Companion website for
COMPARATIVE MEDIA LAW & ETHICS
by TIM CROOK
to be published by Routledge on 15th December 2009
For details of the book, please visit Routledge.
Author's profile at Goldsmiths, University of London
'Archive audio reports on British Media Law stories by the author
The first broadcasting from the Lord Chief Justice’s Court at the Royal Courts of Justice in 1982.
The author was legal affairs correspondent for the UK IRN/LBC network and through careful negotiations succeeded in getting permission to record the valedictory (retirement) ceremony of the famous Master of the Rolls Lord Denning held in the RCJ’s largest court in July 1982.
Permission was given by the then Lord Chancellor, Lord Hailsham, then Attorney General, Sir (later Lord) Anthony Havers, the then Lord Chief Justice, Lord Geoffrey Lane, and Lord Denning himself.
This report was broadcast on LBC’s famous AM morning news programme and demonstrates the positive potential of radio broadcasting of legal proceedings.
Three historical libel cases
1984: Legendary Fleet Street Editor Derek Jameson lost his libel action against a former satirical comedy programme on BBC Radio 4 ‘Weekending’. The BBC succeeded in their defence of fair comment.
Jamieson did not appeal. Although he lost financially by bringing the libel proceedings he went on to having a successful broadcasting career with BBC Radio as a presenter on the national network BBC Radio 2.
1989: Elton John and the Sun newspaper. This was a libel settlement between the global superstar and Britain’s biggest selling daily newspaper. It was estimated that the Sun paid Elton John £1 million in damages- the then highest libel settlement.
The case was somewhat controversial because the libel judge hearing the announcement of the settlement was unhappy that it had been announced in the Sun newspaper before being read out in open court.
1993: Bianca Jagger and Simon Schuster. This was another libel settlement over a book publication, but demonstrates the way the London libel court is the focus for the preservation of the reputations of individuals with global resonance.
United Kingdom government gagging of the voices of ‘terrorist political leaders’ in Northern Ireland in the 1980s
The Conservative governments banned the broadcasting of the voices only of politicians representing parties associated with ‘terrorist paramilitary’ organisations. It was called ‘denying terrorists the oxygen of publicity’.
The NUJ and a television viewer sought to challenge this measure through the courts on the basis that this was an unjustifiable limitation on freedom of expression. But the legal action was unsuccessful even in the European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg. The case is discussed on pages 213-214 of the book.
It is somewhat ironic that the author found himself challenged trying to exercise his right to record an interview with the deputy general secretary of the NUJ Mr. Jake Ecclestone in the Great Hall of the Royal Courts of Justice.
