Compare Newsroom Law: A Legal Guide for Commonwealth Caribbean Journalists

Kathy Ann Waterman Latchoo begins by placing journalism in a constitutional context and ends with an overview on damages for defamation and a glossary of legal terms. She describes our legal systems and the hierarchy of courts, which every journalist should strive to understand, whether or not assigned to the court beat. In , she seeks to demystify libel law, including the public interest defence, which has put fresh emphasis on what constitutes “responsible journalism”. Other chapters alert journalists to the legal pitfalls in covering parliamentary affairs, elections and court cases. Cyber-libel, copyright and freedom of information are also included and the chapter on investigative journalism seeks to answer common questions such as whether photographers may use telephoto lenses to capture people in private; whether journalists may record conversations covertly; and whether it is ever permissible to break the law to expose evil.