Monday 09 November 2009
Nick Davies - Only serious blow is to watchdog's credibility
Monday 9 November 2009
The Press Complaints Commission has thrown plenty of punches from different directions, but not a single one has hit the target. In spite of all the angry language, its report has failed to dislodge a single factual claim in our story about the News of the World.
It sets out to answer only two questions. The first amounts to a bizarre exercise in shadow boxing, attacking a version of the Guardian's story that does not exist: "Have journalists carried on hacking phone messages since the PCC issued new guidelines in 2007?" to read more:
Sunday 08 November 2009
Libel threat to force US papers out of Britain
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article6908079.ece
November 8, 2009
Maurice Chittenden and Steven Swinford
American newspapers and magazines may stop selling copies in Britain and block access to their websites because of our draconian libel laws.An article that would be regarded as free speech in America under its constitution’s first amendment becomes actionable in the High Court in London once it is deemed to have been published here, however small the readership.[
Read the rest ... ]
Saturday 07 November 2009
'US foreign policy is straight out of the mafia'
· ·
Noam Chomsky is the west's most prominent critic of US imperialism, yet he is rarely interviewed in the mainstream media. Seumas Milne meets him·
o The Guardian, Saturday 7 November 2009
to read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/07/noam-chomsky-us-foreign-policy Friday 06 November 2009
BBC and UK media 'flee' their reporting responsibilities in Afghanistan
You don't have to be a professor of linguistics to spot that the UK media tend to the jingoistic when reporting the UK military. The tragic killing of five British soldiers in Afghanistan on Wednesday produced a classic example.
The news media, most notably the BBC, reported that the Afghan National Police officer who shot the soldiers then 'fled' the scene. The choice of the word flee, fleeing or fled is perjorative as it suggests a negative, the implication of cowardice, the act of a coward or the weak.
No media produced any hard evidence that the man 'fled'. He is said to have driven away on a motorbike in some reports. The source of this loaded word was the British army spokesman who stated early on Wednesday that the man fled but produced no eyewitness account. It was then incorporated into reports as a fact and not a quote.
Can you imagine the UK press reporting that a British military unit had 'fled' the scene after a confrontation with a more heavily armed unit. Any report would say that they 'withdrew' or 'left' or retired'. Even 'retreated' would be rejected as too negative.
We may not like what the Afghan National Police officer or what he did, but there is no reason to automatically assume he is a coward. The use of the word 'flee' has a racist undertone. It may be a small example of the genre but the use of subtle jingoistic language in reporting events is a disservice the reputation of the UK media.
"Rubicon"
Food Industry’s Dirty Secrets, 3 December 2009 - Centre for Investigative Journalism
Room A130, College Building, City University London CIJ would like to invite you to a discussion about the shocking realities of the global food industry with Raj Patel author of ‘Stuffed and Starved’ and ‘The Value of Nothing’ and Professor Timothy Lang, Professor of Food Policy at City University London, chaired by Gavin MacFadyen, Director of the CIJ.
The event will be held at City University London, Room A130 in College Building (St John’s Street entrance). Read more about the event and panellists here. To book your place(s) simply fill out the form here. Prices: students – free; full price – £3 
