Bermingham & Brennan: Tort Law Directions 
Guidance on answering problem and essay questions
Test bankBermingham & Brennan: Tort Law Directions
Chapter 16
Page 288
Qualified privilege, the media and political information
Roberts v Gable C A [2008] Q.B. 502
The claimants, members of a political party alleged that the defendants libelled them in an article in a monthly magazine, which reported that other members of the same party had publicly accused them of stealing money collected at a party meeting and threatening other party members with physical violence. The claimants brought an action for libel against the author of the article, the editor of the magazine, and its publisher, who pleaded the defences of justification and qualified privilege. This case has provided the Court of Appeal with the opportunity to explore the nature and extent of the emerging “reportage” defence of qualified privilege and its place in the libel law landscape.
Reportage privilege is available where the media neutrally reports the allegations made by one party against another without adopting, embellishing, or endorsing the allegations. Although still subject to the Reynolds test, provided that the report met the standards of responsible journalism, this special species of qualified privilege protects the reporting of news by the press and the broadcasting media, which reports both sides in a disinterested way. Where an article viewed objectively constitutes reportage, responsible journalism does not require the defendants to establish the truth of what was reported and, in certain circumstances, it may be unrealistic to expect the defendants to have sought comment from the claimants before publication.
View print version