Communication Studies (CMNS) 311
Mass Media and the Law (Revision 1)

>> Overview | Course Objectives | Outline | Evaluation | Course Materials
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Overview

Media and the Law provides an overview of the principles of media law as they apply to the work of media and communications professionals in a variety of fields. The course begins with the principles on which Canadian law is based and discusses the creation, interpretation and the role of law, with special reference to the needs of media professionals. The introduction includes a variety of key issues in law and an explanation of why legal questions often defy easy answers.

The course looks in some detail at the ways in which laws are created and changed; at the role of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in protecting freedom of the press and in limiting this freedom in favour of individual rights and the public interest; at such issues as access to information, right to privacy, confidentiality, copyright, contempt and defamation. All of these issues and topics are presented using contemporary examples from Canadian media.

Course Objectives

The goal of this course is to assist you in identifying when a legal issue may arise and therefore avoid a legal dispute entirely. Alternatively, you may on occasion want a legal issue to turn into a dispute so that you can go to court to make a point or establish a principle. In either case, early identification of issues will enable you and/or your employer to seek legal advice without delay and be able to decide on the best course of action. The course is part survey and part application. We will introduce you to legal principles and then ask you to apply these principles to a set of facts—either by studying a case or by thinking about a hypothetical situation.

This course assumes no prior knowledge of the law. However, students who are media or communications professionals may well have sought legal advice in the past during the preparation or production of a story. Media law affects the way information can be obtained and presented in many different ways. The purpose of this course is not to provide you with the answers you need to decide what the law is with regard to any issue you might deal with in your work. Rather, it is to provide you with enough understanding of the law to enable you to:

1. Know when to ask for legal advice
2. Understand the types of issues a lawyer will need to resolve, and
3. Understand what might be the possible outcome, and why.

This course is designed to introduce communications and media professionals to the legal context within which you operate in Canada (excluding Quebec, which has a different legal system). Law permeates all aspects of our lives. Understanding basic legal principles and how those principles have been applied to various factual situations will help you to identify the legal issues that may arise in your career.

This course is not designed to train you as a lawyer. However, we hope that, by learning about some specific legal topics, you will be able to identify when a legal issue arises, and to govern yourself appropriately.

Outline

Part I: The Media Professional and the Basis of Canadian Law

• Unit 1 Basic Principles of Law
• Unit 2 The Shape of Government and the Law in Canada
• Unit 3 Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Press

Part II: Legal Issues Before the Fact

• Unit 4 Access to Information
• Unit 5 Privacy Law
• Unit 6 Confidentiality of Sources

Part III: Legal Issues After the Fact

• Unit 7 Contempt of Court
• Unit 8 Copyright Law
• Unit 9 Defamation
• Unit 10 Review and Conclusion

Evaluation

To receive credit for CMNS 311, students must achieve a course composite mark of at least "D" (50 percent). The weighting of the composite mark is as follows:

Course Materials

Textbook

Michael G. Crawford, 2002. The Journalist's Legal Guide. 4th ed. Toronto: Carswell.

Other material

Videotapes: Dreamworlds II: Desire, Sex and Power in Music Video. Written, edited and narrated by Sut Jhally. Media Education Foundation, Northampton, VA, n.d.

McLibel: Two Worlds Collide. Media Education Foundation, 1998.

The course materials also include a study guide, a student manual, and a reading file.

Special Course Features

Some readings in these course materials are drawn from the Canadian Periodical Index (CPIQ), a journal database on Athabasca University's Library site. Contact the Library if you need assistance in accessing these readings.

Students registered in this course may take part in computer conferencing.

Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice.
Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized-study counterparts.


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NEW: Created Jan. 24/00.
This page was updated by G. Zahara