The Irish Journalist


The Internet is adding to the legal pitfalls for journalists


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Media lawyer, Andrea Martin (right) with members of the Irish South West and West of Ireland after sharing her expertise on the pitfalls of social media.


As journalists rely on the internet so much these days, knowing how to authenticate sources of information and the veracity of images is as important now as knowing how to type! Journalists who attended a seminar


organised by the NUJ Irish South West, in conjunction with the West of Ireland, were treated to an informative day when Dr Matthew Wall, a PhD candidate in Digital Learning at the Clinton Institute for American Studies in UCD and media lawyer, Andrea Martin shared their knowledge. Dr Wall’s session was in-depth and highly


intriguing as he revealed the dubious sources of information on the world wide web, while Ms Martin’s talk focussed on how the growing use of social media led to even more pitfalls for journalists to be aware of. She discussed a range of other issues


pertinent to journalists including civil and criminal liability for social media content, online publication, defamation, copyright, privacy and confidentiality online, social media policies, court reporting and covering family law cases.


Dr Wall trained delegates in a selection of


social media research and comparison tools and outlined a variety of methods to source and authenticate information online. In particular, he highlighted ways to verify video footage and images. "We organised this event because there is a


dearth of Continuing Professional Development opportunities for journalists in the region and this is something we wanted to address," explained Irish South West Branch Vice- Chairperson and organiser of the conference, Nicola Corless. "We were delighted that the West of Ireland


branch came on board and that we were able to attract such high-calibre speakers to our inaugural workshops. Andrea and Matthew identified existing and emerging issues for reporters and photographers and delivered a wealth of relevant information in a really engaging way. The feedback from delegates was very positive. We discussed the training recently at branch level and we certainly hope to hold another similar event in the coming year but addressing other relevant topics," she concluded.


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