FoE Con 2023: Why legal reporting matters, and how to make it accessible

On April 1, Newslaundry and the Internet Freedom Foundation hosted FoE Con 2023, a forum that brought together media personalities and leading voices in the legal sphere to map the media and regulatory framework in contemporary India.

The session “Writing on the judiciary” was moderated by IFF head Apar Gupta, who was joined by Live Law managing editor Manu Sebastian, constitutional law scholar Gautam Bhatia, and the Print journalist Apoorva Mandhani.

Several barriers to legal information are being broken down, be it through the live-streaming from courts, or lawyers turning journalists through blogs. But there’s scope for more, in a country with high pendency in courts and the need for accountability and equal access to justice. 

Through quality legal reportage, journalists can not only help retain the focus on fundamental rights, but also change how the public understands the legal process and social issues.

“I believe legal journalism is still in its nascent stage and its peak is yet to be achieved. So there’s a lot of scope for legal journalism. The present coverage is confined to the Supreme Court and high courts in the big metros and cities. What is happening in the mofussil areas and the lower courts...That is completely unknown to the public. There are a lot of blind spots...A lot of areas to be covered,” said Sebastian.

Watch.

Text by Sudeshna Ray.