The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
Earlier this month a Labour backbencher asked the Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, what she thought of IPSO, the self-styled ‘self-regulator’ of most of the national press. It was a written question and the written answer came from one of Nandy’s junior ministers, Stephanie Peacock. It simply said: Continue reading
Eric Beecher is a rare beast: a combination of journalist, media owner and idealist. In 1984, aged 33, he became the youngest-ever editor of the Sydney Morning Herald and he has worked around the world as a journalist. He is currently chair and the largest shareholder in Private Media, owner of several Australian news websites, including Crikey. Continue reading
What is a ‘supermajority’? The terms is used to refer to a significant majority; perhaps two-thirds. To win a majority this big, would clearly be a remarkable result for the Labour Party in this General Election. But, in the UK’s House of Commons, such a majority has no value in and of itself. Continue reading
Will Lewis may not be a well-known name in the UK, but he is getting to be quite famous in the United States, if not in a good way. He is a journalist and, in fact, he is really Sir Will Lewis, since he received a knighthood last year in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list. You can tell a lot from that. Continue reading
According to Thangam Debbonaire MP, Labour’s current shadow culture secretary, there is nothing more to be done about press regulation. When asked, recently, if a Labour government would revive Part 2 of the Leveson Inquiry, or do anything else to hold the press to account, she answered: “There is already media regulation, there is already the criminal and civil law. We don’t have plans to do anything, any new legislation in that area, no”. Continue reading
The Labour Party, which had recently shown signs it might abandon altogether the pursuit of reform of the media, has this week renewed its support for Leveson-style press regulation, albeit in low-key fashion. Continue reading
In his new year speech, Keir Starmer held out his familiar vague promises of change after this year’s election and warned us that the Conservatives would go down fighting dirty, but he once again failed even to mention the media or the press. Continue reading
In order to protect the confidentiality of journalists’ sources it is arguable that the concept of national security ought to be accorded a full legal status. This question has been reignited by the debate concerning EU regulation on the future measure on press freedom which pits those who want journalists to have absolute ‘freedom to investigate’ against those who believe that this freedom cannot be absolute or, in any case, cannot be exercised to the point of endangering national security. Continue reading
Press freedom is once again in peril, according to right-wing newspapers. As part of a mass offensive recalling the heady days of reaction to the Leveson Inquiry into the culture, practices, and ethics of the British press following the phone-hacking scandal, an editorial in the Mail on 28 November boomed that freedom of the press is a “democratic necessity” and among the “precious institutions and freedom which must not be compromised at any price” – while Charles Moore warned in the Telegraph on 24 November that “the nationalisation of a British national newspaper seems possible”. Continue reading
On 15 June 2023 Fancourt J, handed down judgment in the case of Duke of Sussex and Ors v MGN Limited [2023] EWHC 3217 (Ch). In a 386 page, 1679 paragraph judgment, the judge made damning findings concerning the Mirror Group’s engagement in phone hacking and other unlawful information gathering over many years. Continue reading
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