Investigative journalism - Media Law

I wrote this entry a while ago but forgot to post it, so here are notes on our law lecture from a couple of weeks ago on Investigative Journalism.

The key difference between investigative and everyday journalism is who sets the agenda for the piece being written. Whilst in mainstream journalism jobs the agenda is set by the editor, and is based on events that are either planned and anticipated, or surprise events that need to be reported, investigative journalism is far more independent. For an investigative piece, the agenda is set by the journalist themselves, who then seeks to uncover a story which someone, somewhere, does not want published. Investigative journalism aims to reveal hidden problems and plots in public organisations, companies or society for the benefit of the community. A good example of this is the MP's expenses scandal, revealed by The Daily Telegraph in 2009.
Of course, an undercover journalist has to be incredibly careful to do all research within the law, however when this is done correctly, it leads to some of the most incisive and important pieces of reporting.

Alongside this, the reading covered how journalists must behave when covering elections, terrorism and photography and film footage in journalism. I'll make it a quick summary.

Election coverage - under the Representation of the People Act of 1983, it is a criminal offence to make or publish false statements about election candidates as it may affect the number of votes the individual receives. The only defence is the genuine belief at the time of publishing that the statement was true. It is punishable by a fine of up to £5000. It is also illegal to publish any data gathered from exit polls before polls have closed. This is again punishable by a fine of up to £5000, or a prison sentence of up to six months.

Terrorism - under the Terrorism Act 2006, it is an offence to publish any statement or material that can be seen to 'glorify' or encourage terrorism or terrorist organisations. If a journalist conducts an interview with someone who glorifies terrorism, the journalist is protected as long as it is clear in the publication that the journalist themself was not encouraging terrorism, and it was reported neutrally.
It is also a crime, under the Terrorism Act 2000, to fail to disclose to police any information acquired that could help prevent an act of terrorism, or information that could assist in the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of a terrorist. This is punishable by up to five years imprisonment. Of course journalists must be aware of this in their work, especially if interviewing or researching anyone linked to a terrorist organisation or terrorist activities.
Further, it is an offence to elicit information that could be beneficial to any person in preparing or committing an act of terrorism, or to publish information about a member of the armed forces, UK intelligence services or a police officer that may assist a terrorist.
Under counter-terrorism law, the police have far more power than under any other law to compel a journalist to surrender research material, and so this is a delicate area for a journalist to work in.

The use of Photography and Filming - If one person is persistently followed by photographers they may successfully sue the photo journalist for breach of privacy or for harassment, this particularly affects the paparazzi. The Press Complaints Commission Code of Practice also states that journalists should not photograph individuals anywhere were they have a reasonable expectation of privacy, unless it can be justified by public interest.