Laying Down the Law

As part of my course I am having to learn about the law in the context of what journalists can and cannot legally report.

This is proving significantly more complex than I had anticipated.

Firstly, I seem to have inherited selective narcolepsy. Unfortunately, the main trigger for a spontaneous and uncontrollable nap appears to be reading about journalism law.

This is becoming a considerable hindrance to my progress in understanding what on earth it all means. As soon as I am half way through a chapter of my book, I drop off, waking up a few hours later having had a terrifying nightmare about the impending law exam.

Secondly, what I have managed to successfully read and understand of the law with regards to journalism has scared me half to death.

If my understanding thus far is correct, then I find it very hard not to believe that prisons up and down the country are severely over-crowded with bewildered young hacks who have unwittingly commited contempt of court and still can't figure out how.

However, I am determined to master this law lark. It is clearly very important for young journalists to be acutely aware of our legal limits when venturing into the profession, where several tabloids will undoubtedly attempt to mislead us into reporting less than legal material for their own sensationalist gain, and then leave us to face the music of the courts.

I'm off now for a double espresso and a read!