Unit overview: Law for Journalists

‘You will never be released — Death Behind Bars for MP Killer’.

‘Taxidermy Thieves ran off with chimp in Top Hat!’

‘The Cannibal Who Ate Cop with Chopsticks’.

Shocking headlines, but these are just some of the stories journalists have covered in UK courts in recent weeks.

They make dramatic headlines and amazing tales to tell.

But as well as writing top quality copy, journalists covering these cases need to know how the law helps and hinders how they do it.

And that’s why all our journalism students take a second year unit called Law for Journalists.

It helps them unravel some of the legal difficulties journalists and publishers face, day in, day out, in offices up and down the country.

Law for Journalists isn’t just for those thinking of going into hard news reporting. Every journalist involved in every publication must have a really good working knowledge of media law.

That includes sports, travel, feature and magazine writers and, especially, journalists who travel the globe covering celebrity news and gossip.

Law for Journalists helps make our students better, more employable journalists, able to avoid hefty fines and super-expensive libel cases.

And those going into related careers like public relations or corporate communications also need to know where the legal boundaries lie.

Law for Journalists also prepares our students for the NCTJ’s media law examinations — essential professional qualifications for anyone seriously considering a career in journalism.

Studying media law isn’t about turning students into frightened rabbits, caught in the glare of legal headlights. Quite the opposite.

The aim is to help students understand how the law impacts upon all sorts of different publications and how to use it effectively and confidently.

If you know the law well, know how far you can go, know what your rights and restrictions are, you are much more likely to push the boundaries safely and produce a better story.

We study the law by looking at current cases from across the UK, how they are reported and how the law impacts on those reports.

We look at a wide range of topics including defamation, copyright, privacy and confidentiality and how to report major crimes like murder, fraud and sex offences.

Our students go to magistrates’ and crown courts to put their studies into practice in the real world, covering real cases.

We also teach our students to stand up for their rights, to challenge authority and ensure they can freely express themselves without facing punishment.

In King Alfred’s day, that punishment could include having your tongue cut out for slander.

Thankfully, in Britain today, the penalties for getting it wrong aren’t quite so physical — but they can be almost as painful.

In defamation law, the full cost of losing a libel trial can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds. Imagine what that would do to any publication’s bank account.

Editors want safe stories but they also want great stories.

Journalism is all about beating the opposition, producing the best story that informs, entertains and educates.

And they want journalists who can do that safely, without costing them a packet or leaving them to face a trial of their own.