Law
Defamation, copyright, court
20 articles tagged law, drawn from across the archive.
A Guide to Trove for Journalists
Trove is the National Library of Australia's digital research service. It is free, it is enormous, and it is the single most...
Alliance union join
Alliance union join If you have joined the Alliance, you would be in the AJA section, the Australian Journalists' Association. It...
Australian Defamation Law: A Working Journalist's Guide
This page is a plain-English working guide to Australian defamation law in 2026. It is not legal advice. If you are facing a...
Business speak
'Business speak' is boring and poor journalism Some of the words and phrases you were using are what I call boring 'business...
Computers: Best to Buy
You ask about computers. My son worked for IBM for 11 years and now works for Dell. He assures me you can't buy a bad computer...
Copyright: A Simple Guide
Copyright: a simple guide Copyright should become clearer during the course. Essentially copyright is the author's ownership in...
Court Reporting
You ask about court reporting. If you're writing 'on spec' you should arrive at court early and approach the Clerk of the Court...
Getting Into Book Publishing
Book publishing Sorry, I can't help you with direct advice or information on book publishing, or literary agents. I know little...
Ghost writer
Regarding 'ghost writers'. A ghost writer is someone who writes in another person's name. For instance, a newspaper might think...
Investigative Journalism
You as an investigative journalist Being an investigative journalist is exciting, prestigious, well-paid - and important work...
Language Quiz
You MUST SEND WITH NEXT ASSIGNMENT, NOT ON ITS OWN LANGUAGE QUIZ Student's Name: ?????????????????? Self-scoring quiz [Name] was...
Libel, defamation, slander
Defamation: slander and libel If you as a journalist defame someone, you do them the wrong of injuring their reputation without...
Maps and charts
You ask if it's acceptable for you to provide graphics such as maps and charts. Sure. But first you must carry out two checks...
Press Freedom and the Conscription Story
In 1968 my father was sentenced to twenty-eight days in a military detention barracks for refusing to answer questions at an army...
Speechwriting
Speechwriting Yes, I wrote speeches for other people for years. I worked for a speakers' bureau. I also wrote pieces to be...
Tautology: Saying It Twice
Tautology . . . what is it? You could have easily looked this up yourself, by going back through an experienced editorials, or on...
The Pulitzer Prize
WARNING! this article is 10 pages long and contains 8,000 words. It is a painful, emotional story that is depressing to read...
Trusting the internet
Trusting the internet Can you trust information found on the internet? You CANNOT trust any information put out by questionable...
When an Editor Explains Rejection
Editors owe you nothing Well, an editor is not a teacher. He's not there to help you or to foster your career. That's my job. Use...
Work Experience
Work Experience I do not like so-called 'work experience'. Firstly, it isn't 'work'. Almost no one will let you 'work' since the...