International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

For the purposes of this entry, licensing of journalists is understood to mean a system whereby individuals are required to apply to an external authority for permission to practice journalism, which permission may be refused or revoked. Closely related to licensing are regimes whereby journalists are required to belong to a certain professional association, such as a journalists' syndicate, and where such associations may refuse or revoke membership (→  Journalism ; Journalism: Legal Situation ). In some countries, the law places certain minimum conditions on who may practice journalism, such as minimum age or training criteria, or citizenship requirements. Formally, this is not licensing as it does not involve the possibility of permission to practice journalism being refused or revoked. However, where the conditions go beyond the purely technical, for example by removing the right to practice journalism upon conviction for criminal defamation, this system starts to reflect some of the key problems associated with licensing. Accreditation , on the other hand, is quite different from licensing, although the two are sometimes confused. Accreditation involves the granting of special privileges, most commonly access to restricted areas such as legislatures and courts, to journalists on the basis that they will inform the wider public about these proceedings. Where accreditation ... log in or subscribe to read full text