It may be counter-intuitive but I have been pondering whether more press freedom might not lead to fewer complaints about the media.
The other week people were shocked by the Sun using a posed picture of two holidaymakers in Torbay wearing surgical masks alongside a story about Swine flu.
This attracted criticism because, a) it wasn’t true and gave a false impression of a tourist destination just before a bank holiday, and b) the expert advice is not to wear surgical masks.
I think the real problem is that we have too much media and not enough news. It’s the basic problem confronting newspapers and broadcasters who are forever chasing a new angle to be one step ahead of the competition.
24 hour news coverage is available on multiple platforms such as the internet, television, and increasingly the mobile phone. News is still being broadcast or published by traditional broadcasters and publishers alongside self-generated content on youtube or via blogs, twitter and other outlets.
Only a couple of decades ago there were only three television news gathering operations in the UK: BBC, ITN and the new kid on the block Channel 4. None of them were available 24 hours a day. Today I can receive 12 different versions of the news, half of them round the clock, through my digibox alone.
There are more national newspapers available on the newsstands and radio stations on the dial – or via the web – than ever before.
Such unprecedented competition could be why a newspaper would carry a fabricated picture or use an internet blog as a verifiable source to stand up a story. But it doesn’t excuse it.
It’s partly why increasing numbers of people are seeking legal remedies to redress inaccuracies and why there are growing calls for legislation to regulate the media.
In the UK we have the most restrictive libel laws of any western democracy. These laws are supposed to protect individuals, but in practice appear to do precisely the opposite.
Because publishers have to be so careful about what they say for fear of injunctions or libel actions, they dress up their reporting with innuendo. Were they liberated from the fear of having to prove in court that what they are alleging is true my guess is they would report things as they are and not couch their stories in a fug of innuendos, hints and clues.
We do not place such high priority on freedom of speech in the UK as they do in the States. Under the European Convention of Human Rights free speech is protected under Article 10, while in the US it is the 1st Amendment and is widely understood and regularly talked about.
Probably because of the 1st Amendment the laws of libel are very different in the USA and it appears that the mainstream press over there still apply strong ethics and principles. Perhaps if we placed a higher importance to freedom of speech in the UK it would raise the standards of journalism and end the intrusive practices of some of our media.
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This Sunday Torquay United will discover whether they are going to be able to leave the small pond and join the big fish once again.
It is an interesting time to rejoin the football league as the Government is demanding a radical overhaul of English football finances to break the domination of the “big four” clubs.
Andy Burnham, the Culture Secretary, is calling for Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool to share their winnings in Europe with other Premier League teams.
He wants the league’s £1 billion revenue from television and sponsorship rights to be shared out more evenly among its 20 clubs. He also wants smaller squads and compulsory quotas of English players in team line-ups.
This is all well and good but what about the other clubs outside the Premier League? How about some of the wealth creamed off at the top trickling down to League’s One and Two. Or even the Blue Square for that matter!
Andy Burnham is an Everton supporter, a top club that finds itself just outside the big four. Perhaps if he were a supporter of Merseyside’s third team, Tranmere Rovers, he might be arguing to share the riches further.
Nevertheless I wish him luck because if he can establish the principle of the very top helping the next few clubs then some of us can take the battle on from there.
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Another small victory this week with the publication of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee report into the Licensing Act.
At the launch I described it as calling for less bureaucracy and for more fun.
It was thanks to input from Preston Councillor Dave Butt and the Preston Partnership Chairman Bob Brewis that a recommendation will now be going to Government to reform the Temporary Event Notice system.
The current system prevents a ward councillor, or any other elected representative, from raising an objection on behalf of a community to a permission to allow a temporary event to take place.
The police are the only people who can question a notice and then on very narrow grounds.
Our recommendation is to allow local councillors as well as the police the opportunity to object to the granting of a TEN.
Other areas where local concerns had been raised were addressed with recommendations to reduce paperwork, support live music, help sporting and not for profit clubs and reduce irresponsible drinking.
The report is available on the web via www.parliament.uk
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Much as been written about MPs expenses and allowances. If you still have the appetite for more I wrote a blog last Sunday about reforming the allowances system and posted it at: www.myspace.com/adriansandersmp
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