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| Pic: BBC |
The Times [£] in a leader: "Press freedom has suffered a series of assaults in recent years. The Leveson inquiry exposed journalists to a raft of new legal battles and, under new defamation laws, most libel cases are decided by judges rather than juries, who are better placed to step back from legalistic quibbles and consider the public interest. That public interest is being undermined by Ripa, too. A free press with free expression, aided by sources brave enough to come forward, is fundamental to a healthy democracy. Obstructing that protects no one."
The Independent in a leader: "Government sources have revealed that Sir Jeremy Heywood, the head of the Civil Service, and Matthew Hancock, the minister for the Cabinet Office, are committed to maintaining freedom of information. Mr Hancock is understood to oppose the introduction of a fee for FoI requests – wisely, given that this amounts to a tax on democracy – and even Sir Jeremy’s predecessor, Sir Bob Kerslake, has warned about the risks attached to rolling back any freedom for the citizen to access public information. With individuals such as these speaking out, the suggestion that Whitehall is overburdened by the costs of FoI is blown apart. A rewriting of the law appears less and less likely. And rightly so."
Tom Watson quoted in the Guardian: “I am calling on the government today to abandon its [FOI] review. It doesn’t have the support of the public; it is opposed by many of the organisations that are covered by FOI; it has been condemned by the information commissioner and slammed by a former head of the civil service. It’s a waste of taxpayers’ money and it’s time it was scrapped. The Freedom of Information Act works well. Labour would strengthen and extend it.”
The Independent in a leader: "Government sources have revealed that Sir Jeremy Heywood, the head of the Civil Service, and Matthew Hancock, the minister for the Cabinet Office, are committed to maintaining freedom of information. Mr Hancock is understood to oppose the introduction of a fee for FoI requests – wisely, given that this amounts to a tax on democracy – and even Sir Jeremy’s predecessor, Sir Bob Kerslake, has warned about the risks attached to rolling back any freedom for the citizen to access public information. With individuals such as these speaking out, the suggestion that Whitehall is overburdened by the costs of FoI is blown apart. A rewriting of the law appears less and less likely. And rightly so."
Tom Watson quoted in the Guardian: “I am calling on the government today to abandon its [FOI] review. It doesn’t have the support of the public; it is opposed by many of the organisations that are covered by FOI; it has been condemned by the information commissioner and slammed by a former head of the civil service. It’s a waste of taxpayers’ money and it’s time it was scrapped. The Freedom of Information Act works well. Labour would strengthen and extend it.”
Bob Satchwell, executive director of the Society of editors, giving evidence to the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill Select Committee: "I have never known of a journalist that would put someone's life or national security at risk inadvertantly. There need to be clear procedures and rules if someone is seeking to invade journalists activities and rules. What has happened more recently is that some organisations rode roughshod over a principle that we thought was accepted."
Jonathan Calvert interviewed by Press Gazette: “One of the wonderful things about working for The Sunday Times is they do feel they've got to back their journalism. We will apologise if we've got something wrong but we will fight libel cases because otherwise people will just assume we can roll over and try it on all them time."
Opinion poll reported in the Observer: "The public also has concerns about the media’s treatment of the new Labour leader. Half of all voters think that Corbyn is treated unfairly by the media, with the proportion rising to just over two thirds (68%) among Labour voters."
Jeremy Corbyn interviewed by Paul Waugh on the Huffington Post: “When I was buying a paper just now, this guy said to me, ‘you don’t need to buy any of those, they’re all going to be attacking you’. So I said, ‘no, no, I’ve got no problems with the Irish Post or the Leinster Leader. Or the Morning Star'.”
IPSO Chairman, Sir Alan Moses: “Trevor Kavanagh has an unparalleled reputation as a political journalist. His membership of the Board demonstrates the value and importance distinguished journalists attribute to IPSO.”
Jonathan Calvert interviewed by Press Gazette: “One of the wonderful things about working for The Sunday Times is they do feel they've got to back their journalism. We will apologise if we've got something wrong but we will fight libel cases because otherwise people will just assume we can roll over and try it on all them time."
Opinion poll reported in the Observer: "The public also has concerns about the media’s treatment of the new Labour leader. Half of all voters think that Corbyn is treated unfairly by the media, with the proportion rising to just over two thirds (68%) among Labour voters."
Jeremy Corbyn interviewed by Paul Waugh on the Huffington Post: “When I was buying a paper just now, this guy said to me, ‘you don’t need to buy any of those, they’re all going to be attacking you’. So I said, ‘no, no, I’ve got no problems with the Irish Post or the Leinster Leader. Or the Morning Star'.”
IPSO Chairman, Sir Alan Moses: “Trevor Kavanagh has an unparalleled reputation as a political journalist. His membership of the Board demonstrates the value and importance distinguished journalists attribute to IPSO.”
Evan Harris, the joint executive director of Hacked Off, quoted in the Guardian: “Trevor Kavanagh’s appointment to the laughably entitled Independent Press Standards Organisation means that Ipso has abandoned even the pretence of independence from the industry."
Daniel Pearl, Channel 4’s deputy head of news & current affairs and Dispatches editor, after the broadcaster's joint investigation with the Telegraph into lobbying and politicians for hire was cleared by Ofcom: “We are delighted this important piece of public service journalism has been thoroughly vindicated by the independent regulator. This was a rigorously detailed investigation which paid scrupulous attention to fairness and accuracy at all times. We are pleased that Ofcom has recognised that the secretly-filmed comments, ‘accurately represented the discussions that took place between the MPs and the undercover reporters.’”
Rupert Murdoch on Twitter @rupertmurdoch: "London elites, media, etc sneering at Trump, others. No understanding of mid-America conditions or politics."
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