Media Law: Legal Issues in Publication and Defamation

This report analyzes the legal issues in publication and defamation in media law. It discusses the laws and defences applicable in the situation, with examples and cases. Recommendations for legal publishing are also provided.

Running Head: MEDIA LAW
Media Law
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note

1MEDIA LAW
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
The main media law issues which arise via the Publication......................................................2
How such laws and any possible defences in relation to them may be applicable in the situation
in the light of Cases, Examples and Legislations.......................................................................3
Recommendation for publishing as much as possible...............................................................5
Conclusions................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................7

2MEDIA LAW
Introduction
Those who are involved in media and publication have to act in compliance with several
legal provisions which have been imposed on them by statue and common law. These laws have
been imposed on the media and publication sector so that not only their rights are protected but
also so that they do not cause unnecessary intervention with the rights of others (Butler and
Rodrick 2015). In relation to a publication there may be several legal issues which can be
invoked such as copyrights issue for publishing copyright materials, privacy issues which may
arise out of publishing confidential information and defamation issues which may arise out when
the reputation of a person is harmed without any evidence. The purpose of this report is to
analyze the legal issues which have come to existence in the given case study. The paper
provides a discussion in relation to how such laws and any possible defences in relation to them
may be applicable in the situation in the light of cases, legislations and examples. The paper also
recommends a course of action for the publisher to publish as much content as possible legally.
The main media law issues which arise via the Publication
 The primary media law issue which has been identified in this situation is related to the
defamation. Defamation can be described as a communication from an individual to other
individuals other than those whose reputation has been injured and the person
communicating such information has no legal defences. The law of defamation has been
introduced for the purpose of balancing the protection of a person's reputation against
injury and the freedom of speech (Mills 2015). When a person causes harm to the
reputation of another person or group of person in from of any other person through
making an expression or statement without proper proof than such person is said to have

3MEDIA LAW
committed defamation. However, there are certain defences in relation to defamation
which may be applicable where derogatory statements have been made. The defences if
can be identified may exclude the liabilities of the person making the derogatory
comment. These defences include that the statement is truth, the statement is a mere
opinion, it has been done via the consent of the person who claims defamation, retraction
of the statement, absolute privilege and qualified privilege. The provisions in relation to
defamations are governed by the provisions of Defamation Act 2006 (Middleton, Lee and
Stewart 2017.)
 Another issue may be related to that of copyright. Copyrights are those rights which are
provided to those who give rise to an original work such as music or literature.
Copyrights may be infringed when a person uses the copyright material belonging to a
person without approval. Copyrights do not have to be registered rather they are created
as soon as a work has been created. The provisions in relation to copyrights are governed
by the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) (Overbeck, Belmas and Shepard 2015)
 Another issue which have been indentified in relation to this post is the issue related to
breach of privacy laws. The breach of privacy laws takes place when confidential
information in relation to a person is leaked or published without taking approval of the
person. There are serious consequences of breach the privacy laws in Australia. The rules
in relation to privacy are governed by the provisions of Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)
(Overbeck, Belmas and Shepard 2015.)

4MEDIA LAW
How such laws and any possible defences in relation to them may be applicable in the
situation in the light of Cases, Examples and Legislations.
In the post in context which has been posted to Celebrity Whispers’s website there are
chances of defamation being invoked. Here Oscar-nominated Australian actor Sam Sleeze have
been reported to have given an enticing look to a 14 year old and had asked to drop him home.
This information is based on the hand-written daily diary of his 14-year-old co-star Tyson
Bryson which mysteriously found its way onto our Celebrity Whispers news desk. The
reputation has been further damaged by the post as it has attempted to portray before the viewers
that Sam is indulging into unethical behaviours with teen agers and have further advised him to
be careful in relation to the matter.
The reputation has been further damaged via the comments which have been made in
relation to post as it can be clearly depicted that the people have been influenced via the post and
have also started to make derogatory comments which are affecting the reputation of the Actor.
In a very recent case Reid v Dukic [2016] ACTSC 344, the supreme court of Australian Capital
Territory made an order to award the plaintiff $180,000 because it found that the nine
defamatory posts have been made against him. In this case the court stated that actions in
relation to defamation to social media without any basis either driven by malice or rage may also
lead to defamation. Thus the primary element which needs to be analyzed in the given situation
is that whether the post in context is made based on a proper source. Here the source which has
been used as a basis for making the post is a personal diary of a 14 year old which may not be
considered as a reasonable basis by the courts. The provisions in relation to what will be
considered as a reasonable basis have been discussed by the court in the case of , Dow Jones &
Co Inc v Gutnick (2002) 210 CLR 575. As reported by the Brisbane times a woman had been

5MEDIA LAW
able to make a claim for $10000 against her husband who stated that she "commits criminal
offences". In the case of McDonald v North Queensland Newspaper [1997] 1 Qd R 62 the court
analysed the defences in relation to a defamation claim. The court stated that if statement is truth,
the statement is a mere opinion, it has been done via the consent of the person who claims
defamation, retraction of the statement, absolute privilege and qualified privilege than a
defamation claim will be dismissed. However in the present situation any of the defences are
likely not to apply as it would be difficult to provide that there is any truth behind the allegations
which have been made. The defence in relation to a statement of opinion may also not be
applicable as it does not reasonably look like an opinion as asked for in the case of Rogers v
Nationwide News (2003) 216 CLR 327.
The laws in relation to copyrights are provided through Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). The
legislation provides that Copyrights may be infringed when a person uses the copyright material
belonging to a person without approval. Copyrights do not have to be registered rather they are
created as soon as a work has been created. Thus in the given situation it can be stated that the
diary of the teenager may be a copyright material as it has been created by him and cannot be
used without his consent or approval. Provisions of copyright infringement were discussed in the
case of SRC IP Holdings Pty Ltd v The Australian Council for Educational Research Limited
(ACER) [2012] FCA 779.
The laws in relation to privacy are provided through Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). According
to these laws it is illegal to leak or publish the private information of a person without approval
of such person. These provisos had been discussed in the case of Australian Broadcasting
Corporation v Lenah Game Meats Pty Ltd [2001] HCA 63. In this case it had been stated by the
court that any information which is personal in nature can be regarded as private information.

6MEDIA LAW
Here the post has been made based on the personal diary of a 14 year old. This would be
regarded as personal information. Thus publishing such information without proof is a breach of
privacy laws.
Recommendation for publishing as much as possible
Form the discussion it can be analyzed that the in order to ensure that the post is legal the
illegality in relation to the post as discussed above have to be mitigated. The illegality in relation
to defamation can be mitigated by firstly retracting the post and then presenting it in a way like it
seems to be a mere statement of opinion rather than allegations. In addition the issues in relation
to copyrights and privacy can be mitigated by taking proper consent and approval from the
teenager as required by the law (Pearson and Polden 2014).
Conclusions
It can be concluded from the above discussion that there have been various laws which
have the potential to be infringed by the post made namely that of defamation, copyrights and
privacy laws. The breach of these laws can lead to significant detriments for the publishers as
they may be subjected to fines and penalties as done in the above discussed cased. In relation to
defamation there are very slim chances that any defences would apply in the situation. In order
for publishing as much content as possible the above recommendations have to be considered.

7MEDIA LAW
References
Belmas, G. and Overbeck, W., 2014. Major Principles of Media Law, 2015. Cengage Learning.
Butler, D.A. and Rodrick, S., 2015. Australian media law. Thomson Reuters (Professional)
Australia Limited.
Middleton, K.R., Lee, W.E. and Stewart, D., 2017. The law of public communication. Routledge.
Mills, J.L., 2015. Privacy in the new media age. University Press of Florida.
Overbeck, W., Belmas, G. and Shepard, J., 2015. Major principles of media law, 2016. Nelson
Education.
Pearson, M. and Polden, M., 2014. The Journalist's Guide to Media Law: A handbook for
communicators in a digital world. Allen & Unwin.