[00:01:00]2007

[00:02.38]The study of law has been recognized

[00:04.30]for centuries as a basic intellectual discipline in European universities.

[00:09.17]However, only in recent years has it become a feature of undergraduate programs

[00:14.12]in Canadian universities.

[00:16.90](46) Traditionally legal learning has been viewed in such institutions

[00:20.34]the special preserve of lawyers,

[00:24.09]rather than a necessary part of the intellectual equipment of an educated person.

[00:29.32]Happily, the older and more continental view of legal education

[00:33.90]is establishing itself in a number of Canadian universities some

[00:38.36]have even begun to offer undergraduate degrees in law. ?

[00:42.00]If the study of law is beginning to establish as part and parcel of a general education,

[00:48.46]its aims and methods should appeal directly to journalism educators.

[00:53.97]Law is a discipline encourages responsible judgment.

[00:57.99]On the one hand,

[00:59.54]it provides opportunities to analyze such ideas as justice, democracy and freedom.

[01:05.09](47) On the other,

[01:06.26] it links these concepts to everyday realities in a manner

[01:09.97]which is parallel to the links journalists forge on a daily basis

[01:14.18]as they cover and comment on the news.

[01:17.02]For example, notions of evidence and fact,

[01:20.52]of basic rights and public interest are at work

[01:24.28]in the process of journalistic judgment

[01:27.17]and production just as in courts of law.

[01:30.13]Sharpening judgment by absorbing

[01:32.59]and reflection on law is a desirable component

[01:36.19]of a journalist’s intellectual preparation for his or her career.?

[01:40.43](48)But the idea that the journalist must understand the law more profoundly

[01:44.46]than an ordinary citizen rests on an understanding of the established conventions

[01:51.08]and special responsibilities of the news media.

[01:54.31]Politics or, more broadly, the functioning of the state,

[01:58.27]is a major subject for journalists.

[02:01.12]The better informed they are about the way the state works,

[02:04.14]the better their reporting will be.

[02:07.17](49)In fact, it is difficult to see how journalists who do not have a clear grasp

[02:12.49]of the basic features of the Canadian Constitution can do a competent job

[02:18.69]on political stories.?

[02:19.97]Furthermore, the legal system and the events which occur within it are

[02:24.69]primary subjects for journalists.

[02:27.21]While the quality of legal journalism varies greatly,

[02:30.36]there is an undue reliance amongst many journalists

[02:34.20]on interpretations supplied to them by lawyers.

[02:37.86](50)While comment and reaction from lawyers may enhance stories,

[02:41.84]it is preferable for journalists to rely

[02:45.35]on their own notions of significance and make their own judgments.

[02:49.46]These can only come from a well-grounded understanding of the legal system.?