small publishers, online journalism and the new system of press regulation” [PDF].

via Consultation for bloggers on the new Crime and Courts Bill | Media Reform Coalition.

Related reading:

LSE Media Policy Project: Leveson vs the Bloggers: How to Make Regulation Work for Everyone [March 2013]
Damian Radcliffe: Hey! Regulator! Leave those Hyperlocals alone! [August 2012]
An elephant in courtroom 73? Social media, regulation and the law [August 2012]

Sense About Science releases legal leaflet for bloggers

jtownend — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:34:23 +0000

Last week Sense About Science, one of the three main organisations involved in the campaign for libel reform, released a six page guide for bloggers: “So you’ve had a threatening letter. What can you do?” It is published in association with Index on Censorship, English PEN, the Media Legal Defence Initiative, the Association of British Science Writers and the World Federation of Science Journalists.

[PDF link to leaflet here]

It followed Sense About Science’s survey into online writers and the impact of libel law. I also did some research into blogging and the law over the summer – the results of which you can read here.

It should be noted that the organisation says that the new leaflet is certainly not a “substitute for legal advice, but it does provide information which other bloggers and writers who have been through the experience say they wished they had known at the outset”.

I have uploaded the leaflet onto Scribd, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 UK England and Wales licence.

View this document on Scribd

Last day to fill in the survey

jtownend — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:15:39 +0000

I’m going to close my survey for UK-based online publishers on Friday night (September 3rd). I’m really pleased with the response so far and look forward to analysing the results properly. A big thank you to everyone who passed the link around, by Twitter or other means. And I’m especially grateful for the mention it got on these sites:

But you’ve still got time till the end of the week! Here’s the link:

There’s also the Help Me Investigate group at this link, which anyone can join to share thoughts and findings about legal risks for online publishers. I plan to keep the investigation open, as an ongoing project.