There are two ways of looking at Theresa May’s decision to reverse Rona Fairhead’s appointment as BBC chair, thereby effectively dismissing her. The first is benign, reflecting a genuine impatience with David Cameron’s decision to allow Fairhead to move across from the BBC Trust to the new Unitary Board, which will come into effect early next year. Continue reading
The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
Tag: Steven Barnett (Page 3 of 4)
There is a conceit among many senior editors in the U.K. that Britain has “the best journalism in the world.” At its best, certainly, British journalism is very good indeed. From the sober analysis of the Financial Times and the Economist to the tub-thumping of the tabloid press to the BBC’s worldwide reputation for accuracy and impartiality, the British public has access to a healthy mixture of domestic, foreign, and investigative reporting. On many occasions, democracy has been well served by journalists here who make important stories accessible and hold power to account. Continue reading
When the Court of Appeal overturned a judge’s refusal to grant an injunction to a married celebrity about an alleged “threesome”, much of the British press could barely conceal its fury. Continue reading
Is John Whittingdale the most hostile politician ever to have responsibility for the BBC? When a senior Telegraph journalist called his appointment as culture secretary “an effective declaration of war” on the BBC, some of us thought it excessive. Continue reading
You are unlikely to read about it about in the mainstream press, but this week saw a major step forward for genuinely independent press regulation in the UK. The new press regulator IMPRESS (Independent Monitor for the Press) has announced that it has not only signed up a dozen publishers but that it has submitted an application for formal recognition. This will now be assessed by the Press Recognition Panel (PRP), the wholly independent body established by cross-party agreement. Continue reading
Yesterday’s front page headline in the Sun covers almost the entire page. Accompanied by a chilling photo of a knife-wielding “Jihadi John” in black balaclava, it proclaims “1 IN 5 BRIT MUSLIMS’ SYMPATHY FOR JIHADIS”. It is a lie. Even worse, it is a shameful distortion of its own polling data, consciously designed to fuel terror and distrust of Muslims. Continue reading
For anyone who cares about journalism in Britain, this November is hugely significant. It could mark a new era of genuinely effective press self-regulation which will both shore up vital public interest and watchdog journalism and protect ordinary people from mistreatment by powerful news publishers. Continue reading
Two years ago, as most of the UK’s national press were furiously denouncing plans for a new model of self-regulation based on the recommendations of the Leveson report, the Guardian’s Martin Kettle wrote a powerful piece about where power lies in British politics. Continue reading
Barack Obama’s hugely experienced aide David Axelrod – who advised Ed Miliband on his campaign – was unequivocal about the press hostility which he faced in the run-up to this election: “I’ve worked in aggressive media environments before but not this partisan.” Continue reading
As criminal trials proceed against more journalists for alleged corrupt payments to public officials, and more evidence emerges about industrial-scale phone-hacking at Mirror Group newspapers, the Sun appears to have ratcheted up its “save our press freedom” mantra with a systematic attack on the Crown Prosecution Service. Continue reading
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