Tweaking the tails of Mail and Sun has consequences...

Yesterday David Cameron put an abrupt end to cross-party talks to resolve differences over the form press regulation should take after the Leveson Inquiry Report. The decision will now be determined by votes on amendments made in a Parliamentary debate on Monday next, 18th March.

Clegg, Cameron and Milband - image from Daily Express

Cameron's decision has come as a surprise to many who thought that an agreement was close :-

(The Guardian's account of Cameron's press conference very soon after he informed Clegg and Miliband of his decision to abandon the talks can be found HERE)

Over the past few months, since the Leveson Report was published and attention turned to David Cameron who would make the ultimate decision about whether to adopt the recommendations or not, there has been a cacophony of dire warnings about the consequences of bringing in new draconian measures to curb the 'free press'.

The most stentorian, hyperbolic voices raised have been from the right-wing press - both 'quality' and tabloid. Countless articles written, opinions solicited and heard on TV screens - most with dire warnings of what would happen to investigative journalism in particular should Parliament plump for 'state regulation' of the press. ('State regulation' of the press is not on the cards, in any case!)

David Cameron himself has become a target for the more mischievous, some would say unprincipled, journalists who write increasingly dark pieces about 'stalking-horses' and 'leadership bids'. Designed no doubt to rattle the PM and show him in no uncertain way that their support for him and his leadership is dependent on the decision he makes about press regulation!
Boris Johnson Fails to Rule Out Future Leadership Bid - Telegraph
Cameron Dismisses Talk of Theresa May's Leadership Challenge as 'All Rubbish - Mail Online
David Cameron In Peril as Discontent in Tory Ranks Rises - Telegraph
Theresa May Unveils Her Manifesto For Party's Future - The Sun

These 'rumours' and cleverly targeted insinuations have not escaped the notice of the PM himself - from HuffPo:-

Then, following yesterday's sudden withdrawal from talks by Cameron, came this:-

(Full article HERE.)

Today, the Daily Mail has reset its sights and Ed Miliband and Hacked Off are now in its crosshairs:

(Full article HERE.)

A reply from Hacked Off is reproduced HERE by the Inforrm Blog.


Earlier this week, this knocking-copy appeared in the Sun:-

(Full article HERE.)

Past examples of the way newspapers can deliberately smear opponents in an attempt to sway public opinion or influence policy are given here:
News International Have Issued EIGHT Corrections to Stories About Gordon Brown in Just Six Months - Labourlist

It will be fascinating to watch the headlines this weekend - especially in the Sundays!

The Wallis Collection - or why the ex-NotW editor is Hacked Off.

Following the news yesterday that the cross-party talks on press regulation had collapsed, Neil Wallis, once an editor at the News of the World, has been doing the rounds of the TV studios.

Mr Wallis, arrested in July 2011 by police working on the Weeting phone-hacking investigation and told by the CPS in February 2013 that no charges would be brought, appeared yesterday on Channel 4 News and BBC Newsnight.

As Mr Wallis describes himself on his Twitter profile:-

This is a video recording of a speech Neil Wallis gave to journalism students at Leeds Trinity on February 27th 2013:-

Below is a video clip of one of the interviews from Channel 4 with Cathy Newman and Jacqui Hames:-

Arrests, stalled talks and an apology. Leveson re-ignited!

Lord Justice Leveson with the Leveson Report

Just when you thought the phone-hacking scandal had begun to die down, today has seen a sudden surge in activity from the Police, politicians and the press itself:-

1. Arrests of more journalists:-

    Four top journalists from the Mirror Group of papers are arrested in 'dawn raids'. - BBC News
    Former Sunday Mirror Staff Arrested by Hacking Police - Evening Standard
    Mirror Group Editor and Deputy Arrested in Phone-hacking Investigation - Independent

2. Former Police Officer charged:- 

Former Police Sergeant James Bowes Charged With Selling Information to the Sun - Independent

Daily Mail

3. David Cameron pulls abruptly out of cross-party talks on a plan for press regulation with Miliband and Clegg :-
    Cameron Accuses Other Parties of Posturing After Leveson Talks Collapse - Guardian
    Leveson Talks Break Down, David Cameron to Force Commons Vote on Royal Charter - HuffPo
    Leveson Talks: Why Intransigent Cameron Must Risk a Commons Vote - Guardian
    David Cameron's Press Conference on Leveson: Politics Live Blog - Guardian
    Video: Cameron Calls Crunch Commons Vote on Leveson After Talks Break Down - Telegraph

    David Cameron Walks Away from Cross-Party Leveson Talks - Hacked Off
    Index on Censorship Responds to Collapse of Leveson Press Reform Talks - Index

   
And finally.... :-

4. From The Sun, yet another apology/correction for Gordon Brown wrung from its reluctant Editor:-

    Super Soaraway Sorry - Four Times - Zelo Street Blog 


All of these stories (except, perhaps for the last one!) are gathering momentum and will no doubt fill hundreds of column inches for the next few days.

From me, a plea to journalists: There are more than those well-publicised 'victims' of bad journalism with a real interest in the outcome of the press-regulation debates, you know - the vast majority of the British public would be better served by a press committed to honesty, accuracy and balance.
Breathe some restorative oxygen into our ailing Democracy?