A resource list for community journalists and bloggers, from my presentation at Cardiff University’s Community Journalism Conference on 16 January 2013.

Additionally, I will keep the survey about legal resources and experiences for attendees and followers of the conference open for another week: till 24 January 2013. It can be found at: http://bit.ly/cardiffsurvey

[I’m going to be launching a more extensive survey soon, which will be promoted more widely.]

Thank you to everyone who came along to the session, and the interesting questions raised and points made. Particular thanks go to Damian Radcliffe, for suggesting the session and putting me in touch with the organisers, and to Philip John for his input on the survey.

As mentioned in my last post, the event in Cardiff marked the launch of the Centre for Community Journalism, which has its own website here: http://www.communityjournalism.co.uk/

Key guides

• BBC College of Journalism Law guide, http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/collegeofjournalism/law
• Centre for Investigative Journalism guide to libel, http://www.tcij.org/resources/handbooks/libel
• David Price Solicitors & Advocates’ guide to media law, http://www.lawyers-media.com/a-guide-to-media-law/
• McNae’s student resources, http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199211548/
• Media Trust Local360 Network, Law, Ethics and Funding guide, http://local360network.mediatrust.org/howto/law-ethics-and-funding
• Sense About Science guide to libel law for bloggers, http://www.senseaboutscience.org/pages/bloggers-and-libel-law.html
• More at: https://meejalaw.com/useful-links/

Further advice / resources

• Article 19, http://www.article19.org/
• Citizens’ Advice Bureau, http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
• Early Resolution, http://www.earlyresolution.co.uk/
• English PEN, http://www.englishpen.org/
• Index on Censorship, http://www.indexoncensorship.org/
• Information Commissioner’s Office, http://www.ico.gov.uk/
• JUSTICE, http://www.justice.org.uk/
• Media Legal Defence Initiative, http://www.mediadefence.org/
• National Union of Journalists, http://www.nuj.org.uk/
• National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ), http://www.nctj.com/
• Out-Law.com, http://www.out-law.com
• Sense About Science, http://www.senseaboutscience.org

Further reading

• Speech by Lord Justice Leveson (7 December 2012) ‘Privacy and the Internet’, http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/media/speeches/2012/lj-leveson-speech-privacy-internet-07122012
• Index on Censorship / English PEN report, ‘Free Speech is Not For Sale’ (2009), http://www.libelreform.org/our-report
• Blogging and Tweeting Without Getting Sued by Mark Pearson (2012)
• Covering Criminal Courts: A Survival Guide by Sarah Chapman (2011)
• McNae’s Essential Law for Journalists, 21^st edition by Mark Hanna and Mike Dodd (2012)
• Media law and blogging research by Judith Townend (2010), https://meejalaw.com/project2010/
• Online Journalism Blog: 7 laws journalists now need to know – from database rights to hate speech

Tips

• You might only have a few followers and have restricted your privacy settings, but your social media updates are ‘publications’ and therefore you need to educate yourself about basic media law dos and don’ts, around areas such as defamation (libel/slander), breach of privacy and confidence, copyright and contempt of court
• Be very careful when commenting or reporting on ‘active’ legal proceedings, where there is a heightened risk of contempt and defamation
• While media law can be confusing and often unclear, there are plenty of resources out there: spend some time reading the key online guides and get hold of a copy of a basic and up-to-date textbook like McNae’s Essential Law for Journalists
• The civil and criminal law around blogging and social media isn’t set in stone: try and keep up to date with media law news – new legislation as well as case law – so that you are well-informed about latest developments
• Training in media law will not only help you protect yourself against legal action but it will help you maintain your right to freedom of expression, which includes the right to receive as well as impart information