McNae's Essential Law for Journalists

Siân Harrison is a Partner at Maltin PR, ex-Law Editor of PA Media (formerly the Press Association) and a member of the NCTJ Media Law Examinations Board. Siân is also an external examiner for Cardiff University's School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies. She is an experienced journalist, court reporter, and communications professional. Gill Phillips is an editorial legal consultant for the Guardian. She was the Guardian's director of editorial legal services between 2009 and 2023, during which time she advised on major investigations such as Wikileaks, Edward Snowden, phone hacking, the Panama, Paradise and Pandora Papers and the Uber Files. Before joining the Guardian, Gill was an in-house lawyer at the BBC and Times Newspapers.

Part 1: The Landscape of Law, Ethics and Regulation
1: Introduction
2: Press Regulation
3: Broadcast Regulation
4: Journalists avoiding unjustified intrusion
Part 2: Crime, Courts and Tribunals
5: Crime media coverage prior to any court case
6: Crime categories and definitions
7: Magistrates' courts summary cases
8: Magistrates' courts the most serious criminal cases
9: Crown courts and appeal courts
10: Children and young persons in court proceedings
11: Anonymity for victims and alleged victims of sexual offences, human trafficking, female genital mutilation and forced marriage offences
12: Court reporting other restrictions
13: Civil courts
14: Family courts
15: Open justice and access to court information
16: Challenging in the courts
17: Coroners' courts
18: Tribunals and public inquiries
19: Contempt of court
Part 3: Defamation and Related Law
20: Defamation definitions and dangers
21: The defamation claimant and what the claimant must prove
22: Defamation defences
23: The public interest defence in defamation law
24: The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
25: Slander and malicious falsehood
Part 4: Confidentiality, Privacy and Copyright
26: Breach of confidence
27: Privavy
28: Data protection
29: Copyright
Part 5: Information and Expression
30: Liability for readers' postings
31: Reporting elections
32: Official secrets
33: The journalists' sources and neutrality
34: The risks of being charged with bribery, misconduct, hacking or intercepting
35: The right to take photographs, film and record
Part 6: Online Chapters
36: Other UK Jurisdictions
37: The Freedom of Information Act 2000
38: Other information rights and access to meetings
39: Boundaries to expressionDLhate and obscenity
40: Terrorism and the effect of counter-terrorism law
41: SLAPPs