The lawyer behind property developer Helen Liu’s case to force three journalists from The Age to reveal their sources says the internet is “the big news story” in media law.Kennedys partner Patrick George acted for Liu to secure a court order last month against The Age journalists who were told to reveal their sources for a story alleging Liu had made “substantial payments” to former federal defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon in a “campaign to cultivate him as an agent of political and business influence”.Liu claims the sources defamed her. The court has stayed the order to enable The Age and the journalists to appeal. Fairfax Media publishes both The Age and The Australian Financial Review.Though he cannot comment on the case, George says while “traditional cases against newspapers and television stations” are still common, “what we see emerging are cases against platforms or against people using the internet”. “Anyone can basically be a reporter of news [now], on Twitter, Facebook or whatever means you want,” he says.
http://www.afr.com/p/national/legal_affairs/online_freedoms_yet_to_be_tested_9aH1oizX0hnSPGPZn37cDP