Lawyers? They’re simply riveting . . . – The Times

Posted August 28th, 2008 in legal profession, media, news by sally

“British lawyers have an insatiable appetite for reading about themselves, with a lively and competitive specialist press — including three big weeklies, two smaller niche weeklies, a glossy business monthly and numerous specialist practice titles — catering for that hunger. As the English legal profession stares down the barrel of a global recession, can it continue to support such a crowded field?”

Full story

The Times, 28th August 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Sun website censured over video footage – Reuters

Posted August 20th, 2008 in internet, media, news, privacy by sally

“The Sun newspaper website has been censured by the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) in a landmark ruling over the use of undercover video footage of a man convicted of child pornography offences.”

Full story

Reuters, 19th August 2008

Source: www.reuters.com

‘Publicity distorted’ Dando case – BBC News

Posted August 4th, 2008 in media, murder, news, retrials by sally

“The barrister for Barry George, cleared of killing presenter Jill Dando, has warned that huge publicity can distort investigations into high-profile cases.”

Full story

BBC News, 2nd August 2008

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Copyright: UK designer wins Star Wars court battle – The Guardian

Posted August 1st, 2008 in copyright, media, news by sally

“In Hollywood’s annals of the plucky little guy defeating the big guy, it might not quite rank with flying an X-wing fighter and destroying the Death Star with a ‘one in a million’ shot, Luke Skywalker-style. But at the royal courts of justice yesterday British prop designer Andrew Ainsworth was said to be delighted with his victory against the galactic empire of Star Wars creator George Lucas, in a copyright battle over the stormtroopers’ costumes.”

Full story

The Guardian, 1st August 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Government consults on web video regulation – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 30th, 2008 in internet, media, news by sally

“The Government has published plans on how it might regulate the video on demand industry. It has also said that it is reluctant to relax rules on product placement on television.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 30th July 2008

Source: www.out-law.com

BBC fined £400,000 over phone-ins – BBC News

Posted July 30th, 2008 in media, news by sally

“The BBC has been fined £400,000 by media watchdog Ofcom for misleading its audiences by ‘faking’ phone-ins.”

Full story

BBC News, 30th July 2008

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Mosley v News Group Newspapers Ltd – Times Law Reports

Posted July 30th, 2008 in law reports, media, privacy by sally

Mosley v News Group Newspapers Ltd

Queen’s Bench Division

“It was not for the media to expose sexual conduct between consenting adults which did not involve any significant breach of the criminal law except where there was a countervailing public interest because at least one of the established limiting principles, such as victimisation or corruption of the young, came into play.”

The Times, 30th July 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.

Legal Opinion: Privacy on parade in Fleet Street and the law courts – The Independent

Posted July 30th, 2008 in media, privacy, special report by sally

“Our shy and retiring privacy law is rarely out of the media spotlight. The media lawyer Amber Melville-Brown suggests why we should be grateful that it exists.”

Full story

The Independent, 30th July 2008

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Max Mosley case: are judges strangling the freedom of the press by stealth? – The Times

Posted July 30th, 2008 in media, privacy, special report by sally

“A ‘dangerous’ precedent of which the victim is public morality; a ruling that trivialises ‘unspeakable and indecent behaviour’ that is ‘depraved, brutal and repugnant’, thundered Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, this week.”

Full story

The Times, 29th July 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Mosley v News Group Newspapers Ltd – WLR Daily

Posted July 29th, 2008 in damages, law reports, media, privacy by sally

Mosley v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2008] EWHC 1777 (QB); [2008] WLR (D); [2008] WLR (D) 259

“Sado-masochistic behaviour, even where it involved adultery, was not a matter of genuine public interest justifying interference by the media in an individual’s private life. Exemplary damages were not available in a claim for infringement of privacy: a claim for compensatory damages could reflect an element of aggravation. Certain principles were applicable in the assessment of compensatory damages for infringement of privacy.”

WLR Daily, 28th July 2008

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Media: Mosley to sue News of the World for libel after high court success – The Guradian

Posted July 28th, 2008 in defamation, media, news by sally

“Max Mosley is suing the News of the World for libel, having last week won a record £60,000 in damages from the paper for invasion of privacy.”

Full story

The Guardian, 28th July 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Channel 4 ruled ‘unjust and unfair’ in climate change documentary – The Guardian

Posted July 21st, 2008 in bias, climate change, media, news by sally

“Ofcom has ruled that Channel 4 breached broadcasting codes on impartiality and was ‘unjust and unfair’ in the way it represented individuals in its controversial documentary The Great Global Warming Swindle.”

Full story

The Guardian, 21st July 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Decision expected on Mosley privacy case next week – The Independent

Posted July 16th, 2008 in media, news, privacy by sally

“A ruling is expected next week in motorsport Max Mosley’s groundbreaking privacy case at the High Court.”

Full story

The Independent, 14th July 2008

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Editor defends decision to run exposé of Mosley orgy – The Independent

Posted July 10th, 2008 in freedom of expression, media, news, privacy by sally

“The editor of the News Of The World has defended the paper’s allegation that Max Mosley had engaged in ‘sick Nazi orgy’. Colin Myler claimed while being cross-examined at the High Court that the 68-year-old Formula One boss had instigated a ‘crime upon himself’ when he was caned until blood was drawn.”

Full story

The Independent, 10th July 2008

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Max Mosley’s case is the frontline in a legal battle for freedom of expression – The Independent

Posted July 7th, 2008 in freedom of expression, media, news, privacy by sally

“The case that could define the future freedom of the British press contains some of the key ingredients of a Whitehall farce: a seemingly respectable middle-aged man caught with his pants down, drinking tea and chattering away to scantily clad women in the language of the sitcom ‘Allo ‘Allo!: ‘Zey need more of ze punishment, I zink.'”

Full story

The Independent, 7th July 2008

Source: www.independent.co.uk

BBC admits error in broadcasting fatal Jerusalem shooting on 10pm news – The Guardian

Posted July 7th, 2008 in complaints, media, news by sally

“The BBC has admitted it was wrong to broadcast during its 10pm news bulletin the graphic footage of a man being shot dead in Jerusalem.”

Full story

The Guardian, 4th July 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bar Council slams BBC drama; series writer responds – The Lawyer

Posted July 4th, 2008 in barristers, media, news by sally

“A row has broken out between the Bar Council and a television writer over the BBC courtroom drama, Criminal Justice.”

Full story

The Lawyer, 3rd July 2008

Source: www.thelawyer.com

BBC and lawyers in dispute over barristers’ portrayal in drama – Daily Telegraph

Posted July 3rd, 2008 in barristers, media, news by sally

“A row erupted last night between the BBC and the legal profession over the corporation’s drama ‘Criminal Justice’, which portrays barristers breaching their professional regulations.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 3rd July 2008

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Kangaroo referred to Competition Commission – The Guardian

Posted June 30th, 2008 in competition, joint ventures, media, news by sally

“The Office of Fair Trading has today referred Kangaroo – the proposed video-on-demand joint venture between BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4 – to the Competition Commission.”

Full story

The Guardian, 30th June 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

BBC mini series Criminal Justice paints a distorted picture of the criminal justice system – The Bar Council

Posted June 30th, 2008 in criminal justice, media, press releases by sally

“Tonight the BBC airs the first episode in its five part drama series Criminal Justice. The series shows the experience of a young man falsely accused of a crime and his journey through the criminal justice system. The character, Ben Coulter, is first a police suspect, later a defendant and then a prisoner.”

Full press release

The Bar Council, 30th June 2008

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk