The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
This is the second part of a speech delivered on Press Freedom day, 19 October 2012 at Wits University. The first part was posted on Wednesday 24 October 2012. The third part will be posted later this week
When you examine the media freedom jurisprudence of our courts in recent years, what is striking is how far we have come in quite a short space of time. Continue reading
Journalisted is an independent, not-for-profit website built to make it easier for the public, to find out more about journalists and what they write about. It is run by the Media Standards Trust. It collects information automatically from the websites of British news outlets. Articles are indexed by journalist, based on the byline to the article. Keywords and statistics are automatically generated, and the site searches for any blogs or social bookmarking sites linking to each article. Continue reading
This is the first part of a speech delivered on Press Freedom day, 19 October 2012 at Wits University. The second and third parts will be posted later this week
I am honoured to have been asked to talk about the state of media freedom on this important occasion, as we commemorate the 35th anniversary of Black Wednesday, 19 October 1977. Continue reading
A new report shows that the public do not trust the ethics of tabloid newspapers and have strict views on “public interest” and illegal information gathering. It also shows strong public support for an independent regulator to decide issues of public interest. The report, Voicing the Public Interest: Listening to the public on press regulation was published on Monday 22 October 2012 by the Carnegie UK Trust. Continue reading
The comedian Frankie Boyle was, today, successful in his action for libel against MGN, the publishers of the “Daily Mirror”. He was awarded damages in the total sum of £54,650. The trial began last Monday, 15 October 2012, before Mr Justice Eady and a jury in Court 13 of the Royal Courts of Justice in London. We had a short report on the trial on Saturday. Continue reading
The Jimmy Savile scandal continues to dominate news headlines, with focus on the BBC’s decision to drop its Newsnight film. Reports in the The Times (£), Channel 4, the Independent and elsewhere quote internal emails between the production team. A BBC Panorama special is expected to air on Monday evening. The former editor of the Today Programme, Kevin Marsh (whose new book on the BBC and the Hutton Inquiry is out) has a post commenting on the editorial process and wider implications here. Continue reading
The Sunday Times is once again breathtakingly one-sided about Leveson. It’s Focus-page treatment of the issue – under the ludicrous headline “CENSORED” – is little more than a lengthy puff for the line now being taken by most editors and proprietors, and a few pages later the leading article bangs away on the same feeble points. Continue reading
Last month Inforrm had a case comment on the decision in which the High Court refused a privacy injunction because the former manager of the England football team was “undoubtedly a public figure”. As such, he belonged to “the category of those from whom the public could reasonably expect a higher standard of conduct”. This is an approach which has long been promoted by the tabloid press. But the independent evidence strongly suggests that it is not the public’s own view of the public interest. Continue reading
Court 13 of the Royal Courts of Justice was, this last week, the venue for an unusual legal event: a High Court libel jury trial. The claim is being brought by comedian Frankie Boyle against MGN Ltd, publishers of the Daily Mirror, in respect of an allegation that he is a racist. MGN is defending the case on the basis that the allegation is true or that it was “honest comment”. Continue reading
Debate on qualified privilege is often problematic as it is the grey area that lies between two fundamental rights: freedom of expression and protection of reputation. In England qualified privilege has become an important defence, and was firmly under the spotlight in the landmark case of Reynolds v Times Newspapers Limited . Continue reading
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