LIBEL
Put simply, you are not legally allowed to publish anything which is damaging to the character of an individual or a company or organisation.
Even if you can prove your claims, you could well end up in court doing so – at huge expense and with a strong possibility of losing and facing an unlimited fine.
For instance, just because someone has been convicted in court of stealing money, you cannot imply they are also a murderer – they would be quite right in suing you for damaging their
character.
If you have any questions, please get in touch with us, but the simplest rule is don’t say anything nasty about anyone or imply that a company is up to no good!
The rules are:
- Be fair, accurate, decent, legal and truthful.
- Respect the privacy of other people and do not include without consent information that is clearly personal.
- Stick to verified fact and never make unfounded allegations.
- Do not accuse people of crimes or other wrongdoing, unless accurately repeating police notices.
- Make sure your work is your own original work or, if it includes other material such as pictures, work that you have consent from the owner to publish.
You could be held personally liable for their work if they post material that is defamatory or otherwise unlawful. If you do come across a story involving allegations of wrongdoing, please
send it to us for consideration. If we then authorise publication, we will be liable if the story turns out to be wrong.
CONTEMPT OF COURT
While a court case is active – and that means from the moment a person is arrested until he/she is sentenced – there are strict guidelines on what can and can’t be said.
To keep on the right side of the law, please don’t write anything about an active court case. If you wish to write about an issue which relates to an active court case, please run it past
us first.
If a crime has been committed and no one has been arrested yet, please do not imply who the offender might be – that could constitute both contempt of court and libel. Remember, everyone is
innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
COPYRIGHT
Do not use pictures or words which belong to someone else, unless you have their written permission (an email confirmation would do). This includes pictures and words already in the public
domain.
PICTURES
You can only use pictures which you own the copyright to – unless the photographer has specifically said you may use it, in which case, please credit him/her in the caption.
We are NOT allowed to use pictures from other websites, news agencies or such like.
So in a nutshell, it either has to be your picture or the Adver’s! If you wish to use one of our pictures with a story, just let us know so we can send it to you.
COMMENTS
Feel free to activate comments on your stories EXCEPT when there are legal implications.
Eg, a court story, a story reporting a crime, a story which may encourage libellous comments or one which may result in a court case being prejudiced. If in doubt, please ask us – or simply
don’t enable comments.
All comments sections automatically have a ‘Report Post’ section anyway so if there are any problems with comments left on your stories, we will be notified and can remove them.
AND FINALLY… THE CODE OF CONDUCT
All papers are required to abide by the Society of Editors’ Code of Conduct. If we break this, we find ourselves reported to the Press Complaints Commission. Much of it won’t be relevant to
you, but if you could read it, at least you will know the guidelines all UK papers have to abide by. Click here for the Code of
Conduct.
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