Ordinary News Journalism involves simply telling the news, and is determined by what the public want to know about, which is known as the 'news agenda'. Investigative Journalism on the other hand involves going off the agenda and deciding for yourself what people want to know and hear about.
An example of this sort of journalism is BBC Panorama where they try and uncover stories which can create an agenda of their own, as they subsequently become topical because of the show.
Journalist's must consider six key points when publishing an investigative piece of journalism. They are as follows;
(1) Be sure of your witnesses;
Always make sure your witnesses are available to give evidence if you need them to. Make sure they are alive, awake and in the country!
(2) Make sure your witnesses are willing to give evidence;
Make sure you are 100% certain that your witnesses will turn up in court if they are needed.
(3) The standing of your witnesses;
It is widely accepted that an upstanding member of society such as a Nurse or a Police Officer will offer more support in court than a ex-convict street sweeper.
(4) Signed Statements;
Investigative journalist's should ensure that they get a signed witness statement from the time and has it clearly signed.
(5) Be cautious of photocopied documents;
It is always best to use the original and you may have to prove in court that your copy is authentic otherwise.
(6) Ensure you keep all evidence;
Journalist's are expected to always be able to prove their facts in court, so they must keep shorthand notes at all time and not dispose of rushes.
Saturday 12 November 2011
Sunday 6 November 2011
Media Law-Confidentiality and Privacy
Confidentiality is at the moment an incredibly hot topic in the media. There has been a large number of high profile cases in which confidentiality has been breached by journalist’s in recent times which increases the importance of Journalist's knowing these laws inside out.
When reporting on something personal it is vital to remember article eight; 'Everybody has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.'
Confidentiality depends on the type of secret information concerned (e.g official secrets is different to hearsay), as well as the expectation of the person passing on the information that it will be kept secret.
For something to be deemed secret information officially it has to have the necessary quality of confidence (i.e. not a rumour from a stranger), was gained in circumstances that both parties would understand that it should be kept secret (i.e. in a meeting with a doctor but not at a party or in a pub), no permission was given to pass on the secret and that harm would come to the person passing on the secret if it became public. It is important to remember that all of these four points have to be there for something to legally deemed 'confidential'.
Confidentiality laws can only be broken if the secret is in the public interest, and when a journalist is thinking about what is in the public interest they have to be careful to define what is in the public's interest-and not what is just of interest to the public.
'Public interest' is only a defence if the article has involved;
-Detecting or exposing crime, or serious impropriety.
-Protecting public health and safety
-Preventing the public from being mislead by an action or a statement of an individual or organisation.
The Public Interest is a buzz-word for tabloid newspapers particularly in celebrity journalism.
It was that final public interest item that was used a defence for the exposure of Ryan Giggs as a love cheat. It came out in the press that Ryan Giggs, a world famous footballer who was married with kids, had been involved in a sex scandal involving a model, as well as the wife or his own brother. Giggs complained that he had a right to privacy, that had been breached by the news stories. But the judge deemed that the public had been mislead in the past as Giggs was presented as a role model, and Giggs had consequently lost his right to privacy.
However it is important to remember that public interest isn't a valid defence in libel cases, but in privacy cases it is a strong defence.
People also have a right to confidentiality when being pictured. The publisher would need permission to use a picture of someone in their journalism safely. This consent can be either Explicit which is the written form of consent, or Implicit which is where the person is aware the picture is being taken.
When reporting on something personal it is vital to remember article eight; 'Everybody has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.'
Confidentiality depends on the type of secret information concerned (e.g official secrets is different to hearsay), as well as the expectation of the person passing on the information that it will be kept secret.
For something to be deemed secret information officially it has to have the necessary quality of confidence (i.e. not a rumour from a stranger), was gained in circumstances that both parties would understand that it should be kept secret (i.e. in a meeting with a doctor but not at a party or in a pub), no permission was given to pass on the secret and that harm would come to the person passing on the secret if it became public. It is important to remember that all of these four points have to be there for something to legally deemed 'confidential'.
Confidentiality laws can only be broken if the secret is in the public interest, and when a journalist is thinking about what is in the public interest they have to be careful to define what is in the public's interest-and not what is just of interest to the public.
'Public interest' is only a defence if the article has involved;
-Detecting or exposing crime, or serious impropriety.
-Protecting public health and safety
-Preventing the public from being mislead by an action or a statement of an individual or organisation.
The Public Interest is a buzz-word for tabloid newspapers particularly in celebrity journalism.
It was that final public interest item that was used a defence for the exposure of Ryan Giggs as a love cheat. It came out in the press that Ryan Giggs, a world famous footballer who was married with kids, had been involved in a sex scandal involving a model, as well as the wife or his own brother. Giggs complained that he had a right to privacy, that had been breached by the news stories. But the judge deemed that the public had been mislead in the past as Giggs was presented as a role model, and Giggs had consequently lost his right to privacy.
However it is important to remember that public interest isn't a valid defence in libel cases, but in privacy cases it is a strong defence.
People also have a right to confidentiality when being pictured. The publisher would need permission to use a picture of someone in their journalism safely. This consent can be either Explicit which is the written form of consent, or Implicit which is where the person is aware the picture is being taken.
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