Archive
11 Dec

Daniel Henry on lack of camera and electronic access to courts: ‘It’s just not good enough’

<p><em>Media lawyer</em><strong><em> Daniel Henry</em></strong><em> was honoured with the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression 2012 Vox Libera award. In his acceptance speech, he called for journalists to keep pressing for camera access in court, saying that when the press – and by virtue, the public – is denied access to courts electronically, it is, quite simply, not good enough.</em></p>

READ MORE
3 Oct

Court reporting has advanced. The courts themselves? Not so much

<p><em>Reporters now have any variety of new technology at their fingertips when reporting from the courts, but when it comes to court process itself, they find themselves fighting the same old battles for exhibits, seats and access to lawyers and judges.</em> <em><strong>Eric Mark Do</strong></em> <em>reports from a panel discussion on court reporting held at Ryerson University.</em></p><p><img alt="" class="imagecache-large inline-image" src="http://j-source.ca/sites/www.j-source.ca/files/imagecache/large/images/IMG_4834.jpeg" title="" /></p>

READ MORE
3 Oct

In media we trust

<p><em>When the police want your photographs, should you comply? <strong>Jared Gnam</strong> looks at the ethical and legal issues surrounding a recent court order that saw six news organizations hand over their photographs and video to police to aid in the investigation of the 2011 Vancouver riot for the Langara Journalism Review.</em></p><p><img alt="" class="imagecache-large inline-image" src="http://j-source.ca/sites/www.j-source.ca/files/imagecache/large/images/canucks.riot_.2011.IMG_7737.JPG" title="" /></p><p><strong>By Jared Gnam</strong></p>

READ MORE
4 Jul

Posting, tweeting and linking to copyrighted material is okay says Federal Court

<p> </p><p><strong>By Michael Geist, for <a href="http://thetyee.ca/Mediacheck/2012/07/03/News-Links/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Tyee</a></strong></p><p><a href="http://www.freedominion.com.pa/phpBB2/search.php?search_id=active_topics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Free Dominion</a> is a Canadian-based political news website where users regularly post articles or link to online content for the purposes of political debate. On Jan. 10, 2008, an 11-paragraph column by <em>National Post </em>columnist Jonathan Kay was posted to the site.</p>

READ MORE
1 Jul

Court ruling about sharing online news information “should eliminate fears that linking…raises legal risks”

<p>The Federal Court of Canada's ruling involving a website that linked to a National Post column and a photographer's website is seen as good news for those who ink to news, according to law professor Michael Geist. In his column in <a href="http://www.thestar.com/business/2012/06/30/all_the_news_thats_fit_to_post_and_link_federal_court_clears_up_legal_risks.html">today's Star, linked here,</a> of course, he describes how by dismissing the claims against Free Dominion, the court has "removed much of the legal uncertainty surrounding sharing infrmation online."</p>

READ MORE
1 May

CBC issues redundancy notice to senior legal counsel Danny Henry

<p>Danny Henry, senior legal counsel at CBC and a noted advocate for press freedom in Canada, will be leaving his job with the broadcaster after being issued a redundancy notice, sources say.</p><p>Henry will leave the CBC after serving the broadcaster with legal counsel for 34 years.</p><p>“Danny has made a tremendous contribution to freedom of expression in this country,” <em>Toronto Star</em> lawyer Bert Bruser said in an email. “This is a very silly thing the CBC has done.”</p>

READ MORE
28 Mar

Does freedom of the press come at a higher price for student journalists?

<p><strong><i>By Emma Godmere</i></strong></p><p>A visit from a bailiff is not something a student journalist normally expects on a sunny Tuesday morning.</p><p>And yet, every so often, we hear of a student press outlet caught in the crosshairs of legal action.</p>

READ MORE
20 Mar

Courts in the viewfinder: B.C. proposal sparks debate on wider camera access

<p><em>Allowing cameras in the courtrooms of criminal trials have some journalists saying it’s a threat to their livelihood. But as <strong>Alexandra Posadzki</strong> reports, it could also be used as a tool to increase public interest in court stories, and even create more demand for reporters in this field.</em></p><p> </p>

READ MORE
12 Mar

How the media and the courts must work together: Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin

<p>The full text from <a href="http://scc-csc.gc.ca/court-cour/ju/spe-dis/bm2012-01-31-eng.asp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a speech given to Carleton University students</a> by Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin discusses the relationship between the press and the courts, and how both are requisite to upholding a society built on the rule of law.</p><p>In it, McLachlin talks about the role of Twitter and social media in the courtroom and says that the roles that these tools play in the modern reporter’s toolkit need to be understood:</p>

READ MORE
29 Feb

Press Freedom: Who gives a damn, anyway?

<p><em>It’s been 30 years since Section 2(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms made a free press the law of the land. But, on the eve of a national conference to take stock of the state of press freedom in Canada, <strong>Ivor Shapiro</strong> sees more apathy than passion around the issue.</em></p><p> </p>

READ MORE