Symposium #3 Notes

1. How much freedom do we have when writing critically of others or others’ work before we become liable for defamation or copyright infringement?

 

  • Blogs are essentially on copyright lockdown
  • Defamation comes in relation to reputation; if your accusations harm another’s professional reputation then you will be open to defamation charges. Personalizing (naming) in a blog is dangerous
  • Separating opinion from writing un-bias in your blog can help to avoid defamation charges
  • In some defamation cases, truth as a defense is acceptable, however in certain cases it is not a sufficient defense
  • It is not a criminal matter until it is brought to a court; copyright and defamation are civil offences, so unless you’re caught you cannot be charged
  • Imbedded YouTube videos in your blog have implied liability with the host site, i.e. YouTube hold liability for that content if it breaches copyright
    • YouTube have algorithms that run similarity reports to check if there are any copyright violations, and videos are automatically taken down – YouTube is kind of safe in this sense
  • It’s up to the original creator and/or copyright holder to police the breaches in that copyright
    • E.g. if a band’s song lyrics are used in a video, or a cover of the song, etc. it is up to the musicians to police that and press copyright charges
  • If you slander someone based upon gender, race, religion, sex, etc. it is illegal; there is no freedom of speech protection in Australia (America is the only country that has enshrined freedom of speech as a protection)
  • Intent doesn’t matter; if it is offensive to someone then your intent doesn’t matter, it is still offense. The same applies to copyright, whether or not you intended to sexist, racist, etc. if someone interprets that as such, then it is.
  • Opinion v. Criticism; criticism comes from a learned perspective. Opinion has no such backing (a mechanic critiquing a car vs. an everyday person)
  • If someone comments on a blog you host and that comment has links to illegal content, you are responsible as the host for that content

 

2. Copyright protects published content, however this protection does not extend to the ideas or concepts that this content was based on. At what point does content or “fact” become an idea? And vice versa?

 

  • You can patent a way to create a certain way, combining various elements to create something like a drug or medicine
  • E.g. Microsoft has trademarked the word ‘Windows’ however windows companies don’t have to pay Microsoft when they use the word in their companies because it’s a different context

Youth Blog Culture

Blogs are an amazing way to collate and present ideas, findings, discussions, opinions, artistic works and many other forms of content. The blog has become a tool for both personal and professional content sharing and its flexibility as a forum has made the blog invaluable to employers and educators alike. However the blog has really taken off within youth culture.

It seems that more young people are taking up blogs as a hobby, almost as a substitute journal or diary, in which they can post their feelings, opinions and life events (anonymously if they so choose). Wheres blogs are only used by older generations if they work in a media orientated profession, or have interest and activity within media, the percentage of social and leisure blogs among youth is much higher. High school to university aged students are using blogs to share among their social circles.

Back to the diversity of blogs. Many older bloggers, already established in their media profession, operate multiple blogs: one for professional use and one for social use. For example, a friend of mine works as a advertising designer and as part of her job she is required to keep up a blog with all of her work and projects for prospective clients to view; almost like a portfolio. She also has her own personal blog where she can re-post other content she found interesting and publish her own content and opinions independent from her advertising firm.

Comedy Critics

A little aways from Networked Media but still relevant to media as a whole.

A great read and some great videos showing how comedy can actually be an important platform for social criticism and in fact comedians can often be the most honest and transparent critics. This article and its attached videos focus mainly on the scientific community and the debates over Climate Change, Vaccination and Evolution.

Comedy vs. Anti-Science