Category Archives: libel

December 11, 2025 · 5:21 pm

RIP Bob Howarth: journalist, mentor and legend

By MARK PEARSON

Australia and the Asia-Pacific region lost an important figure last month – journalist, trainer and media freedom advocate Bob Howarth.

Over his 81 years Bob changed countless lives for the better, firstly through his newspaper journalism and production skills, and then via his editorship, management, training, mentorship, philanthropy and service as an RSF (Reporters Without Borders) correspondent.

I first met Bob in the early 1990s when my students were reporting under his editorship for the PANPA Chronicles – a conference newspaper produced for the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers’ Association.

Bob was a keen scuba diver at that stage, and I remember him capturing the front page photograph 10m underwater. His caring and encouraging approach made him an ideal trainer of newspaper cadets and personnel and tutor of my university students after his retirement. He also ran courses and projects for Australian Business Volunteers in Indonesia, Timor Leste and PNG.

I’ll always remember his wry smile and quiet manner of speech as he related anecdotes from his adventurous career – from his recommissioning of old computer terminals and a printing press to assist the rebirth of the Timor Post through to his pistol-wielding adventures as managing director of the Post-Courier in Port Moresby.

I interviewed Bob for this blog back in 2014, where he spoke about media freedom issues in Timor Leste and the broader Pacific.

Bob and I would catch up for coffee occasionally, and it was in response to my SMS invitation for a cuppa that his beloved partner Di let me know of his passing that morning.

While we were good mates, others knew Bob much better than me, and there have been several testimonials written about him over recent weeks.

For an insight into his philanthropy and his fondness for Timor-Leste, which he visited more than 30 times, I recommend the moving tribute by his protege Mouzinho Lopes de Araujo, republished by esteemed colleague David Robie on his Cafe Pacific site, here.

For Bob’s own account of his role in setting up the Timor Post, see his piece from 2019 in the Asia Pacific Report here.

And for an account of Bob’s training prowess and influence on Pacific journalism, see the memorial by Robert Luke Iroga, editor and publisher of Solomon Business Magazine, also published in the Asia Pacific Report, here.

Vale Bob Howarth. You made a huge difference.

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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.

© Mark Pearson 2025 – the moral right of the author has been asserted.

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Tagged as bob-howarth, communication-law-and-ethics, Communicator's Guide to Media Law and Ethics, confidentiality, David Robie, ethics, free expression, investigative journalism, journalism, journalism education, mark pearson, media, media law, news, newspapers, pacific-media, politics, professional values, Reporters Without Borders, social media, Timor Leste

August 17, 2024 · 10:31 am

Pacific Media Conference panel session evaluates global research journal model and defends regional niche titles

By MARK PEARSON Follow @Journlaw

A panel session discussing the merits and perils of academic journal publishing featured in the Pacific Media Conference at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji on July 4-6.

This article republished with permission from Pacific Media Watch reviews the panel and its key points of discussion.

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Pacific media academics slam global research journal model, defend regional niche titles

By Pacific Media Watch – July 15, 2024

Pacific Media Watch

Pacific media academics have criticised the economics of global research journal publication models and defended independent publications such as Pacific Journalism Review carving out niche markets.

"Publish of perish?" — “Publish of perish?” A Pacific Journalism review perspective and new journal from APMN. Image: Screenshot APR

Speaking in a panel titled “Publish or Perish” at the recent Pacific International Media 2024 conference in Suva, Fiji, the academics warned that changes in the international research publishing arena were not necessarily an improvement.

In fact, in some cases the changes threatened independent journals and opened the door to “paper mills, AI and sham publications”.

READ MORE: Pacific Journalism Review at 30 – a strong media legacy

The panel was moderated by adjunct professor in governance Vijay Naidu of The University of the South Pacific and featured a former editor of the Australian Journalism Review, Professor Mark Pearson of Griffith University; founding Pacific Journalism Review editor professor David Robie, and current editor and former PNG newspaper editor and journalism educator Dr Philip Cass.

Introducing the speakers, Professor Naidu said the “Publish or Perish” topic was a pivotal panel and he congratulated conference chair Associate Professor Shailendra Singh, a PJR editorial board member, for the success of the three-day event.

“This panel for media scholars focuses on the ‘heart of the matter’ relating to journalism and the media,” Dr Naidu said.

Researching and writing about the media were critical for both scholars and media practitioners as pertinent topics on current and future development of journalism and the media were covered.

Publishing outlets crucial
Outlets for publishing research findings were crucial for media academics.

Professor Pearson spoke about five key points: the impact of rankings; open access and vanity publishing; “paper mills” and sham journals; the demise of small independent journals; and academic versus journalism outputs.

The "Publish or Perish" panel — The “Publish or Perish” panel . . . convenor Professor Vijay Naidu (from left), Professor Mark Pearson, Dr Philip Cass and Professor David Robie. Taking photos are Associate Professor Shailendra Singh and PJR designer Del Abcede. Image: APMN

Discussing global journal rankings, Dr Pearson said the limited level of interest in Pacific issues internationally reduced potential for “prestigious journal” acceptance of papers.

“Journalism researchers ought to avoiding having too many eggs in one basket – and to be aware of the impact of rankings and events on your CV. Decide whether to play the game or not?”

Speaking about open access as a game changer in academic publishing, he said that the flipside was that open access had paved the way for a completely new way to earn a profit.

However, it had meant that journals would not necessarily have any financial incentives to ensure appropriate peer review or quality control — “as long as they can make the researchers pay”.

He cited research by Norwegian academic Martin Hagve who argued in Tidsskriftet that most academic publishers produce content paid for by research funds, including salaries and the expenses of researching.

Editors work for ‘symbolic pay’
“My own experience is that most academic editors work for merely symbolic pay and that quality control and fact-checking are done through peer review, which is unpaid voluntary work,” Hagve wrote.

In 2023, the annual number of papers retracted by research journals had topped 10,000 for the first time, said Dr Pearson. Most analysts believed that the figure was only the tip of an iceberg of scientific fraud.

Dr Pearson lamented the demise of many small independent journals and others becoming vulnerable in the face of the global academic publishing model, such as Pacific Journalism Review that celebrated 30 years of publication at this conference.

PJR editor Dr Philip Cass reaffirmed that it was “incredibly important” to have such a journal because of its “unique position covering the region”.

He also argued strongly for the continuation of print journals at a time when many academic publications are retreating to online only editions.

Professor Robie gave an overview of Pacific Journalism Review and how it had evolved through several design and content styles from when it was first published at the University of Papua New Guinea in 1994.

Del Abcede had played a key role in the design in recent years.

Innovative ‘journalism as research’
Dr Robie spoke about the innovative PJR “journalism as research” model resisted by many academic faculties and described how the journal’s Frontline section, pioneered by Professor Wendy Bacon, had set a benchmark for investigative journalism being recognised by the academe.

He also touched briefly on the Asia Pacific Media Network’s new publishing strategy which includes a new title, Pacific Media, publishing on AUT’s Tuwhera indigenous research platform. Although this publication will feature the usual journal attributes, it will focus more on community outcomes.

Pacific Journalism Review has been featured by Australian National University’s Devpolicy Blog.

Blood Money APMN 680wide — “Blood Money” . . . featuring one of the series of Frontline investigative journalism-as-research artIcles about West Papua published by Pacific Journalism Review. Image: PJR screenshot APR

© Mark Pearson 2024 – the moral right of the author has been asserted.

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Tagged as communication-law-and-ethics, Communicator's Guide to Media Law and Ethics, confidentiality, David Robie, ethics, free expression, investigative journalism, journalism, journalism education, mark pearson, media, media law, news, professional values, social media

June 21, 2024 · 1:45 pm

Pacific Media Conference to celebrate 30th birthday of Pacific Journalism Review

By MARK PEARSON Follow @Journlaw

Journalists, publishers, academics, diplomats and NGO representatives from throughout the Asia-Pacific region will gather for the Pacific Media Conference at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji on July 4-6.

A notable part of the conference will be the celebration of the 30^th anniversary of the journal Pacific Journalism Review – founded by the energetic pioneer of journalism studies in the Pacific, Professor David Robie, who was recently honoured in the NZ King’s Birthday Honours list as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. I have been on the editorial board of PJR for two of its three decades.

As well as delivering a keynote address titled “Frontline Media Faultlines: How Critical Journalism can Survive Against the Odds”, Dr Robie will join me and the current editor of PJR, Dr Philip Cass on a panel examining the challenges faced by journalism journals in the Global South/Asia Pacific.

In addition, I will be delivering a conference paper titled “Intersections between media law and ethics – a new pedagogy and curriculum”.

Media law and ethics have often been taught as separate courses in the journalism and communication curriculum or have been structured as two distinct halves of a hybrid course.

My paper explains an integrated approach expounded in my new textbook, The Communicator’s Guide to Media Law and Ethics, where each key media law topic is introduced via a thorough exploration of its moral, ethical, religious, philosophical and human rights underpinnings.

The argument is exemplified via an approach to the ethical and legal topic of confidentiality, central to the relationship between journalists and their sources.

After defining the term and distinguishing it from the related topic of privacy, the paper explains the approach in the textbook and curriculum which traces the religious and philosophical origins of confidentiality sourced to Hippocrates (460-370BC), via confidentiality in the priesthood (from Saint Aphrahat to the modern Catholic Code of Canon Law), and through the writings of Kant, Bentham, Stuart Mill, Sidgwick and Rawls until we reach the modern philosopher Sissela Bok’s examination of investigative journalism and claims of a public’s ‘right to know’.

This leads naturally into an examination of the handling of confidentiality in both public relations and journalism ethical codes internationally and their distinctive approaches, opening the way to the examination of law, cases and examples internationally in confidentiality and disclosure and, ultimately, to a closer examination in the author’s own jurisdiction of Australia.

Specific laws covered include breach of confidence, disobedience contempt, shield laws, whistleblower laws and freedom of information laws – with the latter having a strong foundation in international human rights instruments.

The approach gives ethical studies a practical legal dimension, while enriching students’ legal knowledge with a backbone of its philosophical, religious and human rights origins.

Details about the conference can be found on its USP website.

© Mark Pearson 2024 – the moral right of the author has been asserted.

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January 18, 2024 · 11:20 am

The Communicator’s Guide to Media Law and Ethics – A Handbook for Australian Professionals

By MARK PEARSON Follow @Journlaw

My latest book has been published, covering both media law and ethics for communication students and practitioners.

The Communicator’s Guide to Media Law and Ethics – A Handbook for Australian Professionals (Routledge, London and NY, 2023) offers an introduction to the key legal and ethical topics confronting Australian journalists and strategic communicators both at home and internationally and offers a suite of reflective techniques for navigating them.

It starts by positioning morals, ethics, and the law in their historical and philosophical frameworks by tracing the evolution of free expression and professional media ethics. Media law and ethics are then contextualised in their modern international human rights framework.

Readers are equipped with a skill set for reflecting on the law and ethics of professional media dilemmas – including mindful reflection, the Potter Box, journaling, concept mapping, and discussion.

Such approaches are then applied to key topic areas, including free expression; reputation; confidentiality; privacy; justice; intellectual property; national security; discrimination and harassment; and conflicted interests.

Each is examined in terms of its philosophical underpinnings, relationship to human rights, professional ethical context, international examples, legal principles, key Australian laws, legal cases, and strategies for applying reflective practice techniques. It concludes on a confident note – imploring communicators to engage in constructive and mindful strategic communication with the authority and confidence that results from a working knowledge of media law and ethics.

This handbook is for professional communicators and students in all fields, but particularly in journalism, public relations, corporate communication, media relations, and marketing.

Academics can request inspection copies here.

© Mark Pearson 2024 – the moral right of the author has been asserted.

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Filed under censorship, communication, cyberbullying, defamation, First Amendment, free expression, global journalism, journalism, journalism education, libel, media ethics, Media freedom, media law, Media regulation, online safety, Press freedom, social media

Tagged as communication-law-and-ethics, cyberbullying, defamation, ethics, free expression, freedom to communicate, investigative journalism, journalism, journalism education, Journalist's guide to media law, law, legal education, mark pearson, media, media law, news, online safety, professional values

May 23, 2023 · 12:49 pm

Abuse of Stan Grant highlights law and policy of cyberbullying and online harassment #MLGriff

By MARK PEARSON Follow @Journlaw

The debate surrounding indigenous journalist Stan Grant standing down after harassment from some traditional media and cyberbullying underscores the importance of our research into the online safety of diverse journalists.

The research project by our joint team from Griffith University and Macquarie University was titled ‘Online Safety of Diverse Journalists’.

It was commissioned by Media Diversity Australia (MDA) and funded by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Meta (Facebook), Google News Initiative, the e-Safety Commissioner and Twitter.

The main findings were well explained in this Conversation piece by my research colleagues Bronwyn Carlson, Susan Forde, Madi Day and Faith Valencia-Forester.

My role in the project was to write a law and policy summary about cyberbullying and online safety of diverse journalists and a 15,000 word appendix to the report.

The extended policy report (see Appendix A of the report) reviews the legal, regulatory and self-regulatory landscape of the online safety of diverse news media workers/journalists in Australia – that is, media workers living with disability, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and/or LGBTQIA+. It benchmarks those policies against comparable Western democracies.

The summary of the policy landscape in the area contains 28 key law and policy measures with varying utility and availability, ranging from international human rights instruments down to criminal laws of particular jurisdictions.

© Mark Pearson 2023 – the moral right of the author has been asserted.

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Tagged as Bronwyn Carlson, cyberbullying, defamation, diverse journalists, ethics, Faith Valencia-Forester, free expression, freedom to communicate, investigative journalism, journalism, Journalist's guide to media law, law, Madi Day, mark pearson, media, Media Diversity Australia, media law, online safety, professional values, stan grant, Susan Forde

May 11, 2023 · 3:50 pm

Former ombudsman offers insights into defamation #MLGriff

By MARK PEARSON Follow @Journlaw

A former ombudsman who sued a major newspaper for defamation offers his insights into the experience in Episode #009 of our occasional Griffith University SMALL podcast – Social Media and Law Livestream.

Griffith University Media Law students Emily Soccol and Anna Swann interview Professor John McMillan AO about his successful defamation action against the Canberra Times in 2016.

Mr McMillan has held positions of Commonwealth Ombudsman, Integrity Commissioner for the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, Australian Information Commissioner, NSW Ombudsman and a member of the Australian Copyright Tribunal.

He is also a legal consultant and an Emeritus Professor at the Australian National University. Drawing on his expertise over a five decade career, Professor McMillan offers his perspective on defamation laws and the legal risks associated with publishing damaging material.

The case was settled after mediation. The court judgment on the imputations can be viewed at https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/act/ACTSC/2016/286.html. [McMillan v The Federal Capital Press of Australia Pty Ltd [2016] ACTSC 286 (22 September 2016) ]

[Listen here: 14:26 min].

If you are a communication professional wanting to study in this area, please consider enrolling in our online courses Social Media Law and Risk Management (postgraduate, fully online) or Media Law (undergraduate, available online or on campus).

© Mark Pearson 2023 – the moral right of the author has been asserted.

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Tagged as AJ Brown, Australian media, communication education, communication law, confidential sources, defamation, free expression, freedom to communicate, international law, journalism, journalism education, Journalist's guide to media law, law, mark pearson, media, media law, podcast, privacy, social media, social media law, social media law podcast, social media risk, social media risk and law, Transparency International, whistleblowers

November 1, 2022 · 9:22 am

New public interest defamation defence the subject of chapter in investigative journalism book #MLGriff

By MARK PEARSON Follow @Journlaw

A forthcoming book on changes to investigative journalism across three key liberal democracies features a chapter I have written on the new Australian public interest defence to defamation.

Investigative Journalism in Changing Times – Australian and Anglo-American Reporting, is edited by University of Southern Queensland lecturer Dr Caryn Coatney, who has written five of the 12 chapters.

The book offers new insights into the crucial role of investigative journalism at a pivotal time of technological changes and upheavals.

It surveys innovations and unexpected impacts of the field, from past and present challenges, and what may be in store for the future of the industry.

It is due for publication by Routledge on December 30, 2022.

As explained in its cover notes, the book starts by exploring the increasingly investigative innovations in political and independent reporting, along with a comparison of the rhetoric and reality of a so-called “golden era” of investigative journalism in the past and the present.

The book proceeds to analyse the growth of creative and sports investigative reporting, as well as the ability of contemporary conflict journalism to overcome surmounting challenges.

It also examines the capacity of groundbreaking investigations, including data reporting, to expose injustices involving women, indigenous communities and other minorities.

It features interviews with key industry and research professionals, presenting the reactions of four media experts to the crises faced by investigative journalism in a digital environment of escalating disinformation, legal restrictions and popular interest in the news.

The book concludes by reflecting on previous and current challenges and offers insights into the prospect for investigative journalism of the future.

Presenting unique views on the diversity, resilience and transformative power of investigative journalism, this book will be a valuable resource to students and scholars of journalism, communication, media and politics, as well as professionals already operating within the field of journalism.

My chapter examines the fourth estate principle of the ‘public interest’ as informing important reforms to defamation law in Australia.

It offers an historical and international context to the law around investigative and public interest journalism and tracks some of the financial and legal hurdles investigative journalists and their publishers face when defending defamatory material in their reports.

Shortcomings of the key defences to defamation are highlighted with case examples.

It then details an important recent defamation law reform in Australia – the introduction of a new ‘public interest’ defence modelled on a 2013 UK predecessor – and considers the extent to which it might benefit the enterprise of investigative journalism using historical and international comparisons.

The chapter concludes by speculating how the new defence might have applied hypothetically to a current high-profile trial as a means of examining its potential utility for public interest journalism.

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Tagged as caryn coatney, defamation, ethics, free expression, freedom to communicate, investigative journalism, journalism, Journalist's guide to media law, law, mark pearson, media, media law, professional values, reflective practice, trauma

June 6, 2022 · 12:06 pm

Retired magistrate offers advice to court reporters #MLGriff

By MARK PEARSON Follow @Journlaw

Decades of experience as a magistrate and lawyer inform the advice offered to court reporters in Episode #008 of our occasional Griffith University SMALL podcast – Social Media and Law Livestream.

Retired magistrate Antoine Bloemen. Photo: Anne Bloemen.

Griffith University Media Law student Elizabeth Heseltine interviews retired Western Australian magistrate Antoine Bloemen about the traps faced by novice court reporters, with some fascinating examples.

He draws upon his 40 years of expertise as a legal professional to share his insights into courtroom etiquette and the potential legal ramifications of a poorly researched and written article [Listen here: 14:26 min].

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May 26, 2022 · 10:52 am

Podcast offers rare inside view of FOI process

By MARK PEARSON Follow @Journlaw

Episode #007 of our occasional Griffith University SMALL podcast – Social Media and Law Livestream – looks at Freedom of Information processes from a different perspective – that of a lawyer managing the Commonwealth Government’s FOI approvals and exemptions.

Griffith University Media Law student Mia Durnan interviews Senior Lawyer Rodney Durnan about Freedom of Information laws (FOI); covering basic topics like ‘what is FOI?’, the process of an application, some of the exemptions that can apply and how the FOI laws interact with privacy laws from a practical perspective.

Mr Durnan is part of In-House Counsel for a large Federal Government agency.

With more than 15 years of experience, he and his team specialise in administrative law which includes Freedom of Information and Privacy. [15:25 min] Find Mia’s interview here.

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March 8, 2022 · 2:21 pm

Our SMALL podcast guest: Whistleblower expert Professor AJ Brown

By MARK PEARSON Follow @Journlaw

In episode #006 of our occasional SMALL podcast – Social Media and Law Livestream – I speak with academic whistleblowing expert Professor A J Brown.

Professor Brown is leader of the Centre for Governance and Public Policy’s public integrity and anti-corruption research program in Griffith University’s School of Government and International Relations.

He is on the global board of the world anti-corruption organisation Transparency International and a leading expert on public interest whistleblowing. He talks about the legal framework for whistleblowers and the implications for journalists and their confidential sources. Find our interview here [21:49min].

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