Lawyers attack government plans to extend family reporting – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 10th, 2009 in family courts, media, news by sally

“Family lawyers have attacked government plans to extend the media’s right to report family cases, warning that they will clog the courts with preliminary hearings and lead to miscarriages of justice.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 10th December 2009

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

BBC was unfair to Crufts organiser in pedigree dogs exposé, rules Ofcom – The Guardian

Posted December 9th, 2009 in media, news by sally

“Ofcom has ruled that controversial BBC1 documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed, which alleged that events such as Crufts awarded top prizes to unhealthy and inbred  animals, was unfair in some aspects of its treatment of the Kennel Club.”

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The Guardian, 9th December 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Loss of court reporters is a blow to open justice – The Guardian

Posted December 7th, 2009 in courts, media, news by sally

“Open justice, an essential ingredient of a democracy, is usually understood to mean the absence of secret trials and the right of the individual – subject to very few carefully defined exceptions – to enter any of our courts and watch proceedings, without hindrance. But most people do not find it practical or easy to make such personal visits, so the principle of open justice has been extended to include the presence of representatives of the media, acting as the people’s proxy, reporting on behalf of the population what goes on in our courts.”

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The Guardian, 7th December 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Story about police officer’s Facebook update after G20 death is cleared – The Guardian

Posted December 2nd, 2009 in internet, media, news, police, privacy by sally

“The Press Complaints Commission today rejected a privacy complaint on behalf of a serving police officer against a newspaper that published his Facebook status update commenting on the death of Ian Tomlinson during the G20 protests.”

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The Guardian, 2nd December 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Privacy and the press: where are we now? – speech by Mr Justice Eady

Posted December 2nd, 2009 in media, privacy, speeches by sally

“Privacy and the press: where are we now? at the Justice conference, 1st December.”

Full speech

Judiciary of England and Wales, 1st December 2009

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Parliamentary inquiry misled on phone hacks – The Independent

Posted November 16th, 2009 in improper use of telecommunications, inquiries, media, news by sally

“A parliamentary inquiry into phone hacking by tabloid journalists may have been seriously misled, it emerged yesterday when lawyers acting for a Scotland Yard detective denied that he had ever claimed that messages to 6,000 people had been intercepted.”

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The Independent, 16th November 2009

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Victory for The Independent as secret court opens its doors – The Independent

Posted November 13th, 2009 in Court of Protection, media, news by sally

“A secretive court which handles some of the most difficult and sensitive cases in England and Wales is to open to the media for the first time, after a successful legal challenge by The Independent.”

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The Independent, 13th November 2009

Source: www.independent.co.uk

QC’s view: ‘Media must fight harder for its freedom’ – The Guardian

Posted November 11th, 2009 in defamation, freedom of expression, media, news by sally

“‘We do not have free speech in Britain, we have expensive speech … Defending a libel action in Britain is vastly more expensive than in any other European country – lawyers will rack up a million pounds in fees for a short trial and our cash-strapped media is increasingly choosing to settle rather than to fight for its freedom – which, after all, is its reader’s freedom to receive information.'”

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The Guardian, 10th November 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Network set up to support lawyers defending journalists – The Guardian

Posted November 9th, 2009 in freedom of expression, media, news by sally

“The Media Legal Defence Initiative, launched last week, aims to help journalists around the world by providing lawyers willing to fight for media freedoms.”

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The Guardian, 9th November 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Probe into Friends Reunited sale – BBC News

Posted November 3rd, 2009 in competition, internet, media, news by sally

“ITV’s £25m sale of social networking website Friends Reunited has been referred to the Competition Commission.”

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BBC News, 2nd November 2009

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Freelancer’s copyright infringed by sales of digital back issues, rules High Court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 22nd, 2009 in copyright, internet, media, news by sally

“A Daily Mirror service which sold digital copies of back issues infringed the copyright of a freelance photographer whose pictures appeared on their pages, the High Court has ruled.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 22nd October 2009

Source: www.out-law.com

Ministers to consider bolstering press freedom after ‘super-injunction’ debate – The Guardian

Posted October 22nd, 2009 in freedom of expression, injunctions, media, news by sally

“The government is concerned that double gagging orders – ‘super-injunctions’ – are being used too readily by libel law firms, and will involve the judiciary in a consultation hoping to bring down their use.”

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The Guardian, 21st October 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Newspaper archives can lose libel protection as stories change, rules High Court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 20th, 2009 in archives, defamation, media, news by sally

“A newspaper which continued to publish a defamatory article on its website after its subject was cleared in an investigation lost its right to claim a special journalistic defence against libel, the High Court has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 19th October 2009

Source: www.out-law.com

PCC to examine Mail Gately column – BBC News

Posted October 19th, 2009 in complaints, media, news by sally

“The Press Complaints Commission says it will ask the Daily Mail to respond to complaints about a column it ran on the death of Boyzone singer Stephen Gately.”

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BBC News, 19th October 2009

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Lawcast 156: Mark Stephens on Superinjunctions in the wake of Trafigura and The Guardian Gag – Charon QC

Posted October 19th, 2009 in injunctions, media, podcasts by sally

“Today I am talking to Mark Stephens, partner at Finers Stephens Innocent about the use of superinjunctions in the wake of the Guardian Gag story earlier in the week.”

Podcast

Charon QC, 17th October 2009

Source: www.charonqc.wordpress.com

“Charon QC” is the blogging pseudonym of Mike Semple Piggot, editor of insitelaw newswire.

BNP debate ‘illegal’, warns Hain – BBC News

Posted October 19th, 2009 in media, news, political parties, race discrimination by sally

“The BBC could face legal action over British National Party leader Nick Griffin’s appearance on Question Time, Welsh Secretary Peter Hain has warned.”

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BBC News, 19th October 2009

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Gordon Brown calls for reform of super-injunctions – The Guardian

Posted October 15th, 2009 in freedom of expression, injunctions, law firms, media, news, parliament by sally

“Gordon Brown today stepped into the row over the use of super-injunctions that ban reporting of a story and also the existence of the ban, telling MPs the legal tactic was ‘an unfortunate area of the law’.”

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The Guardian, 15th October 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

MP to report Carter-Ruck to Law Society over attempt to gag Guardian – The Guardian

Posted October 14th, 2009 in freedom of expression, injunctions, law firms, media, news, parliament by sally

“The law firm at the centre of the an unprecedented attempt by a British oil trading firm to prevent the Guardian reporting parliamentary proceedings is to be reported to the Law Society, it emerged today.”

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The Guardian, 14th October 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lawcast 155: The Guardian Gag affair with Carl Gardner – Charon QC

Posted October 14th, 2009 in freedom of expression, injunctions, internet, media, parliament, podcasts by sally

“Today I am talking to Carl Gardner, ex government lawyer, a barrister and author of The Head of Legal blog. We look at whether the Bill of Rights has, in fact, been infringed by the gag, the use of injunctions generally and specifically in this instance, the use of parliamentary privilege and whether the judges are going too far in granting injunctions which can, effectively, be destroyed in their effect by many thousands of angry people on twitter and in the blogosphere.”

Podcast

Charon QC, 13th October 2009

Source: www.charonqc.wordpress.com

“Charon QC” is the blogging pseudonym of Mike Semple Piggot, editor of insitelaw newswire.

Gag on Guardian reporting MP’s Trafigura question lifted – The Guardian

Posted October 13th, 2009 in freedom of expression, injunctions, media, news, parliament by sally

“The existence of a previously secret injunction against the media by oil traders Trafigura can now be revealed.”

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The Guardian, 13th October 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk