Law and the Media

This is a collection of essays on a range of issues affecting the often uneasy relationship between law and the media in Ireland. The text explores subjects such as media responsibility and the public interest, access to and regulation of broadcasting, the reform of the law of defamation, contempt of court laws, and the conflict between individual privacy and the need for freedom of information legislation. The book examines the role of the media and the practical application of legal regulation and restriction on media personnel. It also looks at the institutional aspects of national public service broadcasting and the difficulties experienced on the introduction of commercial broadcasting. The path to law reform to achieve a new balance between the requirements of a robust, but responsible press, and the protection of the rights and interests of the individual, is charted with the aid of empirical research and data compiled from court records.