David Bourget (Western Ontario)
David Chalmers (ANU, NYU)
Rafael De Clercq
Jack Alan Reynolds
Learn more about PhilPapers
Legal Ethics 15 (1):83-110 (2012)
Descriptions of the relationship between lawyers and journalists range from 'uneasy' and 'sometimes prickly' to 'strained and often combatant.' This paper explores the ethical frameworks within which lawyers and journalists work and analyses the differences between the two, especially in the context of court reporting. It begins with a consideration of whether or not journalists are members of a profession, recognising that one marker of a profession is the existence of an ethical code. The codes of ethics of both lawyers and journalists are compared and contrasted. The ethical frameworks are also superimposed over two fundamental but competing principles of justice in a Western democracy: the principle of open justice and the right to a fair trial. The struggle to reconcile these two principles creates tensions between lawyers and journalists. Finally, the paper examines the ethical principles which guide lawyers' interactions with journalists. The author concludes that the fundamental difference between lawyers and journalists lies in the journalist's lack of a client. In lacking a fiduciary duty to a client, the lens through which a journalist views court reporting is never going to match in focus with the view of the lawyer, whose duties to both an individual client and the court itself will inevitably clash with a journalist whose aim is to disseminate information, as quickly as possible, to a faceless public
|Keywords||No keywords specified (fix it)|
|Categories||categorize this paper)|
Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server
Configure custom proxy (use this if your affiliation does not provide a proxy)
|Through your library|
References found in this work BETA
No references found.
Citations of this work BETA
No citations found.
Similar books and articles
Sigman L. Splichal (1997). Media Lawyers as Factors in the Ethical Decisions of Journalists. Journal of Mass Media Ethics 12 (2):101 – 108.
Tony Harcup (2006). The Ethical Journalist. Sage Publications.
Renita Coleman & Thomas May (2004). Professional-Client Relationships: Rethinking Confidentiality, Harm, and Journalists' Public Health Duties. Journal of Mass Media Ethics 19 (3 & 4):276 – 292.
Bala A. Musa & Jerry Komia Domatob (2007). Who is a Development Journalist? Perspectives on Media Ethics and Professionalism in Post-Colonial Societies. Journal of Mass Media Ethics 22 (4):315 – 331.
Melita Poler Kova (2008). Journalism Ethics in Multinational Family: “When in the EU, Should One Do as the EU Journalists Do?”. Journal of Mass Media Ethics 23 (2):141 – 157.
Melita Poler Kovačič (2008). Journalism Ethics in Multinational Family: “When in the Eu, Should One Do as the Eu Journalists Do?”. Journal of Mass Media Ethics 23 (2):141 – 157.
Seow Ting Lee (2005). Predicting Tolerance of Journalistic Deception. Journal of Mass Media Ethics 20 (1):22 – 42.
Bosah L. Ebo (1994). The Ethical Dilemma of African Journalists: A Nigerian Perspective. Journal of Mass Media Ethics 9 (2):84 – 93.
Sandra L. Borden & Chad Tew (2007). The Role of Journalist and the Performance of Journalism: Ethical Lessons From "Fake" News (Seriously). Journal of Mass Media Ethics 22 (4):300 – 314.
Brian Richardson (1994). Four Standards for Teaching Ethics in Journalism. Journal of Mass Media Ethics 9 (2):109 – 117.
Geoffrey C. Hazard (2004). Legal Ethics: A Comparative Study. Stanford University Press.
Aralynn Abare McMane (1993). Ethical Standards of French and U.S. Newspaper Journalists. Journal of Mass Media Ethics 8 (4):207 – 218.
Suzanne le Mire (2011). Testing Times: In-House Counsel and Independence. Legal Ethics 14 (1):21-47.
Lawrence Apps (1990). Media Ethics in Australia. Journal of Mass Media Ethics 5 (2):117 – 135.
Added to index2012-06-28
Total downloads8 ( #250,895 of 1,700,300 )
Recent downloads (6 months)1 ( #362,609 of 1,700,300 )
How can I increase my downloads?