...rules and regulations. Practitioners of mass communication is no exception. The individuals working under this profession have to observe and follow the law and ethics of mass communication. These are not just standards of what is right and wrong nor based only on morality, as what most people think so. There is more to ethics than their misconceptions. These standards of conduct are highly essential and therefore strict adherence is recommended. These ethics drive the practitioners to instill self-discipline, professional attitude and sense of responsibility among 1 themselves as they are guided on how to deal with day-to-day situations involving ethical dilemmas. Here in the Philippines, there have been a lot of reported cases of libel suits. No matter how hard practitioners of mass communication try to keep up with moral responsibilities, others could not fight the urge to defy the odds. There are instances wherein some reporters and journalists abuse the privilege given to them through irresponsible reporting and writing. Thus, under Act No. 3815 or the Revised Penal Code, the offenders shall be subject to...
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...it as a tort and a crime. • A defamatory matter may be of any imputation concerning any person, or any member of family, whether living or dead, by which the reputation of that person is likely to be injured. • Defamation in common law • The common law origins of defamation lie in the torts of slander (harmful statement in a transitory form, especially speech) and libel (harmful statement in a fixed medium, especially writing but also a picture, sign, or electronic broadcast), each of which gives a common law right of action. • Libel • A libel can be defined as a publication of false and defamatory statement in some permanent form tending to injure the reputation of another person without lawful justification or excuse. • libel is actionable per se, i.e., without proof of actual damage. • In libel, general damages are presumed i.e., the plaintiff does not have to show actual injury which includes compensation for disgrace, dishonor, humiliation, injury to reputation and emotional distress. • Slander and libel • Libel and slander both require publication. • The fundamental distinction between libel and slander lies solely in the form in which the defamatory matter is published. • If the offending material is published in...
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...Libel is false, “published or broadcast communication that lowers the reputation of an individual by holding him or her up to contempt, ridicule, or scorn” (Pember, 691). Defamation is a broader, more encompassing term that includes both libel, which is published defamation, and slander, which is spoken defamation. In the case Gregory v. Gregory, plaintiffs Robert, Christopher, and Samuel Gregory sue their brother, W. Patric Gregory III (“Patric Gregory”) for libel. The brothers are in a family business together called New Jersey Galvanizing and Tinning Works, Inc. (“NJG”), where one of the plaintiffs, Robert Gregory, is the president. A few years ago, the plaintiffs were involved in a dispute that did not include the defendant Patric Gregory. Siblings James Gregory, Mary Gregory O’Connor, Michael Gregory, and Elizabeth Gregory filed a complaint against Robert, Christopher, and Samuel Gregory in order to keep shares for which President Robert Gregory issued a call notice, as well as alleging conspiracy, breach of fiduciary duty, shareholder oppression, and the taking of corporate opportunity. Although James, Mary, Michael, and Elizabeth were awarded about $1.5 million total for their shares in June 2013, the court held that Robert, Christopher, and Samuel Gregory did not oppress their minority shareholders or engage in wrongdoing. In February 2014, the defendant, Patric Gregory, published and shared a binder to fifteen people in the Gregory family, including the plaintiffs and...
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...Significant Legal Decisions Involving Hate Speech in America What exactly is Hate Speech? There are many different variations to this answer. According to dictionary.com, it is “speech that attacks a person or group on the basis of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation” (“hate speech”). Anthony Lewis’ description of hate speech focuses more on the people it aims at: “Hate speech, it is called: virulent attack on Jews, blacks, Muslims, homosexuals, or members of any other group. It is pure hatred, not based on any wrong done by an individual” (157) Throughout history, many cases involving hate speech have been brought to court; each of them differ in their own ways and each brought a significant change to our Constitution. Our country prides itself in having freedom for all, and that includes freedom of speech. But when does freedom of speech cross the line? Many court decisions tried to come up with a solid answer, but there may not ever be a successful way to categorize hate speech. All of the cases covered here played a large part in transforming what the First Amendment covers. America started to recognize the significance of hate speech beginning in 1940, and policies began to form to protect offensive speech. At this point in history, hate speech was better known as “racial and religious propaganda” (Walker 62). The Holocaust was a major turning point for America, because we realized the destruction that it caused, and the government wanted to make sure nothing...
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...the photo of John Travolta described in the magazine is considered a parody, whether or not this photo in question violates the libel defamation and/or copyright laws for use of Travolta’s image, and finally, whether or not Rolling Stones Magazine is protected under their First Amendment rights. The rules of law the court will use to decide this case are listed below. Parody: is defined as a literary or musical work in which the style of an author or work is closely imitated for comic effect or ridiculed a feeble or ridiculous imitation. In other words, a parody is a form of speech protected by the First Amendment as a "distorted imitation" of an original work for the purpose of commenting on it. The subject matter is usually a political or entertainment figure or situation and it is often used in a comedic way to bring up a point or exaggerate the situation. Some forms of parody and satire are difficult to distinguish from truthful publications. Moreover, many forms of parody and satire can be particularly offensive to the subject of the parody. As a result, publication of various types of parody often involves litigation over libel, slander, and other types of Defamation. Fair Use Doctrine Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered fair, such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Section 107 also sets out four factors to be considered in determining whether or...
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...INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS LAW Introduction What is a contract and what constitutes a valid contract (chp 5) Quest.1: The employment of workers (chp 13) a. Refer to the definition-explain the relationship of the employee & employer and then the relationship of an employer/worker. b. Explain the difference between an employee and worker-each category has different rights. Refer to the text and also look at the website below. c. The employer offers a salary in exchange for the performance of duties and this is meant to be legally binding. d. Explain that there are expressed terms in a contract-these are terms that are actually stated. Give examples: such as holidays, notice period, hours of work e. Explain what are implied terms-duties of employer & employee (pg 426) f. Breach by either party & the employment contract, there is recourse in the employment tribunal. e.g if an employer unfairly dismisses the employee, there are remedies such as re-instatement, re-engagement and compensation. (PG 437-438) g. Explain if there is a breach with reference to a worker, there is limited recourse. http://www.thompsons.law.co.uk/ltext/l1520004.htm Quest.2: Supplier/ Customer (chp 10: pg 294) a. Refer to the definition-explain the relationship between the supplier & customer in the sale of goods-money in exchange for equipment. b. Explain that there are expressed terms in this type of contract-these are terms that are...
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...Case Study on tort of Defamation (Relevant to AAT Examination Paper 6: Fundamentals of Business Law) Alfred Chan, Solicitor There has been an increase in the number of defamation cases which have gone to court. In the two scenarios cases that follow, both of which are taken from recent court cases, we can see examples of legal issues in defamation and how one can approach them. Hopefully this will improve your technique in answering problem-solving type questions. First to refresh your memory, in defamation: 1. The plaintiff has to prove a. the statement is defamatory and it refers to him b. there is publication of the statement c. whether there should be special damages for slander. 2 The defendant can defend by showing the statement is a. justified (defence of justification) b. a fair comment c. made on a privileged occasion which can be i) absolute privilege ii) qualified privilege d. retracted and section 4 of the Defamation Ordinance is complied with, in the case of a newspaper defendant But the plaintiff can defeat defences 2b and 2c(ii) by proving malice on the part of the defendant in making the statement. 3. The plaintiff can claim damages if he succeeds; there is more than one kind of damages. ************************** CASE 1 A representative from an accounting firm (who graduated from the AAT 20 years before) told a prospective SME client: "I have read your company’s books. Though your accountant is a CPA, he has not served you well. See, he took so long to finish...
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...Business Law & Ethics 2 October 2012 Defamation: Daphne Auto LLC v. Pensacola Motor Sales Defamation (defamation of character) is the tort of publication of a false statement of fact that causes injury to someone’s reputation or character. Defamation allegations can also be brought via a similar arena of portraying a false light which indicates false implications rather than definitive false statements (Citizens Media Law Project). Our case, an Alabama business lawsuit, Daphne Auto., LLC v. Pensacola Motors Sales, Inc. involves defamation in the form of slander. The case was filed January 1, 2010 in Circuit Court of Mobile County, Alabama. The litigants are Daphne Automotive, LLC d/b/a Eastern Shore Toyota and Shawn Esfahani, v. Pensacola Motor Sales, Inc. d/b/a Bob Tyler Toyota and its sales manager Fred Keener. The crux of the suit references defamatory statements made about Esfahani and Eastern Shore Toyota by Bob Tyler Toyota, its sales manager, Fred Keener, and its employees to potential customers regarding his birthplace, him being an Islamic terrorist, and that he was using his dealership to fund Taliban operations in Iraq. Mr. Esfahani learned of the alleged defamation against him from a couple that had previously purchased a vehicle from Bob Tyler Toyota but were now shopping to purchase a vehicle for the wife. The plaintiff in his pursuit petitioned the court to be awarded compensatory and punitive damages on three courses of actions (Daphne v Pensacola): ...
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...everything I am. I am free to express myself. The internet gave me no limitations on how I should express my thoughts. I am a free man. And when democracy was questioned even in a democratic country like mine, the World Wide Web provided me my freedom of expression. It is a shame though that, in a democratic country like ours, a law such as the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 was passed. It’s an indirect way of putting masking tapes in our mouth. We need this law, but not to the extent of having provisions on libel. It is questionable enough that the provisions of this law are graver than the usual cases of libel. The thing I questioned most about this law is the issues of liability. Facebook and Twitter are social networking sites. They work as medium for people to interact, to communicate and to share their thoughts. Even polls and surveys by news programs (Bandila & TV Patrol) regarding an issue were made through these. How do this law determine who is liable for libel? Should people just stop tweeting “negative” things about a certain politician—despite just stating a matter a fact? People who agree and share the same sentiments cannot comment or tweet back too because they can be held liable for the same case. You cannot just tell people to not express their thoughts, it is like internet martial law. The Philippine media is one...
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...phones, newspapers, and even their peers as outlets of the media. The basic writing course that you mentioned not only discusses the varying orifices of the media but also tears apart and exposes all of the layers that make up distinctive news stories. The purpose of the media is to communicate and relay information to the general public. There are also three general purposes of communication that were identified by Harold Lasswell: surveillance of the environment, correlation of the parts of society in responding to that environment, and transmission of the cultural heritage from generation to generation. When you read a news article it seems like an easy task; gather information, write a rough draft, send it to the editor, make changes, then send it to print. What people don’t realize are the challenges of communication that writers, news reporters, and journalist need to avoid. All of these things we learned in that media class and more, which extremely beneficial especially being a college student. One of the main concerns that we discussed in this writing class, and used throughout the semester, were the nine criteria of newsworthiness. These characteristics of newsworthiness are used to prioritize and organize the information provided in news stories. Timeliness, Proximity, Prominence, Consequence, Conflict,...
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...deemed the publication defamatory of their reputation. Defamation is the publication of an untrue statement which reflects a person’s reputation and tends to lower him in the opinion of right-thinking members of society generally (Finch, 2007, p. 168). Initially, the multinational corporation threatened various broadcasters and five active members of London Greenpeace withlegal action if they did not withdraw the allegations. Under s.2 of The Defamation Act 1996 the publisher of a defamatory statement can make amends thus avoid liability if they provide a suitable correction or apology. Determined to not “give into intimidation and bullying” all but two London Greenpeace members apologised. This left McDonald’s to file an English lawsuit for libel against the remaining individuals, Helen Steel and David Morris. None of the allegations made were particularly...
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...alters its food with artificial chemistry; exploits children with its advertising; is responsible for torture and murder of animals; poisons customers with contaminated meat; and exploits its workers and bans unions. At first, McDonald’s ignored the London Greenpeace campaign but when it grew and was taken up seriously by more and more groups around the world in 1989, they decided to take extreme measures against the group. McDonald’s hired seven private investigators to spy on the London Greenpeace to find out who was responsible for the production and distribution of the leaflet. And to be able to file a libel case they will need names of individuals. So the spies penetrated to the group to get names and addresses, took letters sent to the group, got fully involved to the group’s activities, stole documents and took photographs. In 1990, McDonald’s filed libel cases on five members of the group. The company wanted those five to retract what they said in the leaflet and apologize. Three of the five retracted and apologized but two of them decided that they would fight in court to ensure that McDonald’s wouldn’t succeed in silencing their critics. And this was the...
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...restriction on the fundamental right of speech and expression conferred by article 19(1) (a) of the Indian Constitution and is saved by cl (2) of art 19. The wrong of defamation may be either committed by way of writing i.e. Libel or by way of speech i.e. Slander. There may be forms of Defamation that do not fall under Libel or Slander. A defamatory statement is a statement calculated to expose a person to hatred, contempt or ridicule, or to injure him in his trade, business, profession, calling or office, or to cause him to be shunned or avoided in society. A libel is a publication of a false and defamatory statement tending to injure the reputation of another person without lawful justification or excuse. The statement must be expressed in some permanent form. E.g. - Writing, printing, statues, pictures etc. A slander is a false and defamatory statement by spoken words or gestures tending to injure the reputation of another. * DEFENCES I. APOLOGY Apology is one of the defences to defamation. This defence is provided by the Libel Act, 1843 and the Defamation Act 1952. The Libel Act 1843 enacts, “ In an action for a libel contained in any public newspaper or other periodical publication, it shall be competent to the defendant to plead that such libel was inserted in such newspaper or other periodical publication without actual malice, and without gross negligence, and that before the commencement of the action, or at the earliest opportunity afterwards, he inserted in...
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...Discussion Question A- ( Answer In IRAC Format) A new religious group has formed in the city of Boulder that worships mountain peaks. The members of this group believe that the way to spiritual fulfillment is to live in public parks, worship the nearby mountains, and sell jewelry that the members make from rocks and trees found in the park. The city has forced the members to leave the parks at night due to an ordinance prohibiting overnight camping in the parks. The city has also ordered the members to stop advertising and selling their jewelry in the park to comply with a park rule prohibiting the placement of signs in the park by private individuals. The signs read, “Buy the most sacred jewelry around. It’s also beautiful and reasonable priced. Profits help further the worship of the mountains.” In protest, the members also made T shirts which say, “Replace the members of the city council! They are unholy and incompetent!” The city passed a resolution prohibiting persons from criticizing city officials in the city parks. The members of the group challenge the constitutionality of the city’s actions under equal protections, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech. Discuss the arguments each side would raise under each of the challenged actions of the city. Issue Spotting Is the resolution passed by the city an infringement of the freedom of religion, equal protections, and freedom of speech? Rule Freedom of speech is the political right to communicate...
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...According to Lord Atkins in the case of Sim v Stretch, defamatory statement is one which injuries the reputation of another by exposing him to hatred, contempt or ridicule or which tends to lower him in the esteem of right-thinking members of society. There are two different type of defamation namely libel and slander. Libel is defamation in a permanent form. It is visible to the eye for example written form, pictures, statutes, effigies (figure of a person). Section 3 of Defamation Act 1957 states that broadcasting of words by means of radio communication shall be treated as publication in a permanent form and constitutes libel. This type of defamation is actionable per see. Plaintiff needs not to prove damage. Slander is defamation in temporary form for instance spoken words or gestures. It is not actionable per se. For example, plaintiff needs to proof actual or special damage to succeed in his action. Actual damage is actual financial loss or any loss that may be measured in monetary term for example loss in business, employment or chance to attend social function that may be measured in monetary term. Defamation in this case is in a permanent form, which is libel. Thus no prove of special damage is necessary provided that all elements of defamation are established. In order to prove defamation, the plaintiff must establish the three elements of defamation which are the words are defamatory the word refers to the plaintiff and the words must be...
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