The document discusses laws related to print media and journalism in the Philippines. It covers constitutional protections for freedom of the press and speech. Publishers can be held liable for printing material that is injurious, threatens public order or morals, or undermines government bodies. Defamation laws, including libel, are discussed. For a statement to be considered libel it must be defamatory, made with malice, published to a third party, and clearly identify the person being libeled. The document also differentiates between libel per se and libel per quod.

1. The Law of Print Media

2. Constitutional Provisions
THE RIGHT TO PUBLISH NEWS
is not expressly granted by law,
but is founded on the
general liberty of the people.

3. “No law shall be passed abridging the freedom
of speech, or of the press, or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble and petition the
government for redress of grievances.”
Sub section of Sec. 1, Art. III of the 1935 Constitution states:

4. The reporter or publisher may be held LIABLE
for printing or publishing any of the following:
 those injurious
- to the reputation or privacy of persons
- to the public order and national security
- to the public morals
- to the integrity and efficiency of public
bodies

5. Branch of Law affected:
CRIMINAL LAW
- libel, obscenity, inciting to sedition, contempt,
unlawful publication of official papers, & others
CIVIL LAW
- libel, breach of privacy, violation of copyright,
unfair competition
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
- concerning postal law, mailing privileges, customs
regulations
- it is the libel law which campus editors may most
likely violate

6. “A public and malicious imputation of a crime, or
a vice or defect, real or imaginary, or any act,
omission, condition, status, or circumstances
tending to cause the dishonor, discredit, or
contempt of a natural or judicial person, or to
blacken the memory of one who is dead.”
Art. 353 of the revised Penal Code (Act. Bo. 3815, as amended)

7. the type of defamation with a permanent record,
like a newspaper, a letter, a website posting, an email, a
picture, or a radio or TV broadcast
the type of defamation with no permanent record—normally it's
a spoken statement and it can also be a hand gesture or
something similar

10. Four requisites to make a publication
libelous:
1
• Defamatory imputation
2
• Malice (either in law or in fact)
3
• Publication of the imputation
4
• Identity and certainty of the person libeled

11. 1. Defamatory Statement
 if it exposes a person to hatred, ridicule, or
contempt, or it causes him to be avoided or
shunned and has the tendency to injure him in his
office, profession, or trade
 if it tends to harm the reputation of another as to
lower him in the estimation of the community or
to deter third persons from associating or dealing
with him

12. The law doesn't protect you from a personal insult or a
remark that injures only your pride; it protects reputation,
not feelings.
So if someone calls you a lazy slob, you might be hurt, but
you probably don't have a good reason to sue.
If he goes on to say you cheat in your business dealings,
you probably do have a good reason to sue, as long as
he says it to someone else, not just to you.
If he says it only to you, you can't sue because he has not
hurt your reputation.

13. 2. Malice, either in law or in fact
 if it may denote unprivileged publication or
defamatory matter without lawful excuse (malice
in law) and if it may mean an evil motive or ill-will
in making the publication (malice in fact)

14. A former employee of yours gave your name to an
employer as a reference and that employer calls you for
a reference.
You say, "Well, frankly, I found that this employee caused
morale problems."
As long as you act in good faith and without malice, and
your statement is not made to more people than
necessary, then the defense of qualified privilege protects
you if the former employee sues you for defamation.
You gave your honest opinion and the caller had a
legitimate interest in hearing it.

15. A newspaper columnist may write that a Member of
Parliament (an MP) says he supports equality and equal
rights, but he opposes same-sex marriages.
The columnist writes that the MP is hypocritical.
If the MP sues the columnist for defamation, the columnist
has the defense of fair comment.
Media articles that accurately report what was said at
public meetings are also privileged, unless the meeting
was not of public concern and the report was not for
public benefit.

16. 3. Publication of the imputation
 to be libelous, the defamatory statement should
be published
 the communication of the libelous matter must
be known and understood by a third person,
other than the plaintiff and the defendant

17. 4. Identity and certainty of the person
libeled
 the victim of the defamation must be clearly
identified
 identification need not be by name
 a third person must identify him as the subject of
defamatory matter

18.  Libel per se
 Libel per qoud

19. Libel per se (libel in itself or by itself)
 which means „on its face‟ in Latin
 is a defamatory statement which speaks for itself and
needs no further proof of its meaning or its intent
 is a falsely written accusation
Libel per quod
 which means „under cover‟ in Latin
 is written material that becomes libelous under certain
circumstances
 there is a necessity to look behind the face of the
writing to determine whether the statement actually
does harm

20. - if they are so obviously hurtful to the person aggrieved
by them that they require no explanation and no proofs
of their injurious character to make them actionable

21. “A stole 10,000 from B.”
“A has leprosy.”
“X plays tennis when he should be tending to the
affairs of his bureau.”
“X knows only how to collect fees but not how to
win cases.”
“X was born out of wedlock.”
“X is willing to sleep with any man.”
 The following are pertaining to libel per se:

22. - Did the alleged defamatory article really cause injury?
This had to be proved.

23.  A newspaper publishes a birth announcement
claiming that Sandra Williams on Main Street is the
proud mother, but Sandra is a 16-year-old and a
devout Christian, and the paper really meant to
write about another Sandra who lives on Second
Street.
 The error is libel per quod because Sandra is a
minor, and the announcement may suggest that
she is promiscuous or immoral and not a devout
Christian after all.

24. Defamation may also be committed in the headline
and caption:
HEADLINE- “Murderer arrested”
 the plaintiff had been arrested but had not yet been
charged by the court as guilty
CAPTION- “(L-R) X X X have been arrested
for smuggling…”
 the people mentioned in the picture were balikbayan
 there was an erroneous switching of captions
(switcheroo) of two cuts on the same page

26. Cruz, Ceciliano-Jose. (2010). Campus Journalism and School
Paper Advising. Quezon City: Rex Publishing Co., Inc.
Retrieved January 28, 2013 at http://www.cba.org/bc/public
media / rights/240.aspx.

27. BSE-ENG