ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the architecture of the debate about media representations of legal human rights. In particular, the chapter considers the way in which discussion is framed in binary terms, around a distinction between a ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ press, and based on an absolute conception of legality. The chapter explores the implications of the instrumentalism which prompts a focus on the ends, rather than the means, of human rights law in public debate. The chapter reflects on the consequences of framing media debate about human rights law in these terms, and argues that the effect on public discourse might be to lock out democratic scepticism about the structures, processes and institutions through which legal human rights are established and developed.
