Quotes of the Week: From Labour fawning over Desmond to Murdoch titles, Cameron and the Met

Independent editor Chris Blackhurst (top), at the Bath Literature Festival, remembers the Richard Desmond takeover when he was at the Express: "We were trying to turn the paper into a more liberal and upmarket paper but management lost its nerve. They sold the paper to Richard Desmond... Within a fortnight, the heavy bulk of the Labour Cabinet was fawning over Desmond. We were really shocked by it."

The Sunday Times quotes "one top shareholder" in Trinity Mirror: “We have asked for Sly Bailey’s salary to be reviewed as it is excessive by most standards, let alone a company with a market value of about £100m.”

Martin Shipton, NUJ Trinity Mirror group chapel chair: "The union's Alternative Annual Report on Trinity Mirror exposes the reality behind the group board's yearly announcement of 'savings' totalling many millions of pounds. These cumulative cuts are having a devastating impact on the ability of newspapers to report on their communities with the consequence that readers are turning off in droves. The board's strategy in recent years has had nothing to do with producing excellent journalism that readers will want to buy, it is about slashing costs to pay off debts. By wilfully damaging the quality of its own papers, the board is destroying its chance to create a sustainable business for the future."

Press freedom campaign group Reporters Without Borders: "The Arab Spring has clearly shown, by creating new spaces for exchanging ideas, that the internet is a vehicle for freedom. In countries where the traditional media are controlled by the government, the only independent news and information are to be found on the internet, which has become a forum for discussion and a refuge for those who want to express their views freely. "However, more and more governments have realised this and are responding by trying to control the internet and by stepping up surveillance of internet users."

Neville Thurlbeck on his arrest on suspicion of intimidating a witness: "CLEARLY, my blog was the cause of today's police activity. One minute I was sitting penning a new post. The next, I was in the police station, having DNA mouth swabs and my fingerprints and police mugshot taken. A complaint had been made and acted upon very swiftly indeed. It really didn't feel like England today!"

Sandra Laville, of the Guardian, on the police at Leveson: "They need to be held to account. We can't hold them to account by taking information from official channels only. They have the power to lock people up for a long time, we have had miscarriages of justice. Journalists have to be able to hold the police to account."

The Independent in a leader: "Of course, it is not unknown for the elite in any society to move in similar circles and for their paths to have crossed as they forged their upward paths. But the associations that are emerging between the Cameron coterie, the Metropolitan Police and the Murdoch newspapers raise questions that cry out ever more insistently for answers."

Death of KM Group president Edwin Boorman

Edwin Boorman, president of the family-owned Kent Messenger Group and one of the best known figures in the regional press, has died after a short illness aged 76.

Boorman had previously served as managing director, chief executive and chairman of the company, which owns a portfolio of weekly newspapers, websites and radio stations across Kent.

He took on the role of president in January 2006, after passing the chairmanship to his daughter Geraldine.

Boorman is a former president of the Newspaper Society, serving from 2001 to 2002.

Kent Online reports that Boorman had been taken ill just before Christmas, and passed away peacefully last night.

KM Group managing director Richard Elliot paid tribute to Boorman, whom he described as "a great figure with a true passion for local journalism".

He added: "Edwin helped build a company that everyone at the KM Group is proud to work for, and we will all miss him greatly. Our thoughts and best wishes are with Geraldine and all the family."

Boorman was the third generation in a family that has owned the business since the late 1800s.

Under his leadership, the KM Group expanded into radio and digital with the launch of kmfm and kentonline.co.uk.

Its newspaper portfolio includes the Kent Messenger, Medway Messenger, Kentish Gazette and the Kentish Express.

Pic: KM Group

Thurlbeck arrest: 'It really didn't feel like England'

Ex-News of the World chief reporter Neville Thurlbeck (top) has commented on his blog about his arrest yesterday on suspicion of intimidating a witness and has denied any wrongdoing.

It is believed Thurlbeck's arrest follows a post on his blog in which he referred to Will Lewis, a member of News Corp's Management and Standards Committee, and claims that he had hired a private security firm to protect his home.

Thurlbeck blogged: "CLEARLY, my blog was the cause of today's police activity.

One minute I was sitting penning a new post. The next, I was in the police station, having DNA mouth swabs and my fingerprints and police mugshot taken.

A complaint had been made and acted upon very swiftly indeed.

It really didn't feel like England today!

Grateful thanks to my superb lawyer Henri Brandman who was an immense support and wise counsel.

And to all my family and friends for your support and for your kind messages.

I vigorously deny the allegations of any wrongdoing, which seem extremely far-fetched to me.

And I will continue with my blog and my work regardless of today's events.

I will be issuing no further statement on this matter in the immediate future.

PS Scotland Yard got my age wrong again today. I am a mere 50 years old and not the prehistoric 51 they insist I am!"

FT journalists in new strike threat over pay row

NUJ members at the Financial Times have voted for a three-hour strike on Thursday next week (March 22) over their pay dispute following a breakdown in talks with management.

The strike will go ahead if an agreement with management cannot be reached.

The FT's NUJ chapel has passed a "no confidence" motion in the senior management of the Financial Times "over its failure to ensure transparency in its dealings and for the contempt shown to staff throughout the pay negotiations."

Steve Bird, FoC, of the NUJ's FT Group Chapel, said: “By justifying vast salaries for FT executives and keeping a large part of the pay award back for 'star' employees, FT managers are undermining both the team that produces the newspaper and the principles and high standards on which the paper is based. I am immensely proud of the stand the chapel is taking which is as much about integrity and fairness as it is about a cut-price pay offer.”

FT management issued a statement after the group chapel first voted for industrial action over the pay dispute. It said: "We view the vote for industrial action and the risk of disruption unwarranted and unreasonable. The Financial Times has continued to invest in its editorial operations because we strongly believe that quality journalism is at the heart of our global success.

"The proposed salary increase of 3.5 per cent - with 2-2.5 per cent for all editorial staff and 1 per cent for merit, plus a bonus, compares favourably with the rest of the industry and we have avoided any compulsory redundancies at a time when news organisations around the world are facing exceptional challenges."

US Republican race leads the UK news agenda

The race for the Republican presidential nomination in the US was the top story in the UK media in the week ending Sunday, March 11, according to journalisted.

Mitt Romney (top) inching towards the Republican presidential nomination with 6 victories in 10 states on Super Tuesday, generated 165 articles; the Liberal Democrats got embroiled in internal debates about tax - particularly around their proposal for a Mansion Tax - at the Lib Dems spring conference, 147 articles; The issue of gay marriage became controversial - again - after the intervention of Cardinal O'Brien, 125 articles; and Prince Harry charmed the citizens of Belize, Brazil, the Bahamas and Jamaica on the Diamond Jubilee Tour, 120 articles.

Covered little, according to journalisted, were Yemen militants, who have links with al-Qaeda, attack Government troops, 185 dead, 12 articles; Spain's new Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, gets in a fight with Brussels as he seeks to stop Spain becoming the next Greece, 12 articles; and Nicholas Sarkozy threatened to pull out of the Schengen zone in an attempt to woo right wing voters prior to the French election, 6 articles.

Syrian citizen journalists win RWB's Netizen Prize

Syrian citizen journalists and activists have been awarded the 2012 Reporters Without Borders Netizen Prize sponsored by Google.

The media centre of the Local Coordination Committees brings together groups of citizen journalists to collect and disseminate information and images of Syria’s uprising.

Jasmine, a 27-year-old Syrian activist who now lives in Canada, accepted the award on behalf of the activists inside of the country.

“The Netizen Prize proves that our voices were heard and that we succeeded in delivering the stories of millions of Syrians who are struggling on the ground to achieve what they have always dreamed - to live in freedom and dignity,” Jasmine said. “Thank you for acknowledging our presence as an active and effective media organization.”

RWB says Syrian journalists and bloggers are threatened and arrested by the government while iInternational news organisations are, for the most part, kept out of the country, adding: "In their absence, the committees are almost the only way to keep the world abreast of the violence wracking the country. They emerged spontaneously following the start of the Syrian revolution last March, bringing together human rights activists and local journalists, and now are found in most cities and towns across the country.

"Informants on the ground send information and the committees confirm it from multiple sources. A third group translates the news into English and distributes it on the group’s website. Videos and pictures are posted on Facebook and on a photo blog."

The award was made on World Day Against Cyber Censorship at a ceremony in Paris last night.

Johnston Press seeks group editorial development director as it transforms to a 'digital first' business

Johnston Press is advertising for a "heavyweight digital journalist" to be the company's group editorial development director and who will play a major role in making JP a "digital first publishing business".

According to the job advert on Linkedin, the successful candidate will develop, manage and lead the digital content activities for Johnston Press and its 230 local websites in the UK and Ireland.

It also says: "The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in the transformation of Johnston Press to a digital first publishing business, and will take the lead in setting and managing the tone of voice, content and audience strategy for JP’s local websites and will also play an important role in the Johnston Press senior management team."

The post would be based in London or Peterborough.

• The job opportunity, which is also being advertised on HoldtheFrontPage, was mentioned on Twitter in a tweet by Johnston's ceo Ashley Highfield today.