About journlaw

This is the blog site of Mark Pearson PhD – journalist, professor and author.

Mark Pearson is Professor of Journalism and Social Media at Griffith University in Queensland and is a journalist, academic, blogger and author. He has written and edited for The Australian, and has been published internationally in a range of publications including the Wall Street Journal, the Far Eastern Economic Review, Crikey, The Conversation and ABC’s The Drum. Professor Pearson’s fields of expertise are the law and ethics of both journalism and social media.

He has written or edited ten books, including Australia’s leading journalism law text The Journalist’s Guide to Media Law – A handbook for communicators in a digital world (5^th edition with Mark Polden, 2015) and Mindful Journalism and News Ethics in the Digital Era (with Shelton A. Gunaratne and Sugath Senarath, Routledge, NY, 2015). He was also author of Blogging and Tweeting Without Getting Sued (Allen & Unwin, 2012), co-editor (with Patrick Keyzer and Jane Johnston) of Courts and the Media: Challenges in the Era of Digital and Social Media (Halstead Press, Sydney, 2012) and co-editor (with Jeff Brand) of Sources of News and Current Affairs (ABA, 2001). Pearson was Australian correspondent for Reporters Sans Frontières from 2005-2016. He tweets from @journlaw and blogs from journlaw.com.

Pearson is author of 48 refereed journal articles. Recent scholarly works include:

Morton, T. and Pearson, M. (2015), Zones of silence: Forensic patients, radio documentary, and a mindful approach to journalism ethics. Pacific Journalism Review. 21 (2): 11-32.

Pearson, M., Patching, R. and Wilshere-Cumming, L. (2015, August). A conceptual matrix of journalism as research two decades after ‘Media Wars’. MIA – Media International Australia, 156: 5-18.

Worboys, S. and Pearson, M. (2015). Media use of drones – ethics, law and the emerging ‘two-tier’ system of regulation. Australian Journalism Review, 37 (1): 33-49

Pearson, M. (2015). Enlightening communication analysis in Asia-Pacific: Media studies, ethics and law using a Buddhist perspective. International Communication Gazette, 77 (5): 456-470

Pearson, M. and Fernandez, J. (2015). Censorship in Australia. Intrusions into media freedom flying beneath the international free expression radar. Pacific Journalism Review, 21 (1): 40-60.

Fernandez, J. and Pearson, M. (2015). Shield laws in Australia: Legal and ethical implications for journalists and their confidential sources. Pacific Journalism Review, 21 (1): 61-78.

Shelton A. Gunaratne, Mark Pearson and Sugath Senarath, (2015) ‘Conclusion’, in Shelton A. Gunaratne, Mark Pearson and Sugath Senarath, (2015) Mindful Journalism and News Ethics in the Digital Era. A Buddhist Approach. Routledge, NY: 198-212

Mark Pearson and Sugath Senarath (2015). ‘Journalism and ethical conduct’. In Shelton A. Gunaratne, Mark Pearson and Sugath Senarath, (2015) Mindful Journalism and News Ethics in the Digital Era. A Buddhist Approach. Routledge, NY: 143-161.

Pearson, M. (2015), ‘Journalism and mental cultivation’. In Shelton A. Gunaratne, Mark Pearson and Sugath Senarath, (2015) Mindful Journalism and News Ethics in the Digital Era. A Buddhist Approach. Routledge, NY: 162-177.

Pearson, M. (2014) ‘Privacy’ in Griffin-Foley, B. A Companion to the Australian Media. Australian Scholarly Publishing, North Melbourne.

Pearson, M. (2014) ‘Chapter 14: Law for public relations professionals’, in Johnston, J. and Sheehan, Mark, Public Relations – Theory and Practice (4^th Edition), Allen & Unwin, Sydney.

Pearson, M. (2014). Towards ‘mindful journalism’: Applying Buddhism’s Eightfold Path as an ethical framework for modern journalism, Ethical Space 11 (4): 38 – 46.

Pearson, M. (2013, October). Press freedom, social media and the citizen. Pacific Journalism Review, 19 (2): 215-227.

Ewart, J., Pearson, M. and Lessing, J. (2013, July). Anti-terror laws and the news media in Australia since 2001 – how free expression and national security compete in a liberal democracy, Journal of Media Law, 5 (1): 104-132. Available: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/hart/jml/2013/00000005/00000001/art00007

Keyzer, P., Johnston, J. Pearson, M. Rodrick, S., and Wallace, A. (2013, July, in press). The courts and social media: what do judges and court workers think? Judicial Officers Bulletin 25 (6): 47-51. Available: http://lawgovpolicy.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/judicial-officers-bulletin-the-courts-and-social-media.pdf

Wallace, A., Keyzer, P., Johnston, J. Pearson, M. and Rodrick, S. (2013, July). Courts and social media: opportunities and challenges. Brief (Official Journal of the Law Society of Western Australia).

Keyzer, P., Johnston, J., Holland, G., Pearson, M., Rodrick, S., and Wallace, A. (2013). Juries and Social Media, Centre for Law, Governance and Public Policy, a report commissioned by the Victorian Department of Justice on behalf of the Standing Council on Law and Justice, 16 April 2013, [1.2], www.sclj.gov.au/agdbasev7wr/sclj/documents/pdf/juries%20and%20social%20media%20-%20final.pdf

Pearson, M. (2013) ‘Chapter 13: Legal issues’ in Tanner, S. and Richardson, N. (eds) Journalism Research and Investigation in a Digital World. Oxford University Press, South Melbourne.

Pearson, M. (2012) ‘Mental illness, the law and the news media: competing rights and interests’ in Keyzer, P., Johnston, J. and Pearson, M. (eds) Courts and the Media: Challenges in the Era of Digital and Social Media. Halstead Press, Sydney.

Pearson, M. (2012). The media regulation debate in a democracy lacking a free expression guarantee. Pacific Journalism Review, 18 (2): 89-101.

Pearson, Mark (2012, May). Behind the rankings of Pacific nations in the 2011-12 World Press Freedom Index. Pacific Journalism Review, 18 (1): 172-179.

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I tweet from the handle @journlaw. You can email me at journlaw@gmail.com.

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Disclaimer: While I write about media law and ethics, nothing here should be construed as legal advice. I am an academic, not a lawyer. My only advice is that you consult a lawyer before taking any legal risks.