Taking the Free Speech Temperature - 'chilling effect' of libel laws

Significant numbers of news reports that journalists and editors believe to be accurate and of public interest are 'withheld or emasculated' because of fears of the libel law, according to a report published today.

'Taking the Free Speech Temperature', published by the School of Communications at DCU, is written by journalist Simon Bourke.

The report contains the results of a survey of newspaper journalists and reveals that many Irish journalists have direct experience of the 'chilling effect' of the libel laws.

The research demonstrates that reporters and editors believe politicians to be the most likely group of people to initiate libel actions, which demonstrably inhibits the reporting of stories involving public figures. "The consequences of this 'inhibition' is that newspaper proprietors are more interested in reducing the costs of libel than with defending free speech," Bourke reports.

With the debate on reform of the libel laws continuing, the DCU report finds that journalists would prefer changes to the law that place the onus on libel plaintiffs to demonstrate malice and to prove their case. The Legal Advisory Group on Defamation chaired by Hugh Mohan SC, whose report is guiding the current deliberations, explicitly ruled out shifting the onus of proof from defendant to plaintiff. "This, in effect, allows the current situation to continue," said Bourke.

Brian Trench, Head of the School of Communications, said that the School of Communications has been a leader nationally in journalism education and research for two decades: "Over 400 graduates of the Masters in Journalism now work as editors, producers, reporters and publicists in the media industries in Ireland and abroad. Simon Bourke's research which has resulted in the publication of this report, demonstrates how DCU graduates can contribute to public policy debates which make a difference to the practice of journalism in Ireland".