1. I’ll be lookingatand criticallyevaluatingthe constraintswithinradionewsproductionwhilst
comprehensivelyreferencingtolegal andregulatoryissuesinregardshandlingof storiesinvolving
minors,contemptof court,libel anddefamation,coverage andelectionsandthe official secretsact.
Thisis inregardsto the OFCOMbroadcastingcode and BBC editorial guidelines,howeverthey’ll be
somewhatsimilarforall newsproductioncompanies.
Handling ofStories InvolvingMinors:
Whendealingwithchildren,newsbroadcastersneedtobe extremelycareful inordertoprotecta
child’semotionalandphysical welfare.The BBCguidelinesstate thattheyabide byOFCOMS
broadcastingcode that theytake "Due care ...over the physical andemotional welfare and the
dignityof people undereighteenwhotake partorare otherwise involvedinprogrammes”- rule 1.28.
Childrenare importanttothe BBC as theyact as contributors,actorsandpresentersandtherefore
needtomaintainthatrelationshipastoavoiddestroyingit- aswell astheirreputation.There are
twomajor principleswithinthe guidelinesthatare consideredandfollowedbefore all outputis
aired.
1) A child’soryoungadultswelfare anddignitymustbe protectedduringthe makingand
broadcastingof content,evenif consenthasbeengivenbyaparent- the interestof the child
isput firstand foremostoveranyotherfactor.
2) No anxietyordistressmustbe causedforthe childor youngpersondue tothe outputof the
broadcast- supportshouldbe providedwherenecessary- thiscouldinvolvediscussing,
murder,rape abuse or bullying.Whenstoriesdoinvolve suchsubjectmatterprofessionalsin
those fieldsare contactedinordertoconsultthe broadcastersthe bestway to go aboutit.
In some casesa child’sidentitymaybe putatrisk if identified- forexample theycouldbe speaking
aboutthemselvesbeingabullyorbeinginjail fora crime.Inthese cases‘Programme Legal Advice’
will be contacted toprovide guidance andsupportforthe broadcaster.
Contemptof Court:
Contemptof court iswhenyouare disobedientordisrespectful towardsacourtof law and its
officers;the lawprotectsthe ‘integrityof the legal processfromoutside influence.’Accordingtothe
BBC editorial guidelinesthe mostseriouscontempttheycantake is‘publicationorprejudicial
material whenlegal proceedingsare saidtobe ‘active’. Theyneedtoavoidcausinganysubstantial
risksuch as prejudice orimpedimentregardlessof whateverthey’reintentionwas.Reportsona
criminal case needtobe fair and accurate.An example of contemptof courtis the Ryan Giggscase
and hisaffairwithhiswife brother’swife;he tooklegal actionsothatif hisname or the subject
matterof hispersonal life wasmentionedinanyformof mediaitwouldbe a contemptof court.
Howeveratabloiddidrelease the storyasit hasalreadybegantrendingaroundtwitteratthe same
time- theyknewthatthey’dgenerate enoughmoneyfromsalesthatthe legal feesfromcourtdid
not outweighthe income they’dmake.
Libel and Defamation:
Libel anddefamation- sometimesregardedasslander- iswhenanewsbroadcasteroroutlet
providesfalse informationaboutsomeone orsomethingthatwill damage orruintheirreputation.

2. Accordingto the BBC editorial guidelines‘damage of reputationcausedbybroadcasttoa thirdparty,
includingmaterial publishedonline’providesthatpersonwiththe righttosue them.Libel and
Defamationcancause seriousconsequencesforthe newsbroadcastersparticularlyin regardtolegal
feesisthey’re provenguilty.A personputtingforwardtheseaccusationscanonlysue aslongas they
have identifiable proof thatithascauseddefamatoryandlowereda‘rightthinking’s’person
estimationof them. CliffRichardwasaccusedof sex violationsinlate 2014 datingback to the early
80’s, howeverhe waslaterproveninnocentdespite everythingthe mediahadsaidabouthim;he
consideredtakinglegalactionandsuingforLibel andDefamation.In1964 the New York Times
publishedanarticle thatcriticizedAlabamaofficial formistreatingstudentcivil rightsactivistsand
were laterfoundguiltyforlibel anddefamation.However,the U.S.supreme courtoverruledthe
state court in itsfavoursince knowevidenceof ‘actual malice’wasgiven-the ideathatyouknow or
are purposelygivingarecklessdisregardforthe truth.
Coverage of Elections:
A newspaperwill generallybe influencedbyaparticularpolitical partywhenreportingevenif
they’re notsupposedtobe.The BBC ispublicservice providerandtherefore supposedlyunbias,
howeveritcanbe arguedthat theyhave a leftwingfavourdue tothe amount of coverage they
provide themwith. OFCOMstatesthata newsbroadcastermustprovide due accuracy and
impartialitywhen reportingonpoliticsandpublicpolicy,howevermore oftenthannota broadcaster
will findawayaround thissuchas not providingenoughcoverage onaparticularparty.The BBC
guidelinesstate thattheymustnotcampaignor be usedas campaigners,nor give anopinion- only
the facts are to be stated.Opinionpolls,surveys,votesandsimilarresearchmustbe reportedwith
accuracy- howeveritdoesnostate fairness- regardlessof whetheritwascarriedoutby the BBC or
an external source.Failuretoreportwithaccuracy can leadto a political parttosue for libel and
defamation,particularlyif they’re beingdisregardedordowngraded. Duringvotinghoursanews
outletmustnotbroadcast anythingthatmay influence the publicortheiropinions.
Official SecretsAct:
The official secretsactisan act of parliamentthatprotectsdocuments,articles,the royal family,
secretservicesandanyothernational intelligencefrombeingreleasedtothe general public.If a
mediawasto release anyof thisinformationthey’dbe takendirectlytocourtand suedtherefore
causingseriousfinancial consequences. Insome casesanewspapermaystill release the information
because theyknowthe income they’ll generate fromthe storywill exceedthe legal feesthey’llhave
to pay,howeverthe issue theythenface isthattheylose theirrelationshipwiththe ‘party’they’ve
offended. Anexample of thisiswhenamagazine isSwitzerlandreleasedimagesof atoplessDuchess
of Cambridge afterbeingaskednotto,however theyknew thatthe legal feeswouldbe meniscal to
the profitthey’dearn.Howeverthe royal familybroke of all tieswiththem.