Media law is ever changing and this index will strive to keep you abreast of developments in this complex and important area of journalism.
Our fortnightly column looking at the latest law issues, written by specialist media lawyers from Foot Anstey, also appears here.
The Ipswich Evening Star has named and shamed a teenage hooligan on its front-page, after he carried out a reign of terror against shop staff and customers. The 14-year-old boy, who appeared before a youth court – which automatically bans
A row over identifying a sex case defendant that has dragged on since September has been resolved in an Appeal Court hearing. The Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph wanted to name a former care home boss accused of a string of sex
Journalists are being urged to lobby their MPs to bring an end to uncertainty for Manchester Evening News reporter Steve Panter. He faces prison for refusing to reveal his sources when called as a witness to a crown court case.
A district judge has backed an evening newspaper’s bid to name a 16-year-old with 96 convictions. The youngster was in court for committing offences while under an anti-social behaviour order. When he was served with the order in December 1999,
The Manchester Evening News has been found guilty of contempt of court after writing about the killers of Jamie Bulger. Click here to read the full story. But was what was published likely to lead people to identify where the
The Manchester Evening News has been found guilty of contempt of court after writing about the killers of Jamie Bulger. Click here to read the full story. But what went wrong on the day of publication? According to the evidence
A Lancashire Evening Telegraph reporter helped persuade magistrates to reject a council attempt to ban naming a 15-year-old, described as a ‘pied piper’ for leading other youngsters into crime. Police and a housing association asked magistrates to impose an Anti
The Grimsby Telegraph is ready to put new heart into its community after receiving almost £300,000 to spearhead a ground-breaking initiative. The paper is to link up with local communities to produce quarterly newsletters. The initiative – believed to be
A newspaper is being sued for publishing articles based on the findings of a council report. The Abuse in Early Years report, which centred on two nursery workers, was followed up by The Evening Chronicle in Newcastle in 1998. In
A court case where a journalist was asked by a judge to reveal his sources has ended with the defendant – a detective – being cleared of leaking information about the 1996 Manchester bomb. An 11-day Crown Court trial heard
A reporter stood up in court to challenge a legal order preventing The Brighton Argus interviewing a woman whose daughter had been taken by her father. Brighton County Court had allowed limited details of Anne-Marie Kingshott, her three-year-old daughter and
A district judge has backed the News Shopper in its bid to identify a youngster who breached his Anti-Social Behaviour Order. The Bexley edition of the London newspaper series wanted to name the 16-year-old in the public interest and lodged
Editors are being urged to write letters to the Lord Chancellor about reports that the Freedom of Information Act might be delayed for several years. Instead of phasing in the right of access to information from 2002, it is feared
The Evening Herald was allowed to name a teenager sentenced to 12 months’ detention for running amok on a Plymouth housing estate. The paper won a legal battle to name the 13-year-old when magistrates agreed that printing his name would
Complex legal restraints on the press were explained at a law seminar for the regional press, where “gagging” injunctions and name-and-shame campaigns came under the spotlight. Potential development of privacy laws and their impact on press freedom were the main
The Kentish Express has won an important court victory for freedom of the press and its readers’ right to know. Jo Robertson, chief reporter of the Folkestone edition, stood up and addressed magistrates sitting at Folkestone youth court and asked