Hey all,
Here are some of the notes from today’s tute RE: defamation.
I encourage you all to visit the ACMA website, the CBAA website and read over the RRR Codes of Practice again, and again…(this is the most important thing!)
ROOM WITH A VIEW – MEDIA LAW
The media in Australia is subject to a range of laws and codes of practice, which are relevant to the day to day broadcasting of news and current affairs.
There is no universal “freedom of speech” in Australia – the right of the media and the public to talk about and disseminate information is always covered by legal and ethical restrictions.
The purpose of these laws is to balance free speech with the occasional negative consequences of speech on individuals and society.
For the sake of Room With A View, our main concern is around defamation, which we’ll be looking at specifically in the context of community radio.
So, what is defamation?
Defamation occurs where something is published which contains defamatory material identifying a third person, not-for-profit organization or a company with fewer than 10 employees.
But what is defamatory material?
A statement can be considered defamatory if it:
– injures the reputation of a person, not for profit organization or company with fewer than 10 employees (“the plaintiff”) in the eyes of ordinary reasonable people
– exposes the plaintiff to hatred, contempt or ridicule
– causes the plaintiff to be shunned or avoided
What are some examples of defamatory material?
Some examples of defamation include statements that a person is dishonest, corrupt, unfair, unethical, guilty of a crime or incompetent. You can also defame someone by mentioning something that is beyond their control, if doing so will cause them to be shunned or avoided and/ or expose them to ridicule. Eg. Saying someone has an infectious disease, is insane or insolvent.
What is considered a ‘publication’ through which it is possible to defame somebody?
Significantly, in defamation law a publication might be anything from:
- – a radio or television broadcast or internet transmission
- – newspaper article or a book
- – letter or email
- – cartoon, poser or advertisement
- – gesture
The point is – the rules of defamation apply equally, whether you publish to a national audience or via an email to a person other than the person defamed.
Who is responsible?
The messenger gets shot. Anybody involved in the publication through which the defamation occurs may be liable. For example, the broadcasting organization, the editor, the presenter, the producer and the source of the material may all be sued (even if it is a guest on your program who says something defamatory!).
This includes if the station broadcasts or ‘re-transmits’ another network’s footage or program.
In short, if your guest defames somebody, you + your guest + RRR can all get in trouble.
How to avoid defamation when expressing opinion…
The defamatory statements must be clearly identifiable as opinions and not statements of fact.
These opinions must be based on facts which are provable or privileged
The facts must be set out in the story or be well known
The opinion must be honestly held
The comment must be on a matter of public interest
IMPORTANT
Bear all of this in mind with regards to Triple R Codes of Practice. Familarise yourself with the Codes of Practice – specifically this extract:
Code 3: Purpose General programming To encourage programming that reflects our community interest and guiding principles
3.1 Our community radio station will not broadcast material that may:
(a) incite, encourage, or present for its own sake violence or brutality,
(b) mislead or alarm listeners by simulating news or events,
(c) present as desirable the use of illegal drugs, the misuse of tobacco or alcohol as well as other harmful substances, and
(d) glamorise, sensationalise, or present suicide as a solution to life problems. In particular, broadcast material should not provide explicit details about the method and/or location of a suicide attempt or death.
3.2 We will attempt to avoid censorship where possible. However, in our programming decisions we will consider our community interest, context, degree of explicitness, the possibility of alarming the listener, the potential for distress or shock, prevailing Indigenous laws or community standards and the social importance of the broadcast.
3.3 We will not broadcast material that is likely to stereotype, incite, vilify, or perpetuate hatred against, or attempt to demean any person or group, on the basis of ethnicity, nationality, race, language, gender, sexuality, religion, age, physical or mental ability, occupation, cultural belief or political affiliation. The requirement is not intended to prevent the broadcast of material which is factual, or the expression of genuinely held opinion in a news or current affairs program or in the legitimate context of a humorous, satirical or dramatic work.
3.4 We will have programming practices that protect children from harmful material but will avoid concealing the real world from them.
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