ABSTRACT

It should go without saying that legal affairs as a specialist topic is distinct from court and crime reporting. It is simpler to establish clear blue water between legal affairs from crime reporting because criminal law forms only one element of law. Newspapers and broadcasters will have dedicated crime correspondents as well as court reporters. The distinction between legal affairs and court reporting is less clear cut, but both require particular skills, knowledge and expertise. Fundamentally, the task of the legal affairs correspondent is to explain how the law operates and why certain judgments have been reached. Comment and criticism come into play. Crime and court reporters have a different agenda and function.