Free Speech and Media Law (BLAW10002)
Undergraduate level 1Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
Overview
| Availability | Semester 2 |
|---|---|
| Fees | Look up fees |
Our laws regarding free speech and media emerged from an era of mainstream media institutions. Now every individual with a digital device and internet access can record, report and comment on events, and frequently does. The old paradigm of organised media and largely passive audience is breaking down. As a result, the regulation of free speech and media has to contemplate the whole gamut of communication from the highly institutionalised to the highly diffused, and the question is whether these diverse arrangements can be addressed while mitigating harms and without unduly constraining public debate.
Principal topics:
- introduction: law's regulation of speech and media;
- history and philosophy of free speech;
- development of a 'media law': the inherited British tradition of law-making and interpretation, role of the High Court, international influences on local law, etc;
- the High Court's implied constitutional freedom of political communication, comparisons with explicit rights frameworks in other jurisdictions (especially US), problems of the national law approach in an interconnected environment;
- defamation laws and the constraints they impose on speech;
- contemporary and comparative defamation laws and their reform;
- confidentiality, privacy and the media;
- reporting the courts and freedom of speech: contempt, suppression and open justice;
- the protection of journalists' sources: litigation, law enforcement and national security;
- ‘offensive’ speech: censorship and classification on various bases; racial and religious vilification; and
- regulatory ramifications of technology-driven issues affecting free speech and the media.
Intended learning outcomes
On completion of this subject students should:
- Recognise that free speech and the media have various legal connection points;
- appreciate the multiple ways in which free speech and the media may be protected and restricted by the law; and
- understand the basic features of the legal treatment of free speech and the media.
Generic skills
On completion of the subject the student should have:
- Capacity for self-directed learning, specifically the ability to plan work and use time effectively;
- cognitive and analytical skills;
- ability to speak about complex ideas in a clear and cogent manner;
- an awareness of diversity and plurality;
- write essays which develop structured argumentation; and
- capacity to judge the worth of their own arguments.
Last updated: 14 March 2025
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 14 March 2025
Assessment
| Description | Timing | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
Tutorial attendance | Throughout the teaching period | 10% |
Media Diary, 4 posts
| Throughout the teaching period | 20% |
Pair-based written assignment
| During the teaching period | 30% |
Final Examination
| During the examination period | 40% |
Additional details
The due dates of the above assessment will be available to students via the LMS subject page.
Last updated: 14 March 2025
Dates & times
- Semester 2
Principal coordinator Brendan Clift Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours Total time commitment 136 hours Teaching period 22 July 2024 to 20 October 2024 Last self-enrol date 2 August 2024 Census date 2 September 2024 Last date to withdraw without fail 20 September 2024 Assessment period ends 15 November 2024 Semester 2 contact information
Time commitment details
136 hours
What do these dates mean
Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:
- Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
- And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
- Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.
Last updated: 14 March 2025
Further information
- Texts
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Breadth Track Law - Media and Intellectual Property Law - Breadth options
This subject is available as breadth in the following courses:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Bachelor of Biomedicine
- Bachelor of Commerce
- Bachelor of Design
- Bachelor of Environments
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Film and Television)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art)
- Bachelor of Science
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Please note Single Subject Studies via Community Access Program is not available to student visa holders or applicants
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
If required, please contact law-admissions@unimelb.edu.au for subject coordinator approval.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
Last updated: 14 March 2025