Leveson: police and the media, the proposals – Alex Bailin QC

Whilst the headlines reverberating from the Leveson Report are dominated by the theme of press regulation, tucked away deeper in the Report are some very significant proposals concerning journalistic protection and the relationship between the media and the criminal law.

The Many Mythologies of Press Freedom, Part 2, Media Self-Censorship – Julian Petley

The Sun is far from alone in attacking other media organisations, but newspapers routinely calling for the censorship of other media is a paradoxical and extremely distasteful sight.  It is one which casts a good deal of doubt on the sincerity of their demands before the Leveson Inquiry that press freedom must be protected above all else. Press freedom is but one aspect of media freedom in general, and if newspapers cannot see that there is the starkest of contradictions in calling for their own freedom (self-circumscribed though it is) to be defended whilst bawling for the censorship of other media, then the clock really has struck thirteen.

Is Leveson ‘Fit and Proper’ to deal with Media Ownership: the response – Damian Tambini

Following my post a couple of weeks ago, the Leveson Inquiry continues to struggle with its terms of reference and the particular question of whether it should make recommendations on media ownership. Leveson himself chose yesterday  (at 94-103 minutes) to ask Ed Miliband whether he could avoid making detailed recommendations on the controversial topic. The Judge, perhaps seeking political cover for a possible decision to duck the question of media ownership, sought to clarify the responsibility set for him by the terms of reference of the Inquiry.

McNae’s: still essential, 21 editions later – Judith Townend

A journalist with no formal legal training gave his name to the industry’s media law “bible”.

Leonard McNae, 1902-1996, wrote the first Essential Law for Journalists for the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ), which was published as a book in 1954, replacing the NUJ’s The Pressman and the Law by G.F.L. Bridgman of the Middle Temple.

Law and Media Round Up – 26 March 2012

Media law news this week was dominated by the Tulisa privacy injunction and the long-awaited judgment in Flood v Times Newspapers. Tulisa used a YouTube video, which has now attracted over 3.5 million views, to “set the record straight” following the leak and publication of a private video.

Practice: Without notice injunction procedure – a further warning for practitioners

Practitioners have, again, been reminded in strong terms of the need for strict compliance with the Civil Procedure Rules when applications are made for “without notice” injunctions.  It has again been pointed out that notice is a matter of “elementary” justice and that, if it is not given, CPR 25.3(3) and PD 25A para 4.3 require the service of evidence stating the reasons why notice has not been given.

News: James Murdoch resigns from News International – Laura Sandwell

In what will be seen by many as another piece of phone hacking fallout, James Murdoch has left the News Corporation English newspaper business and moved to New York.  In a statement released today by parent group News Corporation, it was announced that James Murdoch has relinquished his position as Executive Chairman at News International.

News: Supreme Court grants Glenn Mulcaire permission to appeal against “privilege against self-incrimination” ruling

The UK Supreme Court has granted private investigator Glenn Mulcaire permission to appeal against the ruling of the Court of Appeal, on 1 February 2012, that he could not claim privilege against self-incrimination in the phone hacking litigation.   The appeal will be heard on the 9 and 10 May 2012.

Press ‘omerta’: How newspapers’ failure to report the phone hacking scandal exposed the limitations of media accountability- Daniel Bennett and Judith Townend

“[Nick] Davies’s work…has gained no traction at all in the rest of Fleet Street, which operates under a system of omerta so strict that it would secure a nod of approbation from the heads of the big New York crime families” Peter Oborne, The Observer, April 2010

“There seemed to be some omerta principle at work that meant that not a single other national newspaper thought this could possibly be worth an inch of newsprint” Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian, Newsweek, 2011.

News: “Twitter Joke” Case goes to the High Court – Gervase de Wilde

The conviction of Paul Chambers for a joke made on Twitter has inspired satire, celebrity outrage and simple incomprehension. It has also led to two appeals, the second of which begins in Court 74 at the High Court in London today before Lord Justice Gross and Mr Justice Irwin. This appeal, ‘by way of case stated’ (on questions of law alone) examines the scope of the legislation under which Chambers was convicted, and brings into focus some of the broader issues surrounding his prosecution, including the regulation of social media.