Media Law & Ethics
Journalists have to abide by the code of practice. The code of practice sets ethical standards for journalists. The exceptions are codes which can be 'in the public interest'.
The PCC- the press complaints commission deals with complaints about the editorial content of media text from members of the public.
Interesting to the public and in the public interest are two terms which justify the use of a story in the media. For instance a story about Katie Price getting re-married is interesting to the public simply meaning the public would be interested in the story. In the public interest are stories which affect the public and when they have a right to know, an example of this would be that the president declares war. If both stories were uncovered via press intrusion the story which is in the public interest is justifiable. However there is an argument against publishing celebrity gossip as its information which the public do not NEED to know.
The leveson inquiry investigates practices of journalists. It looks at ethics of the UK media. The Leveson inquiry investigates the relationship between press and another organization such as the police or the government. It is important to do this because , for example , in an election a tabloid or broadsheet could back one side of the election and be bias. This could be due to bribery etc.
The Police and Press relationship also needs to be monitored. Mainly for the same reasons, bribery and keeping the public form much needed information.
Freedom of the press is freedom to write freely and write opinion allowing the press to have freedom to express views and opinions. Privacy entitles a person to keep their personal life to themselves and not allowing others to intrude and acknowledge private information.
