Some Explanation on the Assessments:

1. The Essay (40%) 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 4 May 2021

2. Program Advice Exercise/Professional writing will be in the format of an online mid-term examination (20% of final grade) on 24 April 2021 between 1PM and 3PM + reading time

3. Weekly quizzes consist of weekly discussion in the tutorials. This will be merged with the Quiz Test (effectively a final examination) for assessment purposes for a total of 40% of final grade.  We will discuss this format in the tutorials. This makes attendance at the tutorials very important. This assessment will be online on Tuesday 15 June from 1 - 3 PM + reading time

Late Submission Penalty

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.

Media law - is this something different from entertainment law? Yes and no.  In this course, our emphasis will be on 21st Century media, which, through social media, typically is entertainment.  Unlike traditional media law courses that focus on newspapers, radio, and television, we will try to bring the subject into the 21st Century with media that is more prevalent - the Cyber World.  This contemporary focus contains some challenges as the law is far from settled and judges and lawmakers are determined to squeeze old law into new environments. Just consider, as newspapers fail around the world, computer gaming has grown to the point where gaming now generates more money annually than free to air 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  We would be remiss and very out of date if we did not take up social media and all of its worldwide ramifications.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 times, 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.While this may sound dreary, we make good use of Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan who relished controversy, taunted academics (though he was one) and was a popular television personality in his own right.

This course contains 13 weekly topics that are described in the iLearn website. Power Point slides accompany each lecture. The lectures are only available on ECHO recordings. All recordings are new for 2021. Unfortunately live lectures have been cancelled by the university. I regret this development as the live lectures made the recordings more engaging because I could see student reaction as the discussion progressed. Lectures in weeks 1 - 3, and 7 - 13 will be conducted by Harry Melkonian. Lectures  for weeks 4 - 6 will be conducted by Daniela Simone.

All of the tutorials will be delivered via Zoom.  Harry Melkonian will conduct the tutorials. There will not be any on-campus sessions. The scheduling of tutorials is being adjusted so that students will have an opportunity to explore material covered in the second half of the course.  Please be alert to announcements. The present plan is to conduct a 6 hour Zoom session on Saturday 17 April and a 6 hour Zoom session on Saturday 29 May.

Attendance and participation in the tutorials are absolutely essential to successful completion of this course.  Assessment topics are 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

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. Intellectual Property Issues

4. The Nature of Media

5. Media in the Digital Age

6. Computer games as media

7. Restraints on freedom of expression - defamation, privacy, copyright, obscenity (whatever that means in the 21st Century), censorship, contempt of court and suppression

8. Law of the Internet

9. Law of Social Media

10. Emerging Internet Technology

All of the tutorials will be delivered via Zoom.  Harry Melkonian will conduct the tutorials. There will not be any on-campus sessions. The scheduling of tutorials is being adjusted so that students will have an opportunity to explore material covered in the second half of the course.  Please be alert to announcements. The present plan is to conduct a 6 hour Zoom session on Saturday 17 April and a 6 hour Zoom session on Saturday 29 May.

Media law is rapidly evolving. In 2020, we closely examined the Tik-Tok phenomenon. Today, the rise of Tik-Tok is yesterday's news but its impact is still unfolding.  The emerging technology in 2021 includes Starlink which may revolutionise the Internet as we now know it. As we are confronted with the possibility of 40,000 Starlink satellites orbiting the Earth providing worldwide superfast internet connections. The internet continues to challenge traditional territorial based legal regimes. In this tradition-bound legal environment, how will Australia and other nations deal with Starlink?

Another current issue is the ongoing tension between the new media and the mouldy oldies (Newspapers etc). We will look at attempts by the Australian government to compel new media (such as Google) to subsidise the old media by forced payment for content that is sourced from old media sources. As of January 2021, Google is reportedly burying News Corporation content within the search engine algorithms, possibly to avoid financially subsidisation of News Corp.  From a theoretical point of view, are these forced subsidies desirable? What can they achieve? As we will see, Marshall McLuhan, a half century ago, addressed this type of conduct and its likely futility.

Another change from prior offerings will be substantial discussion of copyright and media. These discussions will be conducted in Weeks 4 - 6 and will be discussed in greater detail in iLearn

Instruction will be divided between two teachers: Daniela Simone and Harry Melkonian.  Daniela Simone will be responsible for three lectures  (Weeks 4 - 6). 

As per University and departmental policy, students should not send emails to to faculty members but should exclusively communicate through the iLearn communication facilities:

Any questions about the unit content, classes or assessments should be posted in the discussion forum - not in private messaging. The unit convenor will check this forum regularly and will endeavour to respond to questions within 2 working days.  Please ensure you have read the Unit Guide carefully before posting questions about textbooks or assessments.  For private messages about your own personal circumstances, please use the private chat function on iLearn.  Communications that are directed to Dr Simone should so indicate in the subject line.