Name: Newscast! It's beginning to look a lot like libel... by The Media Law Podcast
Duration: 42 min 28 s
Description: Colette, Tom and Paul round up the Media Law news as we head into the Christmas period. On the agenda: Donald Trump threatens the BBC with a $5bn libel suit, the fallout from former England goalkeeper Mary Earps' memoir, and a discussion of academic freedom following accusations of censorship at Sheffield Hallam University.

Colette, Tom and Paul whip round the latest headlines, including reductions in the sentences for Just Stop Oil protesters and the government dropping action on SLAPPs. Then Tom sits down with Dr Patrick Goold (City Law School) to learn about the compatibility of training generative AI models (such as ChatGPT) on copyrighted material with intellectual property law, and also to talk about the future of the James Bond trademarks.

Newscast! Are generative AI models really breaching copyright?

Colette and Tom are joined by Judith Skillen (Nottingham) to talk over the latest Media Law headlines, including Philip Green losing his battle over Parliamentary privilege in the ECtHR, updates from some libel litigation, and the record half-million-pound fine meted out to the University of Sussex by the Office for Students.

Newscast! Sussex University's record fine, and a case on Parliamentary privilege

Colette and Paul are joined by Dr Richard Jones (Salford) and Dr Judith Townend (Sussex) for a deep dive into Jones’ recent book, "Reporting the Courts" (https://www.routledge.com/Reporting-the-Courts/Jones/p/book/9781032638386). In the book, Jones explores the vital role of court reporting in UK journalism, defending its value amid financial pressures and digital change, making a call to preserve open justice in the face of a local news crisis.

Episode 30: "Reporting the Courts" - a deep dive

Colette, Tom and Judith rake over the recent Media Law headlines. Rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh of Northern Irish group Kneecap has been charged with expressing support for a proscribed organisation at a gig. Former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has won €100,000 in libel damages at the High Court in Dublin. The UK government has announced the imminent proscription of direct action protest group Palestine Action. The trio also discuss the privacy issues arising out of the aftermath of the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad.

Newscast! Kneecap rapper's terrorism charge, Palestine Action group to be proscribed

Colette, Judith and the returning Paul discuss the ending of the superinjunction prompted by the Ministry of Defence data leak, the Macrons’ defamation claim, the Coldplay Kiss Cam story, and the recent surge in downloads of VPNs in the UK.

Newscast! The MoD's superinjunction, VPNs galore, and the Coldplay kiss cam incident

The gang are back together to go through the summer's headlines. 

Newscast Summer 2025

Colette, Tom and Paul provide commentary on the decisions closing the two separate cases involving rappers Drake and Kneecap's Mo Chara. They also cover the hacking of the third party user verification service used by Discord and the successful appeal against conviction of the Quran burner. 

Newscast: That's a Rap

Colette and Tom discuss the recent Court of Appeal judgment in Blake v Fox. In the judgment, the Court grapples with "serious harm" under section 1 of the Defamation Act 2013 once again, and stakes out a controversial position on the appropriate test for causation.

Blake v Fox - Court of Appeal

Colette, Tom and Paul round up the Media Law news as we head into the Christmas period. On the agenda: Donald Trump threatens the BBC with a $5bn libel suit, the fallout from former England goalkeeper Mary Earps' memoir, and a discussion of academic freedom following accusations of censorship at Sheffield Hallam University.

Newscast! It's beginning to look a lot like libel...

Tom Bennett (City University), Paul Wragg (School of Law, University of Leeds), Colette Allen and guests discuss topical issues from the world of Media Law.

Newscast! It's beginning to look a lot like libel...

The Media Law Podcast

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