Press Law and Journalists

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Description
Today Press, Media, Fourth Estate and Fourth Pillar (of democracy) are the terms often used interchangeably. Again, in modern times democracy has come to be accepted as the most desirable form of governance of polity. In their growth and development Press and democracy display a symbiotic relationship. The histories of Parliament and Press especially in Britain run parallel though the former precedes the latter. The success of democracy depends on well-informed citizens who can articulate their opinion on the affairs of State. This articulation is manifested effectively during 'elections' because democracy is government by the people. Making the people informed is the significant mission that Press has to undertake. It is a market place of ideas and a stock exchange of participatory politics where performance is evaluated by the index value of results. Democratic system like any other mechanism has its own laws. Governance postulates the functions of law making, law implementing and law interpreting. Though a democratic government may be elected it is manned by mortals with their fancies and foibles and they are susceptible to corruption because they deal in the dangerous thing called 'political power' which is prone to attract the virus of corruption. Moreover, Press has a mission to inform the citizens about the way the polity is run. Thus Press vis-à-vis Law becomes an interesting area for any discerning citizen.
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Contents
Chapter 1 : Introduction
Chapter 2 : Freedom of Expression
Chapter 3 : Freedom of Press
Chapter 4 : Press and Commercial Speech
Chapter 5 : Press Freedom VIS-A-VIS State Intervention
Chapter 6 : Legislative Intervention
Chapter 7 : Press VIS-A-VIS Judiciary
Chapter 8 : Executive Intervention
Chapter 9 : Doctrinal Labels for Restrictions
Chapter 10 : Press and Libel
Chapter 11 : Privacy and Press
Chapter 12 : Right to Information Press 
Chapter 13 : Journalist's Rights, Duties and Ethics
Chapter 14 : Who Owns Press
Chapter 15 : Fencing Press Freedom
Chapter 16 : Press Ombudsman
Chapter 17 : Future Press
Chapter 18 : Epilogue
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Author Details
S.Sivakumar, Professor Indian Law Institute