Media and the Legal Framework: A Sociological Perspective

Sociology
Law in action
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Introduction

Sociology
There is a lot of debate which targets the media on how it conforms to the legal framework
within the society. The paper discusses some aspects which have been facing the media industry.
Whether media pay enough attention to the legal aspect of stories they cover or they are
concerned with sensationalism, politics or personalities
To me, I think that most of the times media pay much attention to the legal aspect of the stories
they cover. Well, the aim of the media is to present what is happening in our society and the
entire country. 1This means that media has the authority to reveal any irrelevant practice being
carried out by some of our members in society. Media is controlled by the law which stands for
truth and accuracy. Well, sometimes reports may be true or wrong although large number of
news from media are true. For example, during our class work, we learned the case of Janine
Bowater. In this case, one can just summarize some weaknesses and strength of the media on
news coverage. The media reports gave different information related to the case of Janine
Bowater. 2The media that is the Daily mail indicated that Janine Bowater was a barmaid and she
was a mother of three of which was totally incorrect and she had no emotion as she stood in the
dock. On another hand, the BBC added that: ‘As with all deaths in custody, there will be an
1 Victor & Hoffman. "Media effects: Do terrorist organizations launch foreign attacks in
response to levels of press freedom or press attention?" Conflict management and peace
science 33, no. 4 (2016): 381-399.
2 Andrea, Pin & Sobbrio. "Paying positive to go negative: Advertisers׳ competition and
media reports." European Economic Review 83 (2016): 243-261.

Sociology
independent investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.’ The two media reported
different information. This raises the issue of media ethics.3
In general, the report revealed by the media about the case of Janine Bowater shows the
weakness of media. This on its own does not mean that the media is more concerned with the
sensationalism or on political gains. Most of the times the media observe ethics and principles
outlined in the Media Act. There a lot of issues which have been presented by adhering to
principles and ethics of media in the nation. Most of the times the reports we get from media
have truth and accuracy. This means that journalist in our media always they guarantee truth in
the reports and that why they present the news with the relevant facts. The issue of truth and
accuracy is said to be the major principle of media when it comes to media ethics and code of
conduct. For example in our class work, we have seen the case of Richard Wilmot and his ex-
wife Vicky Maughan. The two couple had marriage issues and the court ruled on justice and
fairness. From this case, we can see how the media revealed the information. The reports
indicated that how Richard was fined by the court after some scientific investigations were
carried out to identify the identity of the child in the court. The media shows that the DNA
results revealed that Richard was the father of the child and he was fined for irresponsibility.
Generally, this case is relevant to the concept of truth and accuracy. The media here reports the
case depending on the facts whereby the facts here are then results carried out to identify the
identity of the child in the case.
3 Kenneth . "Lack of Political Will." In Impediments to the Prevention and Intervention of
Genocide, 3(17), pp. 41-56. 2017.