In order to pass this unit students must:

A. satisfactorily complete Foundation Quizzes 1.1 to 1.4 (see below under Foundation Quizzes 1.1 to 1.4), and

B. attain at least 50 marks garnered from the following:

1. weekly quizzes (worth 20 marks in total);
2. program advice exercise (worth 20 marks);
3. research assignment (worth 60 marks).

A fail grade for one or more of the weekly assessed quizzes (Quizzes A to M), program advice exercise or research assignment will not result in an automatic fail of the unit.

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.

Lectures

This unit consists of 13 topics, as set out on the iLearn website. With the exception of Topic 1, each topic is accompanied by a lecture. Rather than lectures being delivered ‘live’ in a theatre, recordings are available for download from iLearn (click on the ‘Echo 360’ logo). PowerPoint slides accompany each lecture and are also available from iLearn (in .pptx and .pdf format). When listening to lectures, be sure to have the accompanying PowerPoint slides in front of you, since they will be referred to during lectures.

Lectures are intended to give you an overview of the topic, indicate its most important aspects, make the related readings more interesting and accessible and, if necessary, update those readings. It is assumed that you will listen to the lecture prior to embarking on that week’s readings.

Readings

The lectures should give you a broad overview of the subject, but it is essential to then develop your understanding by completing the related readings. Each week's readings are listed in the Unit Schedule below. Readings are divided into ‘essential readings’ and ‘desirable readings’. Note that all readings listed in the Unit Schedule are considered examinable, even if described as 'desirable': the division between 'essential' and 'desirable' is intended only to advise you as to which readings are most important.

‘Essential' readings mostly consist of extracts from the prescribed textbook:

• Des Butler and Sharon Rodrick, Australian Media Law (5th ed, 2015, Thomson Reuters), ISBN: 978-0-455-234403

You are advised to obtain the current (fifth) edition of the prescribed text. Other readings are available online from Macquarie University library or the general internet. 

In addition to the secondary sources (book chapters, journal articles, etc) listed in the Schedule of Readings, you are expected to consult relevant primary legal sources (treaties, statutes, regulations, codes and cases) as much as possible. It should be evident to you from the lectures and secondary sources which primary sources (and which parts of those primary sources) are most important. Sometimes you will need to consult primary sources in order to complete assignments. You are expected to have sufficient research skills to locate and download those primary sources. If you are having problems then the library website and staff are likely to be your best source of assistance, although your tutor may also be able to help.

For the research assignment it is absolutely essential that you go beyond the listed readings, using the library and internet to find appropriate primary and secondary sources. You are also encouraged to read widely in the general media in order to make unit content more interesting and relevant.

If you feel that you would like to buy a casebook in addition to the prescribed textbook then you are recommended the following:

• David Rolph et al, Media Law: Cases, Materials and Commentary (2nd ed, 2015, Oxford Uni Press), ISBN: 978-0-19-559848-3

On-campus session

This unit is being offered in 'block' mode. Rather that there being weekly tutorials, students are expected to instead attend a two-day on-campus session (OCS) held at Macquarie University on 26 and 27 April 2018. Each day will commence promptly at 9 am and end at 4 pm, with appropriate breaks. Please try not to arrive late. 

Having gained a basic understanding of each topic by listening to the lecture, and having developed that understanding through completing the readings, the OCS is your chance to discuss the issues raised, as well as ask questions in order to clear up any lingering doubts as to whether you understand the material correctly. Classroom activities are meant to come towards the end of the learning process, not the beginning. Certainly they are not substitutes for listening to the lectures or doing the readings, although if you are totally stumped by even a basic point then there is no shame in raising it at the OCS.

If you do not attend the OCS then you will not face a formal penalty. Even so, the unit will be taught on the assumption that all students attend the OCS in full, and unit material and assignments will be pitched accordingly. Students who choose to skip class can expect to find studying the unit much harder, and they will almost certainly miss crucial information. For instance, questions of the type found in the assessments will be discussed at the OCS and answers will not always be made available to those who do not attend. Certainly students should not expect the convenor or their tutor to accommodate non-attendance by providing information on what was said or done in class, or any other kind of additional material, guidance, etc.

General discussion forums

In relation to Topics 2 to 13, a discussion forum will be set up on iLearn. Students are encouraged to contribute to these discussions, provided the general rules of etiquette are observed. The forums are intended for discussion relating to the issues we are studying. Please post questions relating to administrative matters to the forum called ‘Discussion Forum re Administrative Matters’.

General notes:

• Lectures are delivered only via iLearn. There are no ‘live’ lectures in this unit.
• ‘Butler & Rodrick’ refers to the prescribed textbook for the unit:
  • Des Butler and Sharon Rodrick, Australian Media Law (5^th edn, 2015, Thomson Reuters), ISBN: 978-0-455-234403
• Unless indicated otherwise, other readings are available from Macquarie University library as a unit reading. You can find them using MultiSearch: http://libguides.mq.edu.au/MultiSearch.

Topic 1: Unit Introduction

This topic introduces the unit: its learning outcomes, its learning material and activities, and also its methods of assessment. Besides discussing administrative matters, the topic also considers the expectations of staff and students.

• Formative Quizzes 1.1 to 1.4 relate to Topic 1. The absolute deadline for completion of those quizzes is 11 pm, Sunday 25 March. Ideally, however, you should complete them before or during Week 1. 
• Readings:
  • Essential:
    • LAW897 Unit Guide (available from iLearn).

Part A:  Free Speech

Topic 2:  The Free Speech Principle

Principles guide policy makers in the design of rules. This lecture asks what principles should govern media law. Should everything be premised on some kind of right to free speech? If so, what do we mean by this right and is it really so important?

• Deadline for Quiz A: 11.00 pm, Sunday 4 March
• Readings:
  • Essential:
    • Butler & Rodrick, chapters 1 and 2, (pp 1 – 30);
    • Frederick Schauer, extract from ‘The Free Speech Principle’ in Free Speech: a Philosophical Enquiry, (1982), 3 – 12;
    • Frederick Schauer, ‘Free Speech and the Good Life’ in Free Speech: a Philosophical Enquiry, (1982), 47 – 59.
  • Desirable:
    • Robert Kubey and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, ‘Television Addiction Is No Mere Metaphor’, (23 Feb 2002) 286.2 Scientific American, 74 – 81) (available at http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/TVaddictionIsNoMereMetaphor.pdf).

Topic 3:  Political Expression

This lecture continues to consider the arguments generally used in support of freedom of expression, focussing on the part free speech plays in a healthy democracy. Australia's High Court has given constitutional protection to political expression, but was that a good thing? Looking in particular at the issue of paid political advertising in broadcasting, I argue that the central problem lies in how we habitually conceptualise freedom.

• Deadline for Quiz B: 11.00 pm, Sunday 11 March
• Readings:
  • Essential:        
    • Frederick Schauer, ‘Free Speech in a World of Private Power’ in Tom Campbell and Wojciech Sadurski (eds), Freedom of Communication (1994) 1 – 16;
    • Butler & Rodrick, chapter 4 (part), paras 4.580 – 4.640 (pp 220 – 232);
    • Roy Baker, ‘Political Payola: the “Cash for Comment” Scandal and Australia’s Protection of Political Speech’ (2002) 7.1 Media & Arts Law Review 27 – 42 (available from the general Library catalogue).

Topic 4:  Free Speech and the Nation

Historically, the state regulated speech so as to protect itself from its subjects. In our more democratic times attention has switched towards safeguarding national cohesion. This lecture considers the extent to which states are entitled to regulate speech that vilifies sections of the community, particularly racial, ethnic and sexual minorities, and which may lead to internal strife.

• Deadline for Quiz C: 11.00 pm, Sunday 18 March
• Readings:
  • Essential:        
    • Butler & Rodrick, chapter 10 (pp 677 – 702);
    • Stanley Fish, ‘There’s No Such Thing As Free Speech, and It’s a Good Thing Too’ in H Aram Veeser (ed), The Stanley Fish Reader (1999) 145 – 164;
    • Butler & Rodrick, chapter 9 (part), paras 9.10 – 9.510 (pp 618 – 651).
    • Stanley Fish, ‘Holocaust Denial and Academic Freedom’ (2001) 35 Valparaiso University Law Review 499 (available from the general Library catalogue);
    • Richard H Weisberg, ‘Fish Takes the Bait: Holocaust Denial and Post-Modernist Theory’ (2002) 14 Cardozo Studies in Law and Literature 131 – 141 (available from the general Library catalogue).

Topic 5:  Pornography

If we accept the harm principle then we should not regulate erotica simply in order to safeguard the morals of its consumers. But pornography has been accused of objectifying those who appear in it, particularly women. Indeed, it has been described as nothing more than hate speech directed towards women. Using feminist theory, free speech discourse and the latest findings in neuroscience, this lecture compares various regulatory approaches to sexual content.   

• Deadline for Quiz D: 11.00 pm, Sunday 25 March
• Readings:
  • Essential:
    • Regina Graycar and Jenny Morgan (eds), Hidden Gender of Law (Foundation Press, 2002) 403-19;
    • Butler & Rodrick, chapter 9 (part), paras 9.530 – 9.790 (pp 652 – 676);
    • Neil Thornton, ‘The Politics of Pornography: a Critique of Liberalism and Radical Feminism’ (1986) 22(1) Australian and New Zealand Journal of Sociology, 25 (available from the general Library catalogue);
    • Andrea Dworkin and Catherine MacKinnon, Appendix D: ‘Model Anti-pornography Civil-Rights Ordinance’,  Pornography and Civil Rights: a New Day for Women’s Equality (Organizing against Pornography, Minneapolis, 1988) (available at http://www.nostatusquo.com/ACLU/dworkin/other/ordinance/newday/TOC.htm);
    • Norman Doidge, ‘Acquiring tastes and loves: What neuroplasticity teaches us about sexual attraction and love’ in The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph From the Frontiers of Brain Science (2007), 93-131.

Part B:  Defamation Law

Topic 6:  Liability for Defamation

In Australia, one of the major legal constraints on journalistic freedom derives from defamation law. Starting off by asking whether any of us are entitled to laws that safeguard our reputations, this lecture considers how the tort of defamation is committed.

• Deadline for Quiz E: 11.00 pm, Sunday 1 April
• Readings:
  • Essential:        
    • Butler & Rodrick, chapter 3 (part), paras 3.10 – 3.630 (pp 33 – 74);
    • Roy Baker, ‘Defamation and the Moral Community’ (2008) 13.1 Deakin Law Review 1 – 35 (available from the general Library catalogue);
    • Roy Baker, Defamation Law and Social Attitudes: Ordinary Unreasonable People (Edward Elgar, 2011), chapter 8 (pp 290 – 309).

Topic 7:  Defamation Defences and Remedies

Continuing our analysis of defamation law, this lecture looks at the defences available to media outlets that cause damage to reputation, and asks whether those reputations are overly protected.

• Deadline for Quiz F: 11.00 pm, Sunday 8 April
• Readings:
  • Essential:        
    • Butler & Rodrick, chapter 3 (part), paras 3.640 – 3.1390 (pp 75 – 143).

Topic 8:  Alternatives to Defamation

In this lecture I ask whether the tort of defamation is a broken tort, and whether the issue of protection of reputation is not better addressed through other forms of legal action, such as the tort of injurious falsehood or negligence, or a new action for breach of privacy.

• Deadline for Quiz G: 11.00 pm, Sunday 29 April
• Readings:
  • Essential:        
    • Butler & Rodrick, chapter 3 (part), paras 3.1400 – 3.1550 (pp 143 – 153);
    • Butler & Rodrick, chapter 11 (pp 703 – 727);
    • David Rolph, et al, Media Law: Cases, Materials and Commentary (Oxford Uni Press, 2^nd ed, 2015) chapter 10 (pp 289 – 320).

Part C:  Privacy

Topic 9:  Access to Information

This lecture considers the extent to which the law both facilitates and hinders journalists' access to information, as well as its distribution via the media.

• Deadline for Quiz H: 11.00 pm, Sunday 6 May
• Readings:
  • Essential:        
    • Butler & Rodrick, chapter 7 (pp 461 – 521).

Topic 10:  Privacy of Information and Communications

Controversy over phone hacking by journalists has exploded in the UK in recent years, has led to the closure of one of the country's oldest newspapers and could even threaten the Murdoch empire as we know it. This lecture considers whether the same thing could happen in Australia.

• Deadline for Quiz J: 11.00 pm, Sunday 13 May
• Readings:
  • Essential:         
    • Butler & Rodrick, chapter 8 (part), paras 8.10 – 8.430 (pp 524 – 552).

Topic 11:  Personal Privacy

Historically, the common law never offered a remedy specifically designed to protect personal privacy. With the development of a more intrusive press, disquiet over this omission has become increasingly vocal. This lecture compares developments in the law of privacy in Australia with those overseas, particularly in Europe, where laws protecting privacy have a longer pedigree.

• Deadline for Quiz K: 11.00 pm, Sunday 20 May
• Readings:
  • Essential:        
    • Butler & Rodrick, chapter 8 (part), paras 8.440 – 8.1190 (pp 552 – 616).

Part D:  Media Control

Topic 12:  Broadcasting Regulation

Of all Australian media, television and radio have been the most tightly regulated in recent decades. With advances in technology, particularly digital broadcasting and the internet, justifications for retaining the traditional structure of regulation have become increasingly strained. This lecture considers the argument for and against rigorous government intervention in broadcasting and asks whether it is time to set television and radio free.

• Deadline for Quiz L: 11.00 pm, Sunday 27 May
• Readings:
  • Essential:         
    • Butler & Rodrick, chapter 14 (part), paras 14.10 – 14.1450 (pp 799 – 937)
      • Skim the entire reading, but focus on the following:
        • 14.10 - 14.150 (pp 799 - 824)
        • 14.710 - 14.810 (pp 867 - 874)
        • 14.930 - 14.1220 (pp 882 - 911)

Topic 13:  Media Ownership

There is little point in freedom of expression if there is only one man talking. This lecture looks at how Australian law seeks to guarantee at least a modicum of media diversity, and why those efforts have been under attack in recent years.

• Deadline for Quiz M: 11.00 pm, Sunday 3 June
• Readings:
  • Essential:         
    • Media ownership is currently in a state of flux due to significant changes to the Broadcasting Services Act, most of which took effect in October 2017. Details of the readings for this topic will be released closer to the date. In the meantime, the relevant (but now out of date) chapter of Butler & Rodrick is chapter 15 (pp 950 – 998).

The following changes have been made since the 2017 offering of this unit:

1. The scoring system for the weekly quizzes has been amended;
2. Class participation is no longer a hurdle requirement;
3. Late penalties have been revised in line with Faculty policy.