The Law of Mass Media
Media law in general is an area of the law which covers media communications of all sorts and sizes. Specialists in this field may work for individual companies, handling legal issues which come up in the course of doing business. They can also work for organizations which provide advocacy to people who run afoul of the law, or have private practices with consulting services and other forms of legal assistance available to clients. In order to become a media lawyer, it is necessary to attend law school and complete a concentration in media law, an option which is not offered at all law schools.
There are three general areas of interest within media law. The first is print media, including newspapers, magazines, print advertising and so forth. The second is telecommunications, including radio and television broadcasting. Finally, digital communications and the Internet are a broad field within media law, and as the Internet evolves, this frontier is constantly changing.
Mass media law refers to the collective set of laws that protect or limit media or the consumers from different issues that may arise from the use or exposure to mass media. Television, Internet, newspapers, magazines, and film are just some of the few examples of mass media that are governed by this set of laws. However, each form of mass media is subject to different laws under the general heading of mass media law given that each form of media interacts differently with the consumers.
This broad legal term can encompass many issues such as copyright or trademark infringement, libel, slander, censorship, privacy, confidentiality, and freedom of information. The aforementioned are the most common disputes argued over in terms of mass media law
With modern communications technologies, the mass media has the ability to affect many people in a variety of ways. The laws that govern these communications can be complicated and