There are restrictions on speech and the press. Freedom of the press means, “immunity from previous restraints or
(LawTeacher, n.d) It can say that the laws of defamation are a regulator and watchdog of the media. The media face a threat of libel, they have to be extra careful when publishing to avoid involving in a defamation case. Journalists should not be nervous that they do not publish news that can upset audience because of being sued. There are several of effects that the laws of defamation can bring to the
Alan Greenblatt, states in his article “Free Speech at Risk” that, “It should continue to fall upon the press to ensure that the standards it embraces are of the highest order of professionalism and integrity. What is required is not state control of statutory regulation. But the press must be held accountable for egregious abuses of its own privileged position within a democracy.” Most journalists strive to exercise their freedom to publish the news in a responsible and ethical manner. Although journalists are free to publish any information they desire this does not mean they cannot be exempt from liability for what they publish. If a journalist publishes false information about a person they can be sued for libel.
In the last few months, the current situation of asylum seekers has caused an increment of racist remarks in the news. The migrant crisis is currently considered a hot topic in the press, what implies that those events are considered newsworthy (NewsBank, 2015; Van Dijk, 1991, p.3). Actually, the press has always been a significant tool to spread ideologies, being racism one of them (Van Dijk, 1991, p.10). Consequently, racism in the press is an interesting topic of research for many sociolinguists, as the linguistics’ professor Teun A. Van Dijk.
The question is not whether newspapers are better equipped or not to operate broadcast services, but what is good for the people and the country. Also it is not a question of business interests alone. The creativity and entrepreneurship potential in the country being what it is and the imbalance and inequalities in access to media being what they are, certain cross media regulations are more than desirable. Business interests of a couple of media barons will no doubt get affected because of such regulations. But a much larger number of people, readers as well as viewers, will eventually be the beneficiaries; so also the journalists and the democratic process and civil society (Nathan:
Journalism’s Emerging Ideological Strife The concept of freedom of speech and expression is one that is paramount in a profession like journalism. Journalists are often considered the watchdogs of democracy. This notion holds true in every sense. After all, media is the “Fourth Estate” in the United States of America and the “Fourth Pillar of Democracy” in India. When an institution is entrusted with a responsibility this huge, it becomes essential to ensure that it be free of any bias.
In this way, malpractices prevailing in the society are checked and stopped. First of all, it offers us a lot of news about the day-to-day happenings of the world. Thus it keeps us always alive to the goings on of the globe. In countries where democracy prevails, freedom of the press is preserved and thus helps the individual considerably to frame his own judgments about issues. It also makes the Government, aware of the lapses or shortcomings of its aims and achievements.
In the U.S. the newspaper industry would consider the codes of the PCC to be a form of "prior restraint," which has been struck down almost every single occurrence in a court of law. Essentially, no one can tell the press what it can and cannot print. It essentially has the freedom to invade the privacy of whomever it wishes, whenever it wishes, and in any manner it wishes. Since there is no regulatory body in the U.S., the press has relied on court cases to set for itself its own check system based on libel and defamation cases. Rather than rely on a separate governing body to come up with a code for them, every newspaper in the nation has its own set of standards, and relies on the nationally accepted list of offenses even Supreme Court judges use for libel cases, centering on actual malice, knowledge by the reporter that the information was or probably was false, whether or not actual harm was done to the individual or individuals in question,
The Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 3. Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 4. State-based religious law governing Islamic publications 5. Film Censorship Act 2002 The Sedition Act and the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) remain the laws most frequently used against critical speech in Malaysia and they are used for the criminal laws to arrest, question, and prosecute individuals for peaceful speech.
THE students are exposed to a number of basic subjects in journalistic studies. These include Introduction to Journalism, Photojournalism and Reportage, Broadcast News, Reporting Practices. Broadcast Radio Journalism, , Print Production, Online Production, Convergence Portfolio, Media and publication