Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update
Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, any references to assessment tasks and on-campus delivery may no longer be up-to-date on this page.
Students should consult iLearn for revised unit information.
Find out more about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and potential impacts on staff and students
Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Harry Melkonian
Daniela Simone
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Credit points |
Credit points
10
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
(Admission to JD and 80cp in LAW or LAWS units at 6000 level or above) or (admission to LLM)
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
What principles should guide government policy towards the media? Given the pivotal role the media play in cultural production, should we favour tight regulation of media ownership and content, or are these better left to market forces? What meaning should we give to concepts such as freedom of expression, especially when it comes to issues such as hate speech and pornography? What role should the media play in a democracy, and how should we balance the rights and interests of the media against those of individuals, corporations and other institutions anxious to safeguard their privacy and reputation? This unit takes an international and comparative perspective on media law, asking how these questions have been and should be answered not only in Australia but also overseas. From fundamental principles to day-to-day legal restrictions on what people in different countries see and hear in their media, we examine how media law shapes and reflects national culture. |
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update
Assessment details are no longer provided here as a result of changes due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Students should consult iLearn for revised unit information.
Find out more about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and potential impacts on staff and students
Here is some further information and due dates for the assessments:
Some Explanation on the Assessments:
1. The Essay (50%) of final grade will be a research paper on a topic to be assigned in iLearn. This is due by 11:59 PM on Tuesday 12 May 2020
2. Professional writing will be in the format of an online examination (30% of final grade) on 18 June 2020 between 1PM and 3PM + reading time
3. Weekly quizzes will be held in class during the on-campus sessions on 22, 23 April from 2-3 PM.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update
Any references to on-campus delivery below may no longer be relevant due to COVID-19.
Please check here for updated delivery information: https://ask.mq.edu.au/account/pub/display/unit_status
Media law - is this something different from entertainment law? Yes and no. In this course, our emphasis will be on 21st Century media, which is really entertainment. Unlike traditional media law courses that focus on newspapers, radio, and television, we will focus on media that is more prevalent - the Cyber World. This change of focus contains some challenges as the law is far from settled. Just consider, as newspapers fail around the world, computer gaming has grown to the point where gaming now generates more money annually than television. We would be remiss and very out of date if we did not take up social media and all of its worldwide ramifications. To borrow a phrase from Charles Dickens, from the viewpoint of media law, this is the best of time , this is the worst of times. The best of times because so much is happening, the worst of times because the legal landscape changes faster than we can adapt.
It is naive to think that we can predict the world of media five years from now. To avoid being legal dinosaurs, I have added a substantial amount of media theory to this course so that as lawyers, you will be better equipped to deal with whatever the future will bring.
This course contains 13 weekly topics that are described in the iLearn website. Power Point slides accompany each lecture. The lectures are available on recordings but you are welcome to attend the live lectures as scheduled in LAWS5084. You are encouraged to attend the live lectures as there is frequently an opportunity for questions.
Attendance and participation in the on-campus intensive tutorials are absolutely essential to successful completion of this course. Assessment topics are frequently derived from the materials addressed in the tutorials. For example, much of the contemporary issues concerning 21st Century media and regulation is dealt with in the tutorials as opposed to the lectures.
Readings for this course involve a combination of: (1) The prescribed casebook; (2) Readings on Leganto, and (3) Current materials distributed in class or made available on iLearn
The prescribed casebook is Media Law (2d edition) by David Rolph et al (Oxford 2015). this text provides a good foundation on which we will create media law for 2021
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update
The unit schedule/topics and any references to on-campus delivery below may no longer be relevant due to COVID-19. Please consult iLearn for latest details, and check here for updated delivery information: https://ask.mq.edu.au/account/pub/display/unit_status
Our goal is to learn law in a very contemporary context. While details are provided on iLearn, and everything is subject to change, here are some of the subjects that we will be dealing with:
1. Media and Entertainment - what are they? Are they the same?
2. Freedom of expression
3. A bit of copyright law
4. The Nature of Media
5. Media in the Digital Age
6. Computer games as media
7. Restraints on freedom of expression - defamation, privacy, obscenity (whatever that means in 2020), censorship and suppression
8. Law of the Internet
9. Law of Social Media
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Students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct
Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
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Media law is constantly changing in an attempt to keep up with the changing media. In 2020, we address some copyright basics because that is essential to dealing with the new media - especially social media and computer gaming.
In addition we use a more theoretical approach to prepare for a changing media environment.