Newsgathering: Law, Regulation, and the Public Interest

Paul Wragg, Communications Law Newsgathering represents an important contribution to the literature on media law. It is a useful resource which serves to illustrate, as the authors show, the myriad ways in which the state can (and does) exercise coercion over the press.


Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers Here is a book that by turns, will fascinate, inform, caution and probably worry a great many editors, journalists and their legal advisers. As a first edition, it will almost undoubtedly emerge as the definitive work of reference on the legal complexities governing the newsgathering process including the protections as well as the pitfalls ... Practitioners, especially media lawyers, not to mention editors and journalists should all have a copy.

<br>Gavin Millar QC, Barrister and Deputy Head at Doughty Street Chambers, Andrew Scott, Senior Lecturer in Law at the London School of Economics <br>Gavin Millar QC is Deputy Head of Doughty Street Chambers, a set specialising in human rights law. He became a Queens Counsel in 2000 and was named Chambers & Partners Privacy/Defamation Silk of the Year in 2012. <br>Gavin has a wide-ranging media practice covering defamation, privacy, confidentiality, contempt and reporting restriction cases. Much of his media work involves asserting his client's right to free speech. He also sits on the Board of the Centre for Investigative Journalism at City University of London and is a Council of Europe and OSCE expert on freedom of expression. Gavin's publications include being a co-author (with Justice Andrew Nicol QC and Andrew Sharland) of Media Law and Human Rights (OUP, 2009). <br>Dr Andrew Scott is a senior lecturer in law at the London School of Economics. He is also Assistant Director of the Executive LLM. Andrew's research interests focus on media law and regulation, constitutional law and competition law.<br>

1. Introduction: Journalism, the Public Interest, and the Law (Regulating the Fourth Estate) ; PART ONE: SOURCES AND JOURNALISTIC MATERIALS ; 2. The Protection of Sources: General Principles ; 3. Powers to Compel Source Identity and Other Information Disclosure ; 4. Other Powers to Access Information Held by Journalists ; 5. Legal Risks for Sources ; 6. Payment of Sources ; 7. Conflicts of Interest ; PART TWO: ACCESS TO PUBLIC INFORMATION ; 8. Open Government: General Principles ; 9. Freedom of Information ; 10. Access to the Courts and Other Forums ; 11. Reporting on Public Protest and Events ; 12. Reporting on Conflict ; PART THREE: REGULATION OF INTRUSIVE NEWSGATHERING ; 13. Intrusive Journalism: General Principles ; 14. Harassment and Related Wrongs ; 15. Misrepresentation of Purposes and Entrapment ; 16. Illicit Information Gathering ; PART FOUR: INFLUENCE OF LIBEL AND PRIVACY LAWS ON NEWSGATHERING BEHAVIOUR ; 17. Libel and Newsgathering Practice ; 18. Privacy and Newsgathering Practice ; 19. Conclusion: The Future of Newsgathering Regulation