Legal Concerns in the UK Media - Essay Example

The focus of this analysis is to critically evaluate the legal constraints upon media freedom within the UK. To this end it is necessary to consider the current UK position on the legal protection of privacy, evaluating the efficacy of incidental protection through the law of defamation, with a particular focus on whether implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) through the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) has made any significant impact in clarifying the right to privacy under UK law particularly.

I shall further consider issues raised by the Internet and the impact of the current legal regulatory framework on media freedom. The issue of a legal right to privacy has come to the fore through discussions of media accountability in reporting, raising questions as to morality in journalism versus the constitutional right to freedom of speech (Reuss, 1999). The role of the media as an arm of the state of sorts, acting as an accountability safeguard against individuals in power is vital to sustaining the constitutional objective of the UK as a democracy in substance (Feldman, 1994).

However, some argue that the public “right to know defence” goes beyond the purpose of accountability and effectively grants a license to the press to invade and dissect the details of an individual’s private life with impunity (Clayton & Tomlinson, 2001; Tomlinson 2002; Reynolds v Times Newspapers [2001] 2 AC 127). A free press is undeniably a democratic privilege however it is arguable that many families affected by the demise of a political career through revelations of infidelity, would no doubt have coped better with the tawdry details in private (Tomlinson, 2002; Petley, 2000).  It is precisely these concerns regarding responsible press reporting which have led to a consideration of whether there needs to be a broader, general right to privacy protected within a legal framework.