Law- Defamation

In the modern age there are many ways that we can harm a persons reputation without realising it using such platforms as social media a harmful statement can be spread world wide. This action goes by the name defamation, the official definition of defamation is  " the communication of a false statement that harms a reputation". Defamation often comes in the form of slander where the spoken word or shared message is creating the offence. There are other methods of defamation such as libel are done through the means of the written word.

To create a law case for defamation you need three essentials :
1) The person who made the offending statement
2) The person who has had there reputation damaged
3) A whitness or whitnesses who have heard or read the statement
With this complete essentials the law can be taken into effect the damages that have been done to the different parties weighing out what needs to be done.

There are many terms used in a defamation course these include :

Libel- This is a printed false statement that is damaging a person/companies reputation. This is the written form of defamation.

Slander- This is the use of the spoken word to create a harmful comment that is damaging to a person/companies reputation. This is the spoken form of defamation.

Fair comment- This is a common law  defence that allows a journalist to express statements that may be true because of public interest. This can be done as long as the statements that are made do not happen with the intention to harm the reported person.

Privilege-  Privilege is used within the court case as a defence. This can be used to say that they are innocent because of different reasons. There are two main privilege statements they are :

Absolute- This covers anything that has been said in court or the house of commons.
Qualified- This is using information from an official police statement. This is subject to it being without malice or interesting to the public.

Public Interest- This is used most often to defend defamation as if a subject is public interest meaning that it has to be publicily heard such as dodgy scams within the goverment. This can easily get mixed with interesting to the public in which they publish gossip stories that offensive to peoples reputation just cause its interesting.

Libel court case

As an example I have found a recent libel case that sees a proffesional typist take to Twitter after not being payed for work she completed for Resolution production . She is know facing libel court costs as she tweeted straight to Important people in the industry such as Sir Alan Sugar and the owner of the company itself. The full report can be found at : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2311517/Typist-facing-100-000-libel-taking-Twitter-complain-150-unpaid-bill.html

Who was involved and what was said ? 

The two parties involved include the 55 year old typist Lesley Kemp and a the production company Resolution production. The case started after Kemp completed some transcription work for the company on a freelance basis. The production company then failed to pay her the £150 she was owed and when she did recive money two months after the work was completed they docked her £25 for ' bank charges'. After this the typist took to twitter and tweeted pleas to the buisness owner Kirby Keans and other buisness Vips including Alan Sugar, Theo Pathitas and Duncan Bannatyne. In this pleas she tried to name and shame the company for their lack of professionalism. This was when the company hit back with the libel court case.

What was the statement or claiming damage ?

There was no direct statement published. Instead Resolution production has claimed that they want to the damages to be paid for an up to value of £50,000. After this the trypist took legal advice to find that if she lost the case she could be paying the court cost and fines at a minimum of £100,000.

What was the outcome ?

The case is still yet to go to court although it has been stated that it might not. Although people have come together to help Kemp by raising £2000 for initial court costs.

The Defamation Act 2013 replaces the 1996 Act- why was this ?

The recent Act changes that were made include changing the court proceedings as now the victim has to show series harm or damages this maybe in the form of losing money from there organisation or having a large impact on their everyday lives. They have also altered it to suit the need to include modern technology as word can be spread faster then before, to fix this they have introduced a defence for people using social media sites. This means people creating content  that harms people through Facebook or Twitter can now be accused of Defamation. The main problem they have tried to stop is the use of fair- comment , public image or honest opinion within the court situations as this has been use for many years to defend statements within the media. This arises the problem between what is public intrest and what is interesting to the public as one can help a journalist with their peice and the other can place them within Defemation.  

 

News production for radio

In this assignment I will critical compare and contrast the new bulletins of varied radio stations. I hope to understand what identifys a commercial station from the BBC and how they tailor there broadcast to the ideal target audience. I have chosen to compare three radio stations, Jack solent, Capital south coast and BBC radio 2.

Jack solent is an adult- contemporary station created for commercial uses. The station is easily identifiable as adult contemporary based on the music played as it tends to be a mixture of pop hits and balled not only from the current charts but also mostly from those in the 80's and 90's. The fact that they need to make a profit from the station means that they will have an agenda view int heir broadcast that could possibly tailor to advertising either brands or people this is also shown through their webpage in which there are branded adverts and sponsors. The orientated station uses this 2:25 minute long broadcast as its news programme of the day, they use this short programme in way that does not interrupt the flow of the station and is only played at peak listening times. The programme starts with a quick promotional plug for the station itself this is typically done to let you know who you are listening to and grabs you attention fast allow you was the audience to identify that the news is about to start just like the intro titles would if you were watching TV. The main presenter is male this is mainly because their main target audience is male and they are most likely to trust and listen to someone of the same sex. The language and style that have chosen to use is relaxed although keeping a formal lanuguage you feel like they are having a conversation with you this is done through many simple ways but mostly through the subject matter which sounds like a general overview of the news that day.

There are three main segments to the broadcast the first being the main headlines news. The opening story for this broadcast is called "The biggest deal in football history" the feature explains that the welsh footballer Gareth Bale has made the deal of the century with the world famous football club Rio Madrid. The treatment that they presented this story within was a clip format they started the broadcast by introducing the story then used a small pre recorded clip of Bale's ex manager from Tottnam football this then brought the end of the segment. The news vales for this particular story are mostly for the entatainment value but I think it dies tie in with the interest of the target audience. The main listeners of Jack radio are male between the ages of 30-50 the stereotypical male hobbie is football so to tailor there broadcast they used this as their main story. The next story  following this again was tailored to the ideal listeners although it's a series and important topic. The story is about the American government has recently discovered the use of chemical gas within warfare in Demascus, Syria. This story was treated with a copy straight from script in which only basic details about how America are planning to get involved are stated. Features about America are commonly broadcast on the news based on the fact that they are our world leaders we often follow their movements because they often effect how our country will progress. To follow this story Jack chose to use a local national story about a Portsmouth mother who had recently been partitioning that the goverment hoping to get help to bring her children back from Oman after they were kidnapped by the father nearly a year ago. The treatment to this story was done simply with a clip of an interview with the local MP Penny Martin who has joined the mothers cause. Not only is this story local it also allows the audience to understand that this may happen to them. The target audience is based on an age where is is possible that they will have a family of their own that could go through similar issues.To finish the main section of news they used a variety of short stories either connected to the stereotypical males hobbies and also a few local stories. These stories have no connected audio and are not covered in a detailed manor. These stories include the news of a mostocyclists death in car crash, the Bournemouth air festival, the death of actor David Frost and an ad for a band looking for a new singer for their local Fareham based band.

The programme also included other segments that are commonly connected to the news broadcast they include sports and the weather these are split with an audio stab which on Jack mostly include what appears to be an advert but turns out to be a joke. These short clips break up the broadcast into to dealable amounts of information that are easy to take in also warning you what is about to start. These also help to keep a listeners attention. The first section we hear after the news in sports in this section they tell the football scores from local teams games they cover only the matches within the south coast area because this is where the limits of the station is broadcast to. This segement consists of copy becasue they are tyring to get across a small amount of basic information. I think this has also not been added on because of the main headline also being about football. After football again there is a small stab this includes a joke grabbing your attention allowing to to take a break from receiving information that you may be processing this stab also introduces the weather section. In this section they only state the information for the south it only states the basic details such as the degree and whether it was raining or not. The whole broadcast ended with an audio segment self promoting their webpage. The audio in the broadcast itself was limited to the quite news bed that played through out under the programme although it was not always easy to hear it did also keep the news flowing with an easy beat that relaxes the audience allowing you to take in the information easily.

 The next station I have analysed is Capital south coast this local based radio station has commercial uses. This does mean the broadcast may feature many adverts or advert base stories that can be sneakily hidden amongst the feature. The adverts will be tailored to their target audience of teens to young adults they have also altered the length and style for this same reason. The broadcast lasts 2:04 minutes and has a relaxed style the allows the listeners to feel comfortable whilst listening this has been done by using a conversational tone that the younger audience are used to when talking with friends or family. The target audience is generated because of the music they broadcast as a contemporary hit radio station, this music will be the top 20 at the time so will feature music of the pop genre. This music has its influence on the radio broadcast as well as they have used a lound dance beat to open the news and keeps this like a beat throughout to create a fast pace keeping the younger viewers attention. This broadcast differs from Jack Fm as it may still be a commercial radio but the target audiences are different this means the broadcast have been altered to fit them this can be seen not only through the broadcasting style but also through the length and purposes of the programme.

The main stories featured in the broadcast will be simlair but may be ranked or reported differntly because of the style or the purpose of the radio stations. Capital have chosen to start with a story about footballer's Gareth Bale recent football contract. This story had large impact on the news yet it lacked information Capital chose to report this story as a copy from script and did not add any further details meaning that the section lasted just a matter of seconds. This may have been done because the report itself could not be taken further or it may have been because the broadcast is short so the story had to be shortend. The report has been chosen to be broadcast purly because it is entertaining but I think it can also relate to the target audience of younger who are aspiring to become footballers and hopefully will gain details, this provides people with a inspiring figure. The broadcast then moved on to a political story about a recent vote the prime minister has chosen to hold asking if we should send troups to Syria. This important factual story that could impact our lives has been placed second in rank by the station this may have been done for various reasons but I think this has happend mostly due to the amount of information that is needed to create this report fully. By placing it in the middle the broadcast they would have gained the audiences attention first and then would give them information that they could process over the later stories in the broadcast. The story was presented as a wrap starting with a short summary of the story then feauturing a small pre-recorded interview clip of  the local MP Mike Hancock stating his opinion on the matter then ending with a small summary  that included extra information about connected stories such as the recent findings about chemical weapon attacks that have also happened in Syria. This story effects us all and can even change our futures so had to be featured in the broadcast although you dont stereotypically connect it to the teen or young adult audience.

The best two stories are celebrity connected this gossip like stories are interesting to the younger market who are interested in the culture. The first of these stories faces the allegations of rape towards two unconnected coronation street actors. These actors where currently appearing in court so because the journalists do not want to face many complications that can happen when reporting a case such as contempt of court the report was short and read simply as copy. This may not be the only reason as they covering a sensitive issue and this radio station is for younger people they may try not to report this because it could be harmful to listeners. The second celebrity based story covers the death of David Frost and how the celebrities are paying their respects, this story again was a copy mostly because the news keeps a respectable distance as their may be grieving family and friends listening. This story was informative to those that knew the actor although this may not be necessary the aimed at their  target audience but may be needed as information for anyone who may have known any of the actors. The last news story was local piece about the major production musical wicked coming to the Southampton theatre Mayflower this was simply stated as a copy just because it had local values although I do suspect that this was an advert done for the theatre as the station is commercial this is highly possible. Following this short segment there was an upbeat stab introducing the weather that has a connected advert for Kleenex Balsam tissues this has been added not only to make them revenue but also suits the segment because the weather may be cold enough to make you need tissues. This advert takes the form as a clear statement but also has a low jingle like news bed that is typically used on most commercials. This jingle sits seamlessly into the programme and because of that the commercial is less obvious to the listeners. The weather that follows is read straight as copy this is basic and takes only a matter of seconds. The section is presented by its own separate weather reporter this may be done to give us a break from the first presenter as there is a lack of other peoples voices on the show. This presenter is still a younger male just like those in the target audience bracket and specks fast and up beat with a sense of positivity it relates to the listener and relaxes them to the typical speech pattern they would hear when talking with their friends.

The final  radio station that I analysed is BBC radio two the non commercial station was set up by the tax funded organisation to provide entertainment to the older audience that is not fully covered by on radio one.  The BBC is a tax funded organisation this means that it may be tailored to take the news seriously as they have been given the duty to inform us and this is what we pay for meaning that information they provide is a payed service so it must fill a certain criteria. The station is an adult contemporary who will tailor their news specifically to the older audience around thirty to fifty year olds that will be educated and may follow world issues such as politics and issues that will effect them in their world e.g. family issues. This broadcast lasts 5:19 minutes this is longer then most of the previous programmes that I have analysed this may mean that either the segments are longer or they are detailed. The broadcast features a lone male presenter this may be a representative of the target audience like Jack radio. The language used through the broadcast is formal as each sentence is formed in a way that every detail is covered in-depth. The formality of the broadcast is carried through non use of a news bed . This may have been chosen because they want to receive the listers whole attention pointing out how series the occasion is.

The news segment starts with a short musical intro that also states the main headlines for this specific day giving you a snapshot of the stories that they are about to broadcast in this programme. This is used as formal introduction into the show it may have been done as a chance for the listeners to decide whether they are going to listen to the show this is done because although the show has been tailored to the listeners not every listener will enjoy the headlines featured in this specific news story. The first story featured as a main headline is politically based. Politics and the BBC have been strongly connected in the past as you can watch the debates and much more through various TV and radio channels this may be why this is higher on the hierarchy of information. This feature is about the American government who are persuading congress to take up arms because of the current situation in Syria. The stations treatment of this story is though a clip this sound bite was a reporter that is currently in Washington where the head of he government is currently weighing the situation by having this reporter there they are not only gaining the latest information they are also displaying the fact that they have deeper research into the subject and are covering every detail. The next story feature again has been tailored to the audience who are typically old enough to have a family and children meaning that the story about school children resiting their GCSE's because of math results may effect them highly. This story will effect their family lives so the station will cover it in as much detail as possible. They again used a clip for the treatment of this story again with another correspondent that adds that extra expertise. This makes the story seem reliable and credible and this is what an older audience will want as they are less naive then younger generations.

To continue the programme they used a selection of smaller stories. . The first of these articles is about 5 boys being arrested for arsenal of a school. This is a local story and has been detailed esclusively for the people who may have connections to the school as it will effect there lives. Although this story is detailed it still remains fast paced and short. To keep the story fast paced whilst remaining detailed they used the treatment of copy as by reading directly from the script they had no extra diversions and could tell direct details. Other stories treated in the same manor in this programme include Vodaphone sales decreasing by 45% , this was a short statistic based story that helped people who have a strong buisness career such as their listeners, and a story warning of pests increasing around the world due to global warming this story was a short insight into the world around us and its development this has been mainly broadcast due to the interests of its target audience. To accompany these copy stories they also use a clip story about the European equal pay changes that could change working people lives this will effect BBC 2 audience as they tend to be professionals who hold down full time jobs. To report this story further they used a  buisness correspondent  who not only had further in depth knowledge about the issue but also explained the issue in a way so that all could understand allowing any listeners who may not be working in buisness understand how it could also effect them. To complete the broadcast BBC two chose to use a common weather report although they did not insert a large stab or introduction this maybe as they are not trying to grab their audience like the past two stations or could be cause they are not advertising. The weather on this report if further detailed for maturer listeners that now have the knowledge to understand it also covers a wider area then the past two stations this may be because it has no local connections to specific areas. The programme wraps up with the time allowing the proffesionals who listen to the broadcast plan their day ahead.