Today on Media Files we look at the suppression order that prevented the Australian media reporting the Pell case - and why rushing to judge-only criminal trials may be a mistake.
AAP/PAUL TYQUIN
Pell trial reporters, a judge and a media lawyer on why the suppression order debate is far from over
The Conversation, CC BY79.9 MB(download)
On the day George Pell was sentenced, several experts with wide-ranging experiences of suppression orders discussed how they affect the public’s right to know and whether the laws should be reformed.
ACCC Chair Rod Sims released the preliminary report of the Digital Platforms Inquiry into Google, Facebook and Australian media on December 10 2018.
Peter Rae/AAP
The ACCC would like closer scrutiny of digital platforms such as Facebook and Google – in particular with regards to user privacy, market power and operational algorithms.
Sir Cliff Richard: what BBC did was an abuse of free speech.
Victoria Jones/PA Wire/PA Images
Judge’s decision means the media cannot identify a suspect until they are arrested. This may be challenged on appeal.
A large slab of defamation action in Australia is now disputes between individuals over comments posted online, rather than high-profile actions like Rebel Wilson’s.
Mal Fairclough/AAP
Rebel Wilson’s large damages award for defamation is a salutary lesson that defaming a celebrity with an international profile can lead to a substantial payout for the economic harm done.
Leader of Finsbury Park mosque, Mohammed Kozbar, speaks to media after the attack as Jeremy Corbyn looks on.
Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA
The proposed anti-siphoning changes certainly shift the economic balance from free-to-air to pay-TV, as well as from government intervention in the sport TV market to more open market play.
Giving a reference is protected, in defamation law, by the common-law defence of qualified privilege.
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In many cases, a reference will contain negative things about its subject. This is part of a reference’s design: the referee should give a full and frank assessment.
The revelation that PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel financed the Hulk’s lawsuit against Gawker raises important questions in the battle between privacy and a free press.
The 60 Minutes employees Tara Brown and Stephen Rice arriving home from a Beirut prison.
Dean Lewins/AAP
When Channel Nine was implicated in an illegal ‘child recovery’ operation, many would have assumed the media regulator would investigate. Yet Australian broadcasting standards are so limited there will probably be no independent inquiry at all.
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield said the government would establish stronger local content obligations for regional commercial TV.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
The government wants to push the biggest overhaul of Australia’s media laws in a generation through parliament before the election.
Indonesian media moguls have argued that the internet means cross-media ownership laws that prevent common ownership of radio, television and newspapers are obsolete.
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Indonesia’s media landscape may be a model which Australia is emulating as it looks to change media ownership laws. There are positives to this, but also causes for concern.
Paul Weller brought a case over the use of images of his children.
Dylan Martinez/REUTERS
Hulk Hogan is suing Gawker for $100 million in a case that not only could bankrupt the media empire known for its gossip but could erode the First Amendment as well.
Joe Hockey’s successful defamation case against Fairfax Media raises questions about the extent to which politicians should be able to sue in relation to publications about their public conduct.
AAP/Dan Himbrechts
Hockey v Fairfax illustrates that recent legal and technological developments still pose challenges for defamation law, which has not been reformed to keep pace with these changes.
Picking a fight with a media company should not be a politician’s priority.
AAP/Nikki Short
The elephant in the room in the just-concluded defamation case between Joe Hockey and Fairfax Media was the actual story being attacked. Media organisations ought to be able to instigate the debate without fear of reprisals by litigious politicians.
Treasurer Joe Hockey has been awarded damages from Fairfax Media.
AAP/Julian Smith