A new compact between press and public - The Middle East

This article raises the point that the news media are working with citizen journalists (immediacy, eye-witness accounts) in order to maintain their audiences and remain current. Bloggers and Tweeters cannot present the news on their own - it is down to journalists to maintain professional standards, and to maintain consistency. This is the new journalism. By posting/blogging on regulated sites, bloggers are protected by professional standards.

Tibet, Lies and Videotape

Background: the Chinese authorities have a poor record on human rights and continue to restrict their citizen's access to blogging sites, Wikipedia, Youtube and Facebook.

Tibetan uprising in 2008 - push for freedom and independence from Chinese rule. China didn't want bad press about the uprising so supressed stories by banning the media. This was the Olympic year so a lot of interest.

Western Media reports were as a result predominantly anti-Chinese government. Chinese bloggers responded by hitting out at the Western Media for promoting inaccurate accountsof what went on, saying it created a simplified view that the authorities were violent towards protestors and the protestors were innocent Tibetan monks. This is ironic as China doesn't allow blogging, yet the bloggers were their own Citizens supporting them.

The Free Tibet campaign was promoted through FB, 100,000 signed up. 3 million people watched youtube videos about the protest. Hollywood stars got involved. The BBC put out an article saying there were significant challenges in dealing with the issue, considering the block on the Media.

Raises questions about the power of the Western Media. The bloggers have made the BBC and CNN rethink their approach to reporting on global issues, so have in effect promoted a more democratised media, by challenging the accepted norm.

Relevance for the exam: difficult to police this kind of debate online, yet really powerful because it was driven by the people.  This issue went viral and it wasn't possible to regulate who said what. The internet has enabled the world to see both sides of the argument. Audiences are being encouraged to question the dominant media and think for themselves about where they stand on the issue. Brings up wider issues about the relevance of regulation and the impact/role of the citizen journalist.

Case study: The McCanns

Read this article -which explains how the McCanns won their libel case against the Express Group

The McCann Case - what issues does it raise

The article shows how the papers routinely edit and select material in order to present a particular viewpoint, and how easy it is to create a perception of someone in the eyes of the public. If that perception is misleading or inaccurate, this can do untold damage (think Max Mosely too) and it is difficult for anything to undo this peception, once the damage is done.

The McCann's chose to take the legal route and didn't go to the PCC at all. Perhaps they believed the PCC couldn't help them. Certainly, on a the question of taste and decency, there would have been nothing they could do. They could have ruled on the issue of defamation (libel) but would only have achieved an apology. Damages seem more suited to such a serious case, involving over 100 articles.

With freedom comes responsibility - this case arguably undermines the notion that the press is largely responsible and that self-regulation is enough to keep the balance in check.

HISTORY OF PRESS REGULATION

This article explains the history of the press regulation in the UK, and raises some of the relevant issues:

History of UK Press regulation

Here is a timeline of changes and developments in the guidelines:



Here is a summary of the history of the PCC:



Historical case study example 1:

Princess Diana case study background: read this article

For further information, have a look at these links:

In the late 1980s there was concern about press intrusion. Two cases in particular caused outrage.


Historical case study example 2: A long lens was used to take photos of TV presenter Russell Harty as he lay dying in his hospital bed in 1988; 


and the Sunday Sport published photos and an alleged interview with actor Gordon Kaye as he was recovering from brain surgery following a serious car accident in 1990.

Historical case study example 3: GORDON KAYE v THE SUNDAY SPORT

In 1990, the Allo Allo actor, Gorden Kaye, was photographed in hospital by two Sunday Sport journalists while he recovered from brain surgery. The reporter and photographer had disguised themselves as medical staff.
Kaye suffered serious head injuries in a car accident  on 25 January 1990. Although he cannot remember any details of the incident, he still has a scar on his forehead from a piece of wooden advertising boarding that smashed through the car windscreen. While recovering in hospital from emergency brain surgery to treat injuries sustained in the accident, Kaye was photographed and interviewed by Sunday Sport journalist Roger Ordish. He sued the Sunday Sport, but the British Court of Appeal held that his privacy had not been invaded — a decision once said to be the low point of British privacy law.

Mr Justice Eady was strongly influenced by the absence of any legal protection against publication for Mr Kaye, saying that there was "a serious gap in the jurisprudence of any civilised society, if such a gross intrusion could happen without redress."

Mr Justice Eady, the most senior libel judge in England and Wales, sat on the Calcutt committee in 1990 which considered the introduction of a privacy law. He was in favour of a law, but journalists opposed it. The law was never introduced, but the Human Rights Act, which came into force in 2000, enshrined a right to privacy under Article 8. Legal observers say that that Mr Justice Eady believes the law must apply the Act and weigh the rights to privacy against freedom of expression.

Gordon Kaye in 'Allo Allo'

PCC Evolution

PCC Teacher's Resource Pack

Historical film examples

WE HAVE DISCUSSED THE FOLLOWING HISTORICAL EXAMPLES EITHER DURING CLASS WORK, OR DURING THE BBFC TALK. PLEASE CHOOSE YOUR HISTORICAL EXAMPLES FROM THIS LIST:

From the BBFC talk
Billy the Kid
The Dam Busters
The Life of Brian

From Aminatta Forna’s documentary
The Birth of the Nation
Straw Dogs
Romper Stomper
Perdita Durango

From Mark Kermode’s documentary
Bambi
I Spit on your Grave
Breaking the Waves
Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer
Batbabe

From the DVD documentary clips
Intolerance
A Fool there Was
Battleship Potemkin
The Cabinet of Dr Caligari
Nosferatu
The Seashell and the Clergyman
Frankenstein
Love on the Dole
Pastor Hall
Night and fog
Brighton Rock
The Wild One
Yield to the Night
The Room at the Top
Victim
The L-shaped room
Women in Love
The Devils
Straw Dogs
Clockwork Orange
The Exorcist
Emanuelle
Evil Dead
Driller Killer
Cannibal Holocaust
Scandal
The Karma Sutra
The Lover’s Guide
Child’s Play 3
Natural Born Killers
Crash
Boy Meets Girl
Pulp Fiction
Blade
Reservoir Dogs
Baise-Moi
The Last House on the Left

We Media

We Media Democracy and Convergence

Media and the McCanns

McCanns