When we speak of Media Law, it generally refers to many legal fields that include telecommunications, information technology, defamation, broadcasting, copyright, advertising, confidentiality, contempt, entertainment law, privacy, censorship, firm law, freedom of information, and online services or Internet. Such law also covers branch of law that involves media and other legal fields enumerated above.
Nowadays, the popularity of media is becoming wide. Its coverage is expanding as well. Certain corporate professionals are now actively participating in media. Because of this, many young attorneys are engaging to media law as it allows them great opportunities of increasing connections to media. Medial law also gives opportunities to young attorneys to become a media presenter or acquire an acting role if the need arises.
Media justice is also related to media law. This refers to a regional movement and analytical structure led by historically dominated communities that transform policy, rights, cultural production, and media in the service of social justice.
The movement of media justice believes that the media distribution and production should be under the control of communities and not the companies. The achievement of social justice victories must also require a secondary strategy for policy change of the media. The structure of media justice offers new methods of understanding and redistributing media power to achieve accessible & fair information as well as cultural status that will promise information to public.
Media law can integrate many aspects wherein the most common aspect is the defamation, which can be in form slander or libel depending if the untruth information is spoken or written. Areas covered by this aspect include music contract, media contracts, image rights, privacy, sports law, and more. The increasing popularity of celebrity media law of today is associated with many common aspects that play big roles and actions under its umbrella.
The legislation of media laws may vary in different countries. In Kyrgyzstan, journalists are convicted if they spread ideas or views that are indeed extreme. In Angola, the media laws have isolated records in protecting freedom of expression. The Access to Information & Protection of Privacy Act or AIPPA in Zimbabwe is the harshest media law in the world. This act provides imprisonment for journalists who practice media for two years without a license. Meanwhile the government of Australia refurbished the media laws and final approval was granted by the Parliament in Australia.
In Italy, a new media law was developed. This law will launch the market competition. In this law as well, conservative opposition is also created to hurt the media interests of Silvio Berlusconi, who is an Italian media proprietor and a leader of political movement. In Korea, media laws are being expanded by its government to regulate web companies that establish news stories on their websites. A long debate among web companies and print media had been standing today concerning this issue.
In Egypt, protests are made on media laws. A draft press law was labeled by the government as a reform wherein journalists claim it to be as limits to press freedom. This drafted law also eliminates imprisonment as penalty for some offenses related to media but continues to impose jail terms for journalists. The law also increases the imposed fines on reporters or journalists who have made the media offence.