Public distrusts press version of regulation scheme – Brian Cathcart

Almost three times as many people distrust the press regulation scheme put forward by some of the newspapers as trust it, according to a new opinion poll by the YouGov organisation.  In March, a Royal Charter based on Leveson [pdf] was backed by all parties in Parliament and it is due to be approved by the Privy Council in June, but last month a group of news organisations published and have now petitioned the Privy Council [pdf]

Three corporations clinging to the PCC wreckage – Brian Cathcart

And then there were three. Far from being the work of ‘the newspaper industry’, the latest attempt to prevent effective, independent press regulation on Leveson lines is being led by just three organisations.

The Leveson press freedom law that the press didn’t want – Brian Cathcart

British journalists have long looked with envy on the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Adopted in 1791, this states: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

David Cameron’s Charter opens the way for ministers to control the press – Brian Cathcart

Here’s a paradox: with vital votes due in Parliament on Monday, the people who run our biggest national newspapers are backing a press regulation system in which serving cabinet ministers would have a legal right to meddle whenever they liked.

Hacked Off, Leveson and the Royal Charter: Do this, says the press, and ministers do it – Brian Cathcart

Hacked Off has acquired a letter that vividly shows newspaper bosses giving orders to government ministers behind the scenes, just weeks after the Leveson Report declared that such secret manipulation damaged the interests of the public.

Leveson and ‘journalistic materials’: another myth – Brian Cathcart

If Lord Justice Leveson’s recommendations are implemented in full, does that mean that it will be easier for police officers conducting investigations to seize confidential research materials from journalists? The idea has gained some currency, but the answer to the question is no.

Leveson: The Latest Press Disinformation Campaign – Brian Cathcart

Three weeks ago the great former Sunday Times editor Sir Harry Evans accused the national press of gross distortion and staggering misrepresentation in their coverage of Lord Justice Leveson’s report. Well, since then it has got a lot worse.

Leveson and the Royal Charter: what to look for – Brian Cathcart

When he responded to the Leveson report in November David Cameron welcomed it in general, but expressed doubts about the recommendation for a statutory ‘recognition body’ to ensure that the press’s own self-regulator was properly independent and effective. The prime minister said that underpinning this body with statute would ‘mean for the first time we have crossed the Rubicon of writing elements of press regulation into the law of the land’.

Hacked Off: Our politicians are not Leveson-compliant – Brian Cathcart

Over many years, politicians of all parties got too close to editors and proprietors in a way that damaged the public interest, and one result was the persistent failure of governments to do anything about press standards even when the public was crying out for action.

Leveson: six weeks on, what is happening? – Brian Cathcart

Six weeks after the publication of the Leveson report it might appear that nothing much is happening, but that is not the case. Though Leveson’s call for a transparent, public process for the implementation of his recommendations has been largely ignored, there is none the less activity on several fronts.