n relevant to Canadian media includes the 1982 Access to Information Act,
the 1983 Privacy Act, and the Official Secrets Act.
There are various legal issues relating to media, and Nesbitt-Larking covers these in detail.
Among the most important themes that define the legal dimension of communication are: Libel (defined in Nesbitt-Larking as “an unjustified statement, published or broadcast,
that subjects a person to hatred, ridicule, or contempt, or put differently, is a false
statement to a person’s discredit” Sub judice (a Latin term that means “under the consideration of the courts”; the
media can be charged with discussing cases that are currently considered not for
public consumption) “Scandalizing the court” (a term that refers to instances where the media bring the
reputation of the court into disrepute; the media can, in rare circumstances, be
charged with being excessively critical) Official Secrets legislation: at the state’s discretion, its officials can forbid publication,
withhold information, or otherwise act to protect the state from exposure or
defamation
Far more is achieved by the threat to use these devices (e.g., libel chill aimed at journalists
who threaten to expose powerful people) than by the actual use of them, which entails real
political costs. Nesbitt-Larking writes: “As with many other legal weapons, the principal
power of these changes lies in their potential use, rather than in their actual use.”英语论文网 【http://www.51lunwen.org】
The state’s powers with respect to the media are potentially wide. Among the ways in which
the state can make use of the media in emergency situations are:
It can invoke emergency powers to prevent publication or censor information that has
already been published (this occurred during the Paul Teale and Karla Homolka
murder trials) It can disguise its actions so as to prevent the public from knowledge of secret or
dubious activities (example here of ADSCAM scandal that has been a central issue in the 2005-6 federal election, as these illegal payments were hidden from public
view until uncovered by a pair of Globe and Mail reporters) It can use PR to obfuscate and offer alibis for its actions (example here of various
claims made by the White House in the months prior to the invasion of Iraq, e.g., the
alleged sale of uranium to Iraq) It can use the media to create propaganda for war or other state activities and
interests
d. notes from the “reality-based community”: the state’s power to shape
reality
In the fall of 2004, New York Times journalist Ron Suskind interviewed a senior White
House official. In it, the official referred to those who weren’t part of the small cadre of
powerbrokers at the White House to be part of the “reality-based community.” The interview
segment became a “meme” (a self-perpetuating and infectious bit of media content) that
circulated throughout the North American news culture, drawing public at
本文来自：英语论文网 【http://www.51lunwen.org】 |
论文编号：
lw200707250855363549 
