Media Law In Australia – Principles, Pitfalls and Potentials discusses an array
of laws that impact on the media’s publishing activities. It focuses on the laws
that media professionals and others who are preparing publication content
must consider. A national audit of free speech commissioned by the Right To
Know Coalition grouping of Australia’s main media organisations reported in
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2007 that Australians were being denied vital information about how they are
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governed and how justice is dispensed and that journalists faced more than 500
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legal restrictions on information flow. That position remains largely unchanged.
This book sets the stage for discussion by considering two preliminary topics: the free speech theory and
the various instruments that enshrine freedom of speech, and the oft-invoked ‘public interest’ argument.
The laws discussed in this book are divided into convenient subtopics: Making The Law; Defamation;
Confidentiality and Secrecy; Privacy; Freedom of Information; Media and the Courts and Parliament;
Offensive Speech; Copyright; and Media Regulators. Also included is a discussion on the various media
regulation reform initiatives such as the Finkelstein Inquiry, the Convergence Review and the Leveson
Inquiry.
Title: Media Law in Australia: Principles,
Pitfalls and Potentials
Author: Joseph M Fernandez
Publisher: Black Swan Press
Curtin University
Publication date: August 2013
ISBN: 9780 987 567 017 (pbk)
Dimensions: 210 mm x 295 mm x 22 mm
(436 A4 pages)
Second reprint: AUD$55.00 (inc GST)
(trade enquiries welcome)
Enquiries: 61 8 9266 3234
Email: s.summers@curtin.edu.au
‘Dr Joseph Fernandez is one of Australia’s foremost teachers and writers on media law. In this his latest
work, he combines his considerable erudition and experience to produce an excellent text which will prove
of invaluable assistance to students and the general reader alike. Comprehensively and comprehensibly
written, Media Law in Australia – Principles, Pitfalls and Potentials, is worthy of a place on any media law
bookshelf.’
—Michael Gillooly, Professorial Fellow, Law School, The University of Western Australia
‘A great work of media law scholarship.’
—Mark Pearson, Professor of Journalism and Social Media, Griffith University
‘Dr Fernandez is a valued adviser to the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) on Australian media
law, the subject of this thorough, easy-to-use guide that takes us up to the present moment through
consideration of significant contemporary matters such as The Finkelstein Report and The Convergence
Review. It will prove a very valuable guide to students and journalists, who will have a ready reference
source with easily identifiable sections on this most important aspect of our constantly changing industry
and craft.’
—Martin Turner, MEAA Western Australia, Media Section President
‘Media Law in Australia is a comprehensive, informative and up to date analysis of media law in this country.
It makes a substantial contribution to the field for readers wanting to understand the key issues; the legal
principles that apply to those issues; some of the pitfalls arising from the law and the potentials that might
arise. A vast amount of research has been undertaken and the author must be congratulated for putting
together such an expansive and well-written analysis of current and continuing issues.’
—Dr Rhonda Breit, Head of the School of Journalism and Communication, The University of Queensland