At this moment, the Chinese media are at a crossroads. Hitherto, media regulation had been primarily aimed at ensuring, in a top-down manner, that the ruling party’s message was spread to the population. This objective was supported by overall State ownership and control over media outlets, strict requirements over content, authority over personnel appointments and a tight punitive regime. In recent years, however, this picture has become more complex. Continue reading
The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
Month: June 2012 (Page 4 of 5)
The Leeds United Chairman, Ken Bates, has been ordered to pay damages of £10,000 to a Yorkshire businessman, Melvyn Levi. Judgment was handed down on 7 June 2012 [PDF] by Judge Gosnell in the Leeds County after a four day trial in April 2012. The Judge also granted an injunction restraining Mr Bates from commenting on Mr and Mrs Levi’s private and personal life, for two years. However, Mr Bates was allowed to mention the on-going commercial dispute between him and Mr Levi as well as other non-private matters. Continue reading
The round up returns after a bank holiday break last week. Inforrm summarised developments during the Easter Legal Term here: four (judge alone) libel trials, one involving a media defendant, and one privacy trial, against a media defendant.
The fourth Case Management Conference in the Second Tranche of claims in the voicemail interception litigation against NGN took place in the High Court before Mr Justice Vos on Friday 1 June 2012. Continue reading
One of the biggest weeks of the Leveson Inquiry so far saw a former prime minister and several Cabinet ministers give evidence on contact with the press, regulation and the BSkyB takeover bid. Tony Blair’s long-awaited testimony on his relationship with Rupert Murdoch was interrupted by a protestor – who managed to access the restricted judge’s corridor – and Jeremy Hunt took to the witness stand to vindicate himself over inappropriate contact with News Corporation over the BSkyB bid. Continue reading
The most recent and persuasive case study showing why there is an urgent need to reform regulation of the news media has been provided by the news media itself. And it’s been provided in the way they have reported on the Independent Media Inquiry.
What they have done is to under-report a lot of what was presented to the Independent Media Inquiry late last year, and to either misreport the inquiry’s findings or to ignore large parts of the report altogether. Continue reading
The media coverage of the Diamond Jubilee gives rise to some interesting issues – it will be interesting to see the indispensable “Journalisted” weekly analysis of press coverage. We thought that for the Inforrm Jubilee celebration we would take the opportunity to remind our readers of some interesting privacy law cases featuring the royal family. Continue reading
As regular readers will have noticed, we have not posted a “Law and Media Round up” this week. The Easter legal term ended on 1 June 2012 and Inforrm is taking a short break over the Spring Bank and Jubilee Bank Holidays. Regular posting will resume with the Trinity legal term on 12 June 2012 (when our round up will cover a two week period). Continue reading
The Defamation Bill is to receive a second reading in the House of Commons on 12 June. In preparation, Lord McNally has been repeating the mantra that the reforms will introduce a better balance between free speech and the protection of reputation in the law of libel. The inference to be drawn is that the substantive law is currently weighted in favour of reputation. Any casual observer of the ballyhoo and passing frenzy that has characterised discussion of this issue over the past 24 months would no doubt nod assent. Continue reading
There is an old joke about a gamekeeper confronting a poacher who is heading home at dawn with a deer over his shoulder. “Aha!” exclaims the gamekeeper. “Caught you redhanded!” The poacher, all innocent surprise, replies: “What do you mean?” “I mean that, on your shoulder,” says the gamekeeper, pointing. The poacher swivels his eyes towards his own shoulder, affects to see the dead animal for the very first time and, with an expression of horror, thrusts it away crying: “Yeugh! How did that get there?” Continue reading
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