Media Law Handbook

Freedom of speech has never been an absolute value in the political and legal landscape - not in Australia, and not anywhere else. Laws on defamation, blasphemy, copyright, obscenity, incitement, secrecy, contempt, racial vilification and sedition are some of the laws that commonly impinge on freedo...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Fernandez, Joseph
Other Authors: Richard Nile
Format: Book
Published: Griffin Press 2007
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/4637
_version_ 1848744572226633728
author Fernandez, Joseph
author2 Richard Nile
author_facet Richard Nile
Fernandez, Joseph
author_sort Fernandez, Joseph
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Freedom of speech has never been an absolute value in the political and legal landscape - not in Australia, and not anywhere else. Laws on defamation, blasphemy, copyright, obscenity, incitement, secrecy, contempt, racial vilification and sedition are some of the laws that commonly impinge on freedom of speech. These laws exist to protect countervailing interests that may deserve priority over freedom of speech in the event of a conflict between the two. Our laws reflect the belief that the need for social cohesion and the need to maintain public order require limitations on freedom of speech where this freedom may lead to a breach of the peace. It accepts that words, images and information can seriously injure individuals and institutions and their economic and social wellbeing. As more Australian jurisdictions embrace the need for the protection of human rights through charters and similar instruments, freedom of speech - a fragile creature of innovative judicial thinking - is gaining a stronger foothold in the statute books. This text incorporates discussion of recent amendments including the law pertaining to journalists' confidential sources. The Media Law Handbook considers the laws that impact on freedom of speech and is an essential guide for journalists and other engaged in the media.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T06:03:36Z
format Book
id curtin-20.500.11937-4637
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T06:03:36Z
publishDate 2007
publisher Griffin Press
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-46372017-01-30T10:40:28Z Media Law Handbook Fernandez, Joseph Richard Nile Freedom of speech has never been an absolute value in the political and legal landscape - not in Australia, and not anywhere else. Laws on defamation, blasphemy, copyright, obscenity, incitement, secrecy, contempt, racial vilification and sedition are some of the laws that commonly impinge on freedom of speech. These laws exist to protect countervailing interests that may deserve priority over freedom of speech in the event of a conflict between the two. Our laws reflect the belief that the need for social cohesion and the need to maintain public order require limitations on freedom of speech where this freedom may lead to a breach of the peace. It accepts that words, images and information can seriously injure individuals and institutions and their economic and social wellbeing. As more Australian jurisdictions embrace the need for the protection of human rights through charters and similar instruments, freedom of speech - a fragile creature of innovative judicial thinking - is gaining a stronger foothold in the statute books. This text incorporates discussion of recent amendments including the law pertaining to journalists' confidential sources. The Media Law Handbook considers the laws that impact on freedom of speech and is an essential guide for journalists and other engaged in the media. 2007 Book http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/4637 Griffin Press restricted
spellingShingle Fernandez, Joseph
Media Law Handbook
title Media Law Handbook
title_full Media Law Handbook
title_fullStr Media Law Handbook
title_full_unstemmed Media Law Handbook
title_short Media Law Handbook
title_sort media law handbook
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/4637