Category: Media Matters

Will the Leveson Inquiry result in the baby being thrown out with the bathwater? In this Inforrm article, Alex Bailin QC and Edward Craven look at the DPP’s guidelines and the need for a public interest defence … more

The Australian government’s recently released Convergence Review Final Report proposes 31 reforms … Sydney media lawyers Justine Munsie and Richard Keegan review the recommendations, which are set to transform the way the media is regulated, and consumed … more

What is meant by the term public interest? And does it trump a public figure’s right to privacy? Richard Ackland casts a gimlet eye over the concept and the difference between the media and judicial view … more

What are the legal and ethical challenges for reporters live-tweeting court proceedings such as the trial of Anders Breivik? In this Inforrm piece, freelance journalist Judith Townend looks at tweeting, broadcasting and what open justice requires … more

Free public interest discussion – Wednesday April 18, Dixon Room, State Library of New South Wales … more

Chair of the UK Press Complaints Commission, Lord Hunt, launches the latest McNae’s Essential Law for Journalists by saying there’s no need for further regulation … This Inforrm report from Judith Townend … more

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has found bad-boy broadcaster Kyle Sandilands guilty of offensive comments and imposed licence conditions on 2DayFM … But what’s the real effect? Sydney media lawyer Justine Munsie looks at the investigation, the ruling and the fallout … more

Is the Finkelstein Report as dangerous as the media imagines? Richard Ackland looks at the major recommendations as well as some of the darker arts of journalistic practice not even mentioned in the report … more

As Lord Justice Leveson delves into the second phase of his inquiry into the media, a new model for media regulation has been floated – the Media Standards Authority. The proposal – drafted by Hugh Tomlinson QC – is summarised here in a piece that first appeared in Inforrm … more

In the wake of the courts’ greater willingness to grant suppression and non-publication orders, the NSW Court of Appeal has come down strongly in support of open justice. Richard Ackland casts his eye over the legal landscape, and the judgment … more

The Leveson Inquiry into News International and the phone hacking scandal is underway in London. This report, from media law blog Inforrm, summarises two key opening statements which have set the tone … more

Former Federal Court Judge Ray Finkelstein’s inquiry into Australia’s print media is hearing an embarrassment of submissions. From “private individual” Pat Burrows to the Australian Press Council, Tom Westbrook takes a look at who’s saying what … more