John Butterfield QC, defending a News of the World reporter accused at the Old Bailey of paying a prison officer for stories about Jon Venables, as reported by the Daily Mail: "They call it crime – we call it democracy. It is necessary and appropriate to reimburse whistleblowers against the risk they are going to get the sack. The issues that this prosecution would seek to trample over are as serious as it gets in a democratic country."
Nigel Rumfitt QC, representing the Sun’s head of news Chris Pharo who is accused of paying public officials for confidential information, on News International's Management Standards Committee giving material to police, as reported by the Guardian: “In slang, they were shopping their own staff.”
Laura Davison, NUJ national organiser, on the latests job cuts at Newsquest: "Newsquest's previous cost cutting record speaks for itself and now more journalists are facing the chop. This is not building a sustainable future for the business. The announcement of these cuts was made a week before an industry summit called by the government to ensure a vibrant future for the local and regional press. Culture Secretary Ed Vaizey has called together industry figures and union representatives to discuss future strategy and this sends out a very poor signal."
Johnston Press group NUJ chapel in a statement: "Morale is at rock bottom in Johnston Press, yet further cuts have been announced. Our members are shocked by further photographic redundancies, a move which is likely to hit the quality of newspapers and websites we produce, lead to further declining readership and harm the long-term prospects of the company. Alarmingly, Johnston Press management believes that more 'user generated content' is the way forward."
Jeremy Bowen in the Radio Times: “The threat from Islamic State is so unequivocal that even the most enterprising and daring reporters are hesitating to take the risk of being anywhere near them.”
Ian Katz @iankatz1000 on Twitter: "World's most eminent biologist EO Wilson reserves ultimate insult for @RichardDawkins in #newsnight interview tonight: 'He's a journalist'."
Sky's Alex Crawford interviewed in the Guardian: "If I was a bloke I’m just reaching my peak now. In America they have a totally different approach to older women working in broadcasting. It’s time Britain woke up.”
Tim Walker @ThatTimWalker on Twitter: "There are actually some things to be said for redundancy: I see in my diary I was due to review @MadeinDagenham tonight."
Oliver Kamm in The Times [£] on tv news channel Russia Today: "The problem with RT is not just bias but that it’s not a news channel at all. It’s a propaganda outlet for Vladimir Putin. Its broadcasting is a constant diet of lies in the service of a regime that murders journalists, imprisons protesters, defends dictators and menaces neighbouring states."
Peter Preston in The Observer: "Newspaper stories about pending hot/cold/wet/dry weather are much loved by editors because they are cheap/unprovable till much later/good for sales/quickly forgotten."
Callum Baird in The Herald reports on the less than riveting goaless draw between Morton and Airdrie:"BACK in the sixth century BC, when Babylonia fell, the Persian Empire rose from its ashes and toga-wearing Greek philosophers first started to look quizzically at tortoises, the Chinese sage Lao Tzu delicately laid down the first few brushstrokes of the Tao Te Ching, the text that would go on to become the bedrock of Taoism. Lao Tzu had faith in the duality of the universe. "When people see some things as beautiful, other things become ugly," he declared. Yin and yang. Each thing must, by its very nature, have an opposite. So perhaps that in order to have that mouthwatering Old Firm derby drawn out of the hat on Saturday evening we first had to sit through this: 90 minutes of the most tedious, excruciating football imaginable. For what seemed like an eternity, the large clock hanging over one of the stands at Cappielow poked fun of the spectator. Time stood still. The little hand lazily ticked its way round, trundling through treacle. The match cloyed at the senses."
Bob Preston from Marlborough, Wiltshire, in a letter to the Daily Telegraph: "SIR – I have a better use for my “used” copies of The Daily Telegraph than Malcolm Parkin’s friend (Letters, October 30). I have three working English springer spaniels and when they come home from a shoot on a wet day in winter the Telegraph comes into its own. It is the only paper I can tear into inch-wide vertical strips: just tear down and shake into the dogs’ box. Once the dogs are dry in the morning the used paper can be sent for recycling in the usual way. A very versatile newspaper. I don’t know what paper the Telegraph uses for its newsprint, but please don’t change it."
[£]=paywall
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