Starting this month, Professor Joanna Harrington of the Faculty of Law begins a three-year term as the new Chair of the Alberta Press Council. We met with Dr. Harrington to find out more about press councils, their role in promoting freedom of expression and freedom of the press, and her views on lawyers and community service, plus some advice for law students interested in media law.
Q. So what is a press council?
A. A press council is a voluntary body established to handle complaints made against the council's member newspapers in relation to a Code of Practice. The council operates through a board of directors comprised of public members and newspaper representatives from across the province. Like lawyers, the press believes strongly in self-regulation. A press council is not a governance body, nor is it funded by the taxpayer. It is a body of community volunteers, editors and journalists that receives financial support from the press industry to be able to offer a low-cost means of dispute resolution. Press councils are also involved in public education, promoting our established rights to freedom of expression and freedom of the press, as well as a right of access to public information.
Q. Are there many press councils in Canada?
A. The Alberta Press Council was the first press council established in Canada, back in 1972. Its establishment was followed by the creation of press councils in Ontario, Québec, Manitoba, British Columbia and a press council for the Atlantic region. A similar body also existed in the United Kingdom that was replaced in the 1990s with a Press Complaints Commission. There are, in fact, press councils of one sort or another all over the world, including Australia and New Zealand.
Q. Recent UK experience suggests that this is an interesting time for press councils. Do you agree?
A. Clearly the phone hacking scandal involving News of the World has instigated renewed interest in journalism ethics and the question of regulation, although there is existing criminal law on the books to address illegalities. The situation in Canada is very different, where many people may not be aware that press councils even exist. This may be a good thing, in that it means that editors and publishers are handling any complaints very effectively in-house and directly with readers, and that technology these days allows us all to respond to a story or column using the comments function on a newspaper's website. But I do agree that these are interesting times for press councils.
Q. You're not a journalist. So what do you have to offer the press council?
A. If I were a journalist, or had any ties to the press, I could not serve as the Chair as there is a strong desire for, and a tradition of having, a community volunteer or ordinary member of the public to serve as an independent Chair. And I've got big shoes to fill, with past Chairs having included Dr. Myer Horowitz (a past President of the University of Alberta) and Alison Redford (Alberta's Minister of Justice and Attorney General). I think that lawyers, because of our training and experience in fact-finding and issue-spotting, as well as our understanding of natural justice and fairness, have much to offer to community boards, whether big or small, general or specific, and many lawyers do in fact volunteer with various community organizations. I'm a newspaper junkie and so the press council is a natural home for my desire to contribute to the wider community. I've also taught constitutional law for over 10 years, including modules on freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
Q. You also specialize in international law as well as constitutional law. Does international law have any relevance to media law?
A. There have been some issues arising in international criminal law with respect to war correspondents being required to testify or disclose their sources, as well as ethical issues raised concerning embedded journalists and Wikileaks. Journalists have also been among the victims of conflicts abroad, including Michelle Lang, an award-winning journalist with The Calgary Herald. Of course, the right to freedom of expression and opinion is a fundamental right that is well-recognized in international law, having been promoted since at least 1948 by such instruments as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I was very fortunate that my own exposure to the relevance of international and comparative law began so early in my career, when I worked for a well-known UK barrister who litigated many important cases for the press before such courts as the European Court of Human Rights; cases that challenged government fetters on expression and publication through actions for contempt of court, breach of confidence, and orders to disclose sources.
Q. What advice do you have for law students interested in media law?
A. My advice is the same that I give to law students interested in any field of law. Law school goes surprisingly fast and so I always encourage law students to use those three years to gain the strongest foundation possible in a variety of legal fields. You want to leave law school prepared for practice, whether public or private, and so a strong foundation is crucial for any legal career. For media law, you clearly need to know tort law, criminal law, and constitutional law, plus an understanding of history and ethics, with history playing an important part in understanding context, as well as the role for the press in a democratic society. The ability to write - and write well - is also crucial. And lastly, I've always recommended the daily reading of at least one quality newspaper.
For information on the Alberta Press Council, see here