9 January 2012

Leveson Inquiry: Hearings - Day 22

LEVESON INQUIRY:CULTURE, PRACTICE AND ETHICS OF THE PRESS

"I want this inquiry to mean something", not end up as "footnote in some professor of journalism's analysis of 21 century history." LJ Leveson in reply to A Rusbridger's submission to Inquiry.

Lord Justice Leveson

From Guardian:
Here's a quick reminder of the four modules within this first year of the inquiry.
Module 1: The relationship between the press and the public and looks at phone-hacking and other potentially illegal behaviour
Module 2: The relationships between the press and police and the extent to which that has operated in the public interest
Module 3: The relationship between press and politicians
Module 4: Recommendations for a more effective policy and regulation that supports the integrity and freedom of the press while encouraging the highest ethical standards.

Witness list for this week (9th - 12th January) to be found HERE
Live Feed From Leveson Inquiry Site HERE
BBC Democracy Live Feed HERE 


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Monday 9th January

Duncan Larcombe (The Sun)
Kelvin MacKenzie (formerly with The Sun)
Dominic Mohan (The Sun)
Gordon Smart (The Sun)
John Edwards (The Sun)
Justin Walford (The Sun

Witnesses whose evidence statements will be read:

Stuart Higgins (The Sun)
Simon Toms (The Sun)
David Yelland (The Sun)

Duncan Larcombe
Duncan Larcombe

Profile from Journalism.co.uk 2009
The Sun's List of Articles by Duncan Larcombe






Tabloid Watch
Re : An example of the Sun taking great care over Royal stories:

Ben Fenton
I am massively surprised at scale, but not surprised that a technology shd be exploited by reporters, tells



Kelvin Mackenzie

Kelvin MacKenzie

Mail Online List of Recent K. MacKenzie Articles (freezepage link)
Profile of Kelvin MacKenzie from Guardian
Copy of K. Mackenzie's Seminar Speech




BBC News - Ex-Sun Editor MacKenzie Gives Evidence 
BBC News - Ex-Editor Says Sun 'More Cautious'
Ex-Sun Editor Admits 'Bullish' Approach - Channel 4 News

Kelvin MacKenzie on Hillsborough Disaster - Youtube
Front Page from one of the controversial issues of the Sun's coverage of the Hillsborough Disaster




Laura Jayne Connor
Kelvin MacKenzie : "If you publish it in the Sun you get six months, if you publish it in the Guardian you get a Pulitzer prize.".

John Edwards 
John Edwards










Witness Statement in Full


T Portilho-Shrimpton
Edwards on McCanns: we got it spot on in Portugal; might have not been so good when it came to Leicestershire

Dominic Mohan
Dominic Mohan

Profile of D Mohan from the Guardian 
What Mohan Said at the Leveson Seminar - Guardian
Mohan Joked About Phone-Hacking in 2002 - Guardian
Mohan Claims Phone-hacking remark at Awards Ceremony 'a Joke' - Hacked Off









T Portilho-Shrimpton
Mohan: reprimanded individual concerned in uploading the wrong Amanda Knox verdict story. Said it was a slip in standards

T Portilho-Shrimpton
Mohan: received lots of complaints saying it was unfair to name them as teacher. Won't be doing it again.

Kate Adams
Dominic Mahon Editor The Sun's readers are a great barometer. The Sun receives 2-3000 emails a week

Tony McMahon
Readers ombudsman was removed at The Sun and enquiries went to the managing editor, says Dominic Mohan

Gordon Rayner
Sun editor Dominic Mohan says four signatures now needed for cash payments to sources

Hacked off
Mohan: since PCC adjudication on Charlotte Church's pregnancy story Sun has not run stories about 'females' being under 12 weeks pregnant

T Portilho-Shrimpton
Mohan: biggest selling stories of the past 12 to 18 months were not celebrity stories were stories involving killer of James Bulger


Dr Evan Harris
Mohan contradicts Kelvin Mackenzie by pointing out that front page stories are chosen on the basis of their power to sell papers

YancyFaith
UK newspapers had hacked into Irish Parliament's cell phones. Great job in protecting the public interest, friends.

Gordon Smart
Gordon Smart

Wikipedia Page for Gordon Smart











Ben Fenton
says he often wdnt bother to check a "trivial" short story in his column [Wow. I wonder if he really meant to say that.]

Justin Walford
Justin Walford










Justin Walford is the former legal manager for The Daily Express and The Sunday Express newspapers. He works now for The Sun, and formerly the News of the World...




T Portilho-Shrimpton
Walford is the man who kind of replaced Tom Crone (there are two more people sharing the job title)

Joel Gunter
Walford, formerly of the Express, asked whether the culture there different to the Sun. Says more desire at Sun to be "at the top".

IndexLeveson
Walford says law of privacy a sea change

T Portilho-Shrimpton
Walford: things have changed a lot since Kelvin MacKenzie. He says he saw the "lobbing in" back then, but things have changed now

Joel Gunter
Walford: Certainly true that celebrity issues form significant part of what I do day-to-day. 8 to 10 stories needed legaling a day.

Ross Hawkins
Walford at : can be called to High Court for injunction in just 20 mins after notifying people

Gordon Rayner
Mohan admits making speech in 2002 thanking "Vodafone's lack of security" for Mirror's showbiz exclusives.


Witnesses whose evidence statements will be read:

Stuart Higgins (The Sun) - Witness Statement in Full
Simon Toms (The Sun) - Witness Statement in Full
David Yelland (The Sun) - Witness Statement in Full