Press Gazette Media Law Conference

Media law conference programme

8.45 - 9.15

Coffee and registration

9.15 - 9.25

Welcome from editor of Press Gazette, Dominic Ponsford

9.30 - 10.30

Freedom of Information (panel session)

Maurice Frankel (Director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information): Is Freedom of Information going forwards, backwards or stuck?

Matt Davis - Beyond Freedom of Information: The director new agency DataNews explains how journalists can use data available on the internet (outside the Freedom of Information Act) to find great stories.

Heather Rogers QC: Fighting for Freedom of Information in the courts

Bob Satchwell: Director of the Society of Editors, Access to court lists - a breakthrough for the press.

10.30 - 11.00

How journalist can protect their sources and confidentiality when they themselves are targeted by the police.

Louis Charalambous , from Simons Muirhead & Burton, the lawyer who helped local press journalist Sally Murrer see off Thames Valley Police's bid to send her to prison for talking to police sources.

11.00 - 11.15

Coffee and refreshments

11.15 - 12.15

Privacy and defamation update (panel session)

Christina Michalos, Barrister, 5RB, (author of the Law of Photography and Digital Images): Fair play for journalists online - protecting your words and images, and making the best (legal) use of content from other websites and social media.

Caroline Kean, head of media litigation at Wiggin: Was Paul Dacre right about Mr Justice Eady's backdoor privacy law? And what do recent decisions extending privacy rights mean for the media?

Julian Pike, Farrer and Co, keeping libel costs down in a recession part one (national press)

Tony Jaffa, from Foot Anstey, keeping libel costs down in a recession part two (regional press)

12.15 - 12.45

Guy Vassall-Adams - Doughty Street

Where do journalists' rights to report the courts stand in the light of the December announcement that family courts are being opened up to the press.

12.45 - 2.00

Lunch

2.00 - 3.00

Keynote speaker - The Justice Secretary - Jack Straw - (speech plus questions)

(Introduced by Bob Satchwell - Director of the Society of Editors)

Speaking in the wake of the historic news last month that the government plans to open family courts to the press.

3.00 - 4.15

The Big Debate:

Is it time to end Britain's reputation as libel capital of the world? Should libel laws be reformed to safeguard investigative journalism?

Speaker in favour of reform of the current libel system:

David Hooper from Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (author of Reputations Under Fire)

Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of Guardian News and Media.

Speaking up for the current system:

Mark Thomson from the UK’s most feared claimant libel firm - Carter Ruck.

Jennifer Howlett, the former Mayor of Castlepoint, Essex, who herself has made use of no win, no fee rules for libel cases.