Sky ordered to sell down stake in ITV – The Guardian
“The court of appeal today ordered BSkyB to sell down its 17.9% stake in ITV.”
The Guardian, 21st January 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Category: media
Greater media scrutiny necessary to increase accountability in family courts – Ministry of Justice
“Legislative proposals included in the Children, Schools and Families Bill should encourage media attendance at family court cases, the Ministry of Justice said today.”
Ministry of Justice, 21st January 2010
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
Libel lawyers’ ‘success fees’ to be cut by 90% to aid investigative journalism – The Guardian
“Lawyers who sue the media will see their fees cut by 90% under plans set out by the government today to bring down the cost of libel actions.”
The Guardian, 20th January 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Peaches Geldof wins damages over prostitute claims – BBC News
“Peaches Geldof, daughter of Bob Geldof, has accepted substantial, undisclosed libel damages over a newspaper claim that she had worked as a prostitute.”
BBC News, 12th January 2010
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
An anomaly on our doorstep – The Guardian
“Ofcom’s code on doorstepping public figures plays into the hands of corporate lawyers and stifles investigative reporting in the public interest.”
The Guardian, 11th January 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
News International admits payout to phone-hacker was for unfair dismissal – The Guardian
“News International has admitted it was forced to hand former News of the World journalist and convicted phone-hacker Clive Goodman a generous payoff because it failed to follow statutory procedures.”
The Guardian, 8th January 2010
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Brothel-visiting celebrity remains anonymous after Moseley precedent – OUT-LAW.com
“The Sun newspaper has refused to name a top football manager it said it caught leaving a brothel. Privacy law experts say that the case underlines the strictness with which courts interpret the right to privacy of famous people.”
OUT-LAW.com, 6th January 2010
Source: www.out-law.com
Village People threaten lawsuit over Jamie Oliver advert – The Guardian
“It could make for an interesting scenario: a construction worker, a cowboy, a traffic cop, a Native American chief, a sailor, Jamie Oliver, a leather queen, some lawyers and a judge – together in court.”
The Guardian, 18th December 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Online-only news will be regulated by press watchdog for first time – OUT-LAW.com
“Internet-only publications will face the same regulations as newspapers for the first time under an extension to the powers of newspaper industry self-regulator body the Press Complaints Commission (PCC).”
OUT-LAW.com, 16th December 2009
Source: www.out-law.com
Newspapers victorious in battle to protect source – The Independent
“The Independent has helped win an important court ruling protecting members of the public who supply confidential information to the media.”
The Independent, 16th December 2009
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Lawyers attack government plans to extend family reporting – Law Society’s Gazette
“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.”
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
“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.”
The Guardian, 9th December 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Loss of court reporters is a blow to open justice – The Guardian
“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.”
The Guardian, 7th December 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Story about police officer’s Facebook update after G20 death is cleared – The Guardian
“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.”
The Guardian, 2nd December 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Privacy and the press: where are we now? – speech by Mr Justice Eady
“Privacy and the press: where are we now? at the Justice conference, 1st December.”
Judiciary of England and Wales, 1st December 2009
Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk
Parliamentary inquiry misled on phone hacks – The Independent
“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.”
The Independent, 16th November 2009
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Victory for The Independent as secret court opens its doors – The Independent
“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.”
The Independent, 13th November 2009
Source: www.independent.co.uk
QC’s view: ‘Media must fight harder for its freedom’ – The Guardian
“‘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.'”
The Guardian, 10th November 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Network set up to support lawyers defending journalists – The Guardian
“The Media Legal Defence Initiative, launched last week, aims to help journalists around the world by providing lawyers willing to fight for media freedoms.”
The Guardian, 9th November 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Probe into Friends Reunited sale – BBC News
“ITV’s £25m sale of social networking website Friends Reunited has been referred to the Competition Commission.”
BBC News, 2nd November 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
