Reviewed February 2021 IPSO is the regulator which adjudicates on the Editors’ Code of Practice. Most national and regional newspapers groups as well as the UK magazine industry have signed up to IPSO. It has a complaints panel to adjudicate on possible breaches of the Code. The code committee oversees and updates the Code of […]

Reviewed November 2019 NUJ members who cover criminal court proceedings, whether in person or not, need to be aware of the latest guidance for the media, and for judges, to minimise  the likelihood of being in contempt of court, facing defamation claims or disciplinary proceedings at work. These guidelines apply to written articles, broadcasting, photography […]

Reviewed November 2019 1. Copyright in Photographs before and after 1989 Copyright in photographs is normally owned by the photographer nowadays, but if the photo was taken prior to 1989, when the law was changed, it is owned by whoever commissioned the picture. This is worth bearing in mind if you are planning to use […]

Reviewed February 2021 In the UK victims of sexual offences are given anonymity as soon as they report a sexual offence. That report can be to any third party – a bystander, a friend or colleague. Therefore, it is not necessary for the matter to have been reported to the police for anonymity to apply. […]

Reviewed February 2021 This means that a numbers of aspects of their lives are not to be revealed unless it can be shown it is in the public interest to do so. Matters which are often regarded by the courts as being private are: Family life and children Sexual relationships Health Religion Commercially confidential relationships […]

Reviewed November 2019 RECEIVING leaked information from an inside source can be very tempting for a publisher in search of an exclusive story. Caution must be exercised both with the information and the source. Whistleblowers, if they are an employee, are breaching their duty of confidentiality to their employer. You as a publisher are also […]

Reviewed February 2021 LEGAL RESTRICTIONS ARE IN PLACE IN CASES THAT APPEAR IN MAGISTRATES COURT, BUT WILL BE TRIED AT A LATER DATE IN FRONT OF A JURY AT CROWN COURT. The restrictions on these reports used to be the so-called ’10 points’ of Section 8 of the Magistrates Court Act 1980, which governed reports […]

Reviewed October 2016 Although internet publication internationally has few ethical codes binding it, in many countries web publication linked to publishing companies will be expected to adhere to basic ethical principles. In the UK, newspaper websites are expected to comply with the requirements of the Editors’ Code, which is administered by the Independent Press Standards […]

Reviewed February 2021 DEFAMATION IS THE LAW THAT PROTECTS THE REPUTATION OF INDIVIDUALS AND CORPORATIONS. It comes in two forms – libel, which is permanent so covers print, broadcast and online publication – and slander which is spoken word. Most of the time as journalists we are concerned with permanent publication, in print or online, […]

Latest update: November 2019 Copyright is one of the laws that protects intellectual property. You need to know how much of other people’s words or photography you can use. What is protected? Literary, dramatic, artistic, musical works, sound recordings, photographs, film, broadcast or typographical arrangement (layouts) Copyright does not have to be registered – so […]