Legal considerations and support

• There are legal parameters around telling your story to the media. If a story is the subject of legal proceedings, the law is very strict as to what can be reported. 
• Going to the media could impact you later if you the case. decide to go to court. 
• If you are ready to tell your story, seek your own, independent legal advice if possible. 
• Larger media organisations have an internal legal team that checks stories before publication for defamation, contempt of court, etc., to ensure they are not in breach of the law. This may mean that something may not be published.
• Once someone is identified in one article, it could be taken by other publications as permission to name the victim and survivor in all reporting. 

During a trial

• If a legal trial is happening, a journalist can only report on what happens in court and cannot include other information as it may prejudice the case.
• Journalists have a legal responsibility to give a fair account of what happens in a courtroom.

Some terminology

Allegedly:

There are some terms, such as allegedly, that a journalist must use in court reporting. Allegedly is used in reporting to distinguish when an allegation has been made but has not yet been tested in court.

Defamation:

Something that is published that damages a person’s reputation or holds them up to ridicule.