Why stories go untold

Data protection law has to take into account the important role the media plays in society and make exemptions accordingly, an Australian media law professor said yesterday.

"I can see why governments pass such legislation but there should be exemptions for the media that respect freedom of expression - a most essential value that can be restricted," Mark Pearson warned.

The Data Protection Act of 2001 was one of the issues that came up for discussion during a half-day seminar on defamation and contempt, organised by the Tumas Fenech Foundation for Education in Journalism in collaboration with the Institute of Maltese Journalists at the New Dolmen Hotel, in Qawra.

Prof. Pearson, head of journalism at Bond University in Queensland, Australia, is the author of The Journalist's Guide To Media Law, the main journalism law textbook down under and is a regular trainer of journalists in his country.

The journalists who attended the seminar remarked that they were facing situations where people were refusing to divulge information, citing the Data Protection Act as a pretext not to provide any details.

"Many are quoting this law left, right and centre without knowing what it actually entails. Many are using the law as an excuse for being awkward. Many of us feel this law is hindering our work," one journalist argued.

The education and information secretary of the Institute of Maltese Journalists, Charlot Zahra, explained that following a seminar on how the law affects journalists, the Data Protection Commissioner had expressed his intention of drafting a code of practice for journalists.

In the meantime, the institute had gathered feedback on the law from media houses and had submitted a position paper to the commissioner.

"We were given to believe that the matter would be concluded by the end of last year. But, so far, we have not received any feedback," he said.

The institute will be following up the matter and trusts that eventually the two sides will reach an agreement on a code of practice that respects privacy, freedom of expression and the media's role in society, Mr Zahra said.

The seminar was marked with several debates and personal experiences as the topic switched to defamation and contempt, with Prof. Pearson quoting several landmark cases in Australia that shaped the way journalists there work.

There was also a debate on whether journalists should be registered officially and what defined a journalist, a question that is hard to answer.

Another issue that surfaced was anti-terrorism legislation following the September 11, 2001 attacks. Prof. Pearson said that following that legislation journalists could face imprisonment if authorities felt they harboured information about terrorism.

"The price society has to pay for having better security, meant the media faced new risks. Journalists are sometimes scared to push the boundaries with the result that many stories go untold," he said.