Benefits
Media Issues for Judges in the Information Age
What will I learn at this course? After attending the Basic Skills course, you will:
Understand more clearly what the culture of the news media is and what values journalists bring to their jobs in covering the courts.
Know where to start in creating a publicity campaign to promote some aspect of the court's work.
Understand how interviews are conducted and what some general ground rules are.
Gain greater insight into what potential difficulties arise through interviews and how to avoid problem areas.
Understand how to be interviewed by the press and how to provide appropriate responses.
Understand the role of the public information officer as the liaison between the courts and the reporters.
Gain insight into the difficulties public information officers can face when attempting to assist the media while also protecting the interests of the court.
Understand how judicial ethical rules can create an inherent tension between judges and journalists.
Understand how the separate ethical guidelines for both judges and journalists are applied in balancing the concerns in achieving both a "fair trial" and a "free press."
Understand how the tensions between the First Amendment (Free Press) and Sixth Amendment (Fair Trial) can surface in the course of a trial.
Basic Legal Affairs Reporting for Journalists
What will I learn at this course? After attending the Basic Skills course, you will:
Better understand the potential conflicts inherently involved in Free Press/Fair Trial issues as guided by First and Sixth Amendment law as determined by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Get a clearer picture of how the courts are structured, what titles and functions create differences between the courts in the various jurisdictions.
Understand the court process and language used by the judges and attorneys.
Know where the chief problem areas exist for reporters covering the courts and how to maneuver in these difficult areas.
Know what judicial ethical restrictions exist and how they can complicate a reporter's effort to gain information.
Know what steps courts sometimes take to restrict access to information, such as gag orders, closure of proceedings and sealing of documents, and what rights a reporter has in attempting to challenge such steps.
Discuss what ethics guidelines exist for legal affairs journalists and what challenges covering the courts can create for ethical issues.
Know your rights when confronted with court personnel who attempt to prevent you from seeing public court records.
Discuss the broader social implications on the relationship between the courts and the media as they apply to public trust and confidence in both professions.
Learn what special issues and challenges exist when you are assigned to cover a high-profile trial that brings in state and national media.
Learn what your rights are when you are brought into the case as a witness because a party to the lawsuit wants evidence about information you have published or aired.
Learn where your news sources exist in the court setting and what your options are when the main parties can't or won't talk to you.
Essential Court Teamwork in Dealing with the Media
What will I learn at this course? After attending the Basic Skills course, you will:
Understand more clearly what the culture of the news media is and what values journalists bring to their jobs in covering the courts.
Know where to start in creating a publicity campaign to promote some aspect of the court's work.
Understand how interviews are conducted and what some general ground rules are.
Gain greater insight into what potential difficulties arise through interviews and how to avoid problem areas.
Understand how to be interviewed by the press and how to provide appropriate responses.
Understand the role of the public information officer as the liaison between the courts and the reporters.
Gain insight into the difficulties public information officers can face when attempting to assist the media while also protecting the interests of the court.
Understand how judicial ethical rules can create an inherent tension between judges and journalists.
Understand how the separate ethical guidelines for both judges and journalists are applied in balancing the concerns in achieving both a "fair trial" and a "free press."
Understand how the tensions between the First Amendment (Free Press) and Sixth Amendment (Fair Trial) can surface in the course of a trial.
