This edition retains the basic chapter structure of its predecessor,
but the content within those chapters has been revised to include
fresh and ground-breaking new cases, legislative amendments and
important new laws and interpretations of some issues. Recent
research has shown that media law is no longer a contest between large
media organisations and the rich and famous of society. There is a
much larger proportion of litigation between ordinary citizens over
what they have said about each other on social media or on private
websites. This is also reflected in the kinds of cases we profile in this
edition.
There is also an increased emphasis on the higher pressure and pace
of the 24/7 news cycle across a range of media, exacerbating the risks
to communicators and publishers through their own work and the
contributions of third-party commenters on their social media feeds
and sites.
Like earlier editions, the book aims to give professional
communicators and students a basic working understanding of the
key areas of media law and ethical regulation likely to affect them in
their research, writing and publishing across media platforms. It tries
to do this by introducing the basic legal concepts while exploring the
ways in which a professional communicator’s work practices can be
adapted to withstand legal challenges.