Reporting the courts

I was pleased to hear that as part of the Media Law section of my Journalism course, we will soon have the opportunity to sit in and report from Winchester Crown Court. Studying the court system in Britain actually turned out to be surprisingly interesting, particularly from a journalistic point of view as it is vital to realise what you can and cannot report, especially as I have no intention myself of ending up in court accused of malice or slander!
UK journalists have something of a 'free press', although there are certain limitations. Journalists cannot, for example, reveal the name, address, school or picture of a juvenile involved in a youth court case under Section 49, whilst there are also limitations on what questions or information can be published regarding military or police matters under the 2008 Counter - Terrorism Act. Journalists must also presume a defendant is innocent until they are proven guilty and must be careful to show no prejudice during the court stage so as not to influence the jury. Creating contempt of court in this way is a strict liability offence - and there is NO defence for influencing a jury. Deliberately reporting lies or information you know to be false is considered malice and also carries strict punishments (as 'Touch' magazine will no doubt find out to their cost over the recent David Beckham affair).

 In the main, however, UK journalists have a reasonably high license of freedom. They are considered the 'eyes and ears' of the public and as such have a duty to provide stories that are considered within the 'public interest', and therefore important for society - rather than simply scandalising for impact. Justice must seen to be done in the court and cases must be proved beyond reasonable doubt for a jury to convict someone. Journalists also have access to certain material held by the police or prosecutors such as maps and photos, images of the crime scene and CCTV footage to help the media report court cases.

So now I have a better understanding of what I should and shouldn't do when reporting a court I can look forward to my visit in a week or two. Lets hope I get a nice, juicy case I can really cut my court reporting teeth with!