In one of its first tests
in the courts, the new responsible journalism defence has helped an Ontario
news website defeat
a libel action launched by a man named in a police fraud alert. When the
defence was created
by the Supreme Court in 2009, J-Source contributors weighed in. Cec Rosner
tackled the question ‘What exactly is
responsible journalism?’ Dean Jobb asked, ‘What’s in it for
journalists?’ and added ‘No libel please,
we’re responsible journalists.’ Meanwhile, Jeffrey A. Dvorkin cautioned, ‘Be careful what
you wish for.’ For information on responsible journalism and other libel defences,
check out Stephen J.A. Ward’s newest Ward’s Words column, which explores the conditions that allowed the Terry Jones coverage to explode and offers guidelines for responsible news selection. You should also visit our Journalists
and the Law section.