Well, we’ve been here before. On Wednesday, the comedian, author and activist Russell Brand threatened to sue The Sun after the newspaper ran a front-page feature labelling Brand a hypocrite for “ranting…
In the awful narrative around the allegations of sexual assault and rape made against iconic American entertainer Bill Cosby, a major theme has been the perceived failure of the media to challenge him…
It is a sad day when senior political figures steal a journalist’s recording device and destroy its contents, as we have been told happened at this year’s Victorian Labor Party conference. But it is an…
The fall-out from the collapse of the Tulisa Contostavlos prosecution in London is the detonation of another anti-media rage in the continuing crisis for British journalism ethics. The former X Factor…
There is no arguing against the fact that the trial of Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson and others has been a disaster for British journalism, and has catastrophically worsened its reputation. But there remains…
Treasurer Joe Hockey’s decision to sue Fairfax Media for defamation over the now-notorious front-page story “Treasurer for sale” raises interesting questions about politicians suing to protect their reputation…
The internet is an endless source of information. But who is liable if the information is wrong or, at least, misleading? Existing laws on publishing, information and privacy were not designed for the…
Last November, a young man was ordered by a NSW court to pay A$105,000 in damages for defaming a teacher at his former school on Twitter. The decision, which only came to light earlier this week, should…
A few days ago Paul McMullan, former deputy features editor on the News of the World, popped up on a Sunday morning debate programme with his oft-repeated lament that, in the wake of the “chilling effect…
For the past 12 months we’ve been warned on an almost daily basis that the sky is about to fall in on media freedoms in Australia, but what does the legislation before parliament this week actually propose…
When sport and drugs are involved, often hyperbole is not far away. “This is not a black day in Australian sport, this is the blackest day,” opined the former head of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping…
Fairfax investigative journalists Nick McKenzie and Richard Baker had a small win in a Melbourne court yesterday. Their barrister told the court that a previous ruling agreeing that the magistrate had…
When you make money by being infamous, as 2DAY FM does, the odds are that eventually your infamous behaviour will land you in serious trouble. That has now happened with the hoax phone call to the King…