Shield laws for bloggers welcomed
New shield laws that will give bloggers and tweeters the same rights as professional journalists to protect their sources have been welcomed by the jounalists’ union, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, as “groundbreaking”.
The House of Represenatives yesterday backed laws that will ensure that anyone involved in the production of news – regardless of where they work – can seek to avoid a source being identified.
Jonathan Este, director of communications at MEAA, commented: “We’re happy that the new laws are as broad as they are, and go further than people working in mainstream media.”
“And we like that the onus has shifted from the journalist to the applicant: whoever is saying ‘show us your sources’, needs to explain why it’s in the public’s interest for sources to be revealed.”
My only concern with this is that now anyone can make anything up and claim it came from a source that they cant reveal, to avoid litigiation.
But ultimately, that’s no different to what we get in the news today, “…sources claim the Premier often attended all personal meetings at his parliament house office, dressed in suspenders and with clown face paint”
“Tweeters” so does this mean joe schmoe can just make shit up on twitter and hide behind laws that are designed to assist professional journalists protect their sources?
Hi Bucks and Logic,
It’s worth bearing in mind that when it comes to libel, the obligation generally remains with the media outlet to prove that what they say is true.
So while they may not be obliged to disclose a source, they’d still be liable for any claims they cannot prove.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Hi Tim, that’s a fair point, and I imagine with large publishers with lots of money to lose, they are more careful, but the cost of suing a blogger who probably doesn’t have much to sue for anyway, would prove so prohibitive (thanks ‘affordable to all’ justice system – not), that who would follow through with it?
News Limited (for example only) paper says something libelous from unnamed sources that I know is not true about me, I’ll sue them because I know that I can recoup that money with what I’d win.
Same scenario with a blogger, I doubt I would because it’d cost me more than I could get out of them.
I suppose that’s more a statement on the state of our legal system though.