Media Quotes of the Week: From Lynn Barber tackles Sunday Times over rugby thighs on front page to should Labour launch own newspaper?

Lynn Barber on Twitter: "Looked forward to first edition of Sunday Times under new woman editor and what do I find? Photo of rugby players on front page. To me this is the clearest possible signal this is a men’s newspaper. They have dozens of sports pages to print all the pix of men’s thighs they want."

Josh Glancy on Twitter: "Victoria Newton's [pictured] confirmation as the new editor of The Sun means half of Britain's national newspaper editors are now female. (This includes The Sun, The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Financial Times and The Daily Mirror, a good spread)."

Tim Adams interviewing ex-BBC journalist John Sweeney in the Observer: "He concedes that he probably did not advance his case by addressing director of news and current affairs, Fran Unsworth, in emails as 'Kim Fran-un'.”

From The Times [£] obit on theatre director Terry Hands: "He could rarely resist a jibe at the media. 'Why did you choose journalism?' he asked one interviewer. 'You were obviously a nice person once'.”

Matt Chorley in The Times [£]:  "[Dominic] Cummings is not just being talked about, he is dominating the national political conversation. In fact analysis for Red Box by Daniel Clark, a Times interactive journalist, shows that since Boris Johnson became prime minister Cummings has had more press coverage than any member of the cabinet. In the past six and a half months, there have been more than 3,007 stories in national newspapers about the PM’s official adviser, ahead of every elected member of the government."

Adam Boulton in the Sunday Times [£]: "Johnson proudly told MPs: 'I am a journalist', but his career in print was notable for its partisan brio rather than devotion to facts. As prime minister he has gone along with avoiding interviews and question-and-answer sessions. He has threatened the BBC and political journalists with radical change. As shown with his Brexit night video, he has expanded the government payroll to include technicians capable of getting his message out on social media without calling in independent MSM professionals."

Sarah Scire on NiemanLab: "The New York Times’ decade-plus march from crisis to sustainability to growth hit another happy milestone today: The company announced it had generated more than $800 million in digital revenue in 2019. That meets a corporate goal set four years ago to hit that number by the end of 2020. (Like a good journalist, the Times even beat deadline.)"

Emily Bell on Twitter: "Journalism will be like football. Securely wealthy or publicly funded are the Premier League, the richest few have generous staffing levels, but if they want the field to survive they will need to loan players/invest in lower leagues.....just like the old days."

Labour deputy leader candidate Richard Burgon on Novara Media: “It would be fantastic if the Labour movement could invest in its own free newspaper given out on public transport because that is when people will read it. Written in a tabloid style”

Ian Murray, another candidate for the deputy Labour leadership, in The Times [£]: “We are not a protest movement handing out newspapers outside stations. Blaming the media for our defeat is also a pathetic excuse for our failings. We lost because voters didn’t trust our leadership.”

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Media Quotes of the Week: From many media companies make staff sign Non Disclosure Agreements to local porn stash splash lashed

Alan Rusbridger @arusbridger on Twitter: "The Telegraph has done well to expose the use of NDAs to gag former employees. But numerous ex Telegraph journos who willingly spoke to me for this chapter for #BreakingNews insisted on anonymity. Why? Because they’d had to sign NDAs."

• David Leigh @davidleighx on Twitter: "And the Guardian personnel dept once tried to make    me sign an NDA."
• Merion Jones @MeirionTweets on Twitter: "BBC tried to make the late lamented Liz MacKean sign an NDA - she politely told them what they could do with it."
• Simon O'Neil @SimonO19 on Twitter: "NDAs are widely used in regional and national press.

Waitrose Food magazine editor William Sitwell who resigned after 20 years as editor after sending the following email to vegan freelance Selene Nelson, who had pitched a story idea, as reported by BuzzFeed: "Hi Selene. Thanks for this. How about a series on killing vegans, one by one. Ways to trap them? How to interrogate them properly? Expose their hypocrisy? Force-feed them meat? Make them eat steak and drink red wine?"

Peter Oborne @OborneTweets on Twitter: "This is crazy. And a dark day for free expression. William Sitwell was a magnificent and generous magazine editor, winner of countless awards. Driven from his job by relentless Twitter trolls."

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Sir Alex Ferguson on the MEN's former Manchester United reporter David Meek, who died aged 88 this week: “I’m very sad to hear of the passing of David Meek, a well-respected journalist who served the Manchester Evening News with great loyalty and dignity. David was an old-fashioned journalist who relied on the accuracy of his reporting and his connection with Manchester United stretched over decades."

Henry Winter @henrywinter on Twitter: "Can’t believe Meeky’s gone. Went on so many trips with him, covering Manchester United. So generous with his time and advice. Meeky was just the loveliest man, a beacon of calm, great company, a journalist of insight and integrity. Thoughts with his family. Such sad news. RIP"

The Labour Party, quoted by the Daily Mail, on why it is dropping its complaints to the Independent Press Standards Organisation about newspaper coverage of Jeremy Corbyn's attendance at a wreath-laying ceremony in Tunisia in 2014: "Regrettably, confidential communication with Ipso was leaked and it was unable to trace the source or assure us it would not recur, and we considered that the complaints process was unacceptably compromised. We therefore decided we would not be taking this Ipso complaint any further."

Time has been named by the British Society of Magazine Editors as the most influential magazine of all time. Time was nominated by James Waldron, editor of Chemist and Druggist, who said:"Time's covers are so iconic that they are still used as shorthand to pinpoint key moments in history. You don't get much more influential than that."

Verified account 

Donald Trump @realDonaldTrump on Twitter: "A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News. It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description. Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!"

James O'Brien @mrjamesob on Trump Twitter: "Disgusting man says disgusting things about decent people. Disgusting fan of disgusting man sends bombs to decent people. Disgusting man blames bombs on decent people who keep reporting how disgusting he is."

Jeff Zucker, president of CNN Worldwide, in a statement: “There is a total and complete lack of understanding at the White House about the seriousness of their continued attacks on the media.
The president, and especially the White House Press Secretary, should understand their words matter. Thus far, they have shown no comprehension of that.”

Pic: Northern Echo

Steph McGovern on Have I Got News For You about Donald Trump making a pass at her when she interviewed him for BBC Breakfast in 2012, as reported by the Northern Echo: "Aye love, I've heard better lines than that down Club Bongo."

Lynn Barber in The Spectator: "As a journalist, I am a dinosaur. I like reading words on paper. I like writing long interviews when everyone nowadays seems to want short. I hate dealing with PRs. I don’t follow any celebs on Twitter or Facebook or Instagram, because I don’t know who half of them are."

Steve Dyson on HoldTheFrontPage after the Frome Standard splashed on the discovery of a pile of old porn magazines during a house clearance: "The porno splash was a stark example of how a focus on what attracts online clicks doesn’t always make news-priority sense in print. The remaining audience for local newspapers is largely elderly, often in a family setting and interested enough to spend money on reading about local public affairs. The last thing they want is a pointless story about piles of sleazy mags found in dusty drawers."More

Former Northern Echo editor Peter Barron  @PeteBarronMedia on Twitter: "I was once told I should lead the paper on the story attracting the most hits online. Here's a reminder from The Frome Standard of why that's so wrong. Don't care what anyone says - finding porn mags in a drawer isn't news, front page or anywhere else."

Media Quotes of the Week: From PM announces review into the future of newspapers to how many journalists does it take to down a 13 bottle lunch?

Theresa May, announcing a review of the future sustainability of newspapers in the UK and whether creators are appropriately rewarded for their online content, as reported by BBC News: "Good quality journalism provides us with the information and analysis we need to inform our viewpoints and conduct a genuine discussion. It is a huge force for good. But in recent years - especially in local journalism - we've seen falling circulations, a hollowing-out of local newsrooms, and fears for the future sustainability of high quality journalism...This is dangerous for our democracy. When trusted and credible news sources decline, we can become vulnerable to news which is untrustworthy."

NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet, welcoming the review: "The media industry is in crisis today, more than 300 local newspapers have been closed in the past decade and more than half of all parliamentary constituencies do not have a dedicated daily local newspaper. We have consistently highlighted the severity of this situation – our local communities deserve better. Hollowed-out shells of titles are no substitute for properly-resourced titles, with real investment in the provision of news and information that communities are crying out for."

Sun chief reporter@ByTomWells on Twitter:"Worth noting this morning that that the quite extraordinary development in the ‘Nick’ saga can only be revealed today because of a legal battle launched - and won - by @TheSun."

Caitlin Moran in The Times [£] on the Piers Morgan interview with Donald Trump:"He didn’t mention the investigation into Russian collusion, or his repeated threats of nuclear attacks on North Korea, or ask how a man with the hugest information resources on Earth could have the brass balls to claim that it was OK to retweet the racist organisation Britain First because he “didn’t know who they were”. It really wasn’t journalism. The next day the ratings came in — only three million. The afternoon quiz Eggheads gets 2.4 million, so it wasn’t really showbusiness in the end — it was no business. Celebrity-wise, Trump and Morgan are a failed double act."

Piers Morgan‏ on Twitter: "BREAKING NEWS:I think we have a late winner of my £1000 prize for the nastiest, bitchiest review of #TrumpMorgan by a jealous media rival - congrats @caitlinmoran! I’ll send the money to SAS hero Bob Curry to help him kit out his new home."

David Hepworth in Inside Publishing on Fire and Fury: "Michael Wolff is a magazine journalist by trade. After this book, it’s reasonable to assume that he’s one of the wealthier magazine journalists in the world. Most of his career has been spent writing for people like Vanity Fair and the Hollywood Reporter. He likes being near fame and power as much as his readers like reading about fame and power. His speciality is being able to explain power to media and media to power. Here is where he has an advantage over the standard hard news guys who have been trying to fit Trump into their idea of a politician. If ever you needed proof that the pen is mightier than the You Tube clip, then the bombshell success of Wolff’s book is it. Hard news men might have thought they didn’t have enough to go on. A magazine man like Wolff knew that he had more than enough."

The Sunday Times [£] in a leader on  the decision by the Independent Press Standards Organisation to uphold a complaint against an article by Lynn Barber on a Syrian asylum seeker she took into her home: "In effect, its ruling forbids writers from telling a story without the approval of their subjects. If this stance were to be repeated, there would be no memoirs or eyewitness accounts in the press. Attempts to silence people’s first-hand experience will only drive controversial narratives to the unregulated internet...Ipso’s condemnation after Mr [Mohammed]

Ahmed complained he was discriminated against is a cruel blow to Ms Barber’s freedom of expression and the press freedom that sustains the quality of The Sunday Times’s journalism. We are submitting to its ruling because we believe in self-regulation of the press and will not bow to a state-approved regulator. But Ipso should ask itself whether its purpose is to prevent a journalist of Ms Barber’s stature from keeping faith with her readers."

IPSO in its ruling against The Sunday Times: "The article included extensive information about the complainant, relating to: his family and personal relationships; his domestic arrangements; his financial circumstances; his journey to the UK; his asylum application; his relationships and interactions with the journalist, including an argument they had had, and a letter he had written to her, expressing his feelings about the disagreement; his psychological and physical health; his drug use; and allegations about the possession of private, sexual material. These details were used to create a detailed and intimate portrait of the complainant, and his life. The complainant was not a public figure, and had not publicly disclosed the information about his experiences contained in the article, or consented to the article’s publication. The extent of this detail, published without his consent, and where no steps were taken to obscure his identity, represented an intrusion into his private life."

Trinity Mirror in a statement in open court as part of settling a phone hacking case with actor Hugh Grant, as reported by Hacked Off: “A number of its senior employees, including executives, editors and journalists, condoned, encouraged or actively turned a blind eye to the widespread culture of unlawful information-gathering activities at all three of its newspapers for many years and actively sought to conceal its wrongdoing from its many victims of intrusion. its repeated and prolonged intrusions into innocent people’s lives over, in some instances, a decade, could have been prevented or interrupted. Instead, Trinity Mirror failed to properly investigate these disgraceful actions and/or to act sufficiently when the allegations of MGN’s journalists’ unlawful activities were first alleged and publicly emerged in 2006 and when the first inquiries into these wrongdoings were made.”

Dickon Ross in InPublishing on how InsideHousing magazine highlighted the dangers of cladding on tower blocks before the Grenfell Fire: "So, next time you hear someone remarking that no one, least of all the media, ever called out the conditions and the failings that led to the tragedy that was the Grenfell fire, you can correct them. They were just looking at the wrong media. At least one magazine was on the case and it was speaking truth unto power. The terrible shame is that those in power were not listening as they should."

Peter Pringle in The Times [£]: "In your otherwise excellent obituary of Philip Jacobson (January 16, 2018) [pictured] you state that the record-breaking eight-hour lunch he enjoyed in Bogotá was shared with “colleagues”. On the contrary, it was attended by just two people — myself and Philip. We were, between us, solely responsible for the 13 bottles of wine consumed that day. I believe it is only fair to the great tradition of Fleet Street lunches that the record on this matter should be set straight."

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Quotes of the Week: From Operation Elveden undone to an interview tip from Lynn Barber

Stig Abell ‏@StigAbell on Twitter: "Operation Elveden: 42 charges against Sun journalists, 0 convictions."

The Times [£] in a leader: "The acquitted journalists, three from The Sun and one from the Mirror, are relieved but understandably angry. Like ten others before them and those spared and still awaiting trial, they have been subjected to long legal ordeals at a cost of £20 million in a process that juries have consistently rejected as flawed. The prosecutions appear to have ignored almost to the end the real nature androle of journalism as a foundation of free speech. Only today has that fundamental right been acknowledged but only as an attempt to justify previous misjudgments."

Ex-Director of Public Prosecutions Lord Macdonald on the Today programme: “It looks as though in the charging decisions that were made in the past in the Elveden cases, not enough weight was attached to the public interest in free expression and the freedom of the press, and that was an error I think the DPP [Alison Saunders] has tried to correct by dumping these cases.”

Tim Walker ‏@ThatTimWalker on Twitter: "Surely we are at the point where the people who approved Operation Elveden ought to be considering their positions."

Mick Hume on Spiked: "The authoritarian fiasco of Operation Elveden is only the end result of a campaign to sanitise Britain’s unruly press, involving everybody from political leaders and top judges to police chiefs, celebrity crusaders and assorted media snobs. All of them share the same contempt for what one top prosecutor called ‘the gutter press’."

Brian Cathcart on Inforrm's blog: "It might be thought that News International (now News UK), having failed to give its journalists proper legal advice about paying public officials and then having presented evidence against them to the police, might have shown shame and humility. The fact that it now attacks the police and the CPS for taking proper independent decisions demonstrates, yet again, the breathtaking hypocrisy to which the big newspapers are particularly prone."

Simon Usborne in The Independent on Katie Hopkins: "Hopkins has children to feed and dress - and we can unfollow her, and avoid what she writes and says. Free country, free speech. Just look the other way. But when a national newspaper, which gives this brand an audience of two million people, happily prints language that might give Hitler pause, is that still OK? Or is it worth responding this time, even if she’ll love every minute?"

Daily Mirror ‏@DailyMirror on Twitter: "As a public service we are live blogging pictures of nice things while @KTHopkins is on@LBC"

Jonathan Liew in the Telegraph: "Increasingly, and worryingly, a consensus is emerging that the only interpretation of sport worth hearing is by those involved in it. 'You’ve never played the game' is a frequent jibe aimed at reporters, and yet this world-view is an assault not just on the media, but on everyone. Had sport been allowed to write its own history over the years, Lance Armstrong would still be a seven‑time Tour de France winner, the Pakistani spot-fixers would have gone unpunished, and everyone would be looking forward to a wonderful 2022 World Cup in Qatar."

The Times [£] in a leader on Twitter: "But, contrary to its image, Twitter is not just a medium for exchanging banal experiences. It is a means for social exchange whose value lies precisely in its capacity for being used as the individual wants or needs. If you want to promote a book or an idea or a product then Twitter can connect you to a discriminating audience. If you want to receive links to the best expert arguments at home or reports from far-off countries, a judicious use of Twitter will furnish you with them. And if you merely want to be involved in some small way in the nation’s conversation, then you can do that too. Without paying."

An interview tip from Lynn Barber in @XCityMag: "A trip to the loo is often instructive - it's where people put their awards and cartoons - things they're proud of and want visitors to see...look for the pills!"

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Media Quotes of the Week: From would Mick Jagger have found satisfaction as a journalist? to being resigned from the editorship of The Times

Mick Jagger interviewed by John Humphrys on the Today programme: "There're a million things that you would have loved to have done, a politician, a journalist. I thought of being a journalist once."

The Sunday Times [£] in a leader: "Let’s imagine that young Mick had decided on a career in journalism. Like Mr Humphrys, he might have been a distinguished foreign correspondent. Like Mr Humphrys, he might have built a reputation as a fierce no-holds-barred interviewer. And last week, just like Mr Humphrys, he’d have trudged through the crowded fields of Glastonbury on his way to interview a wealthy rock star — probably wondering where it all went wrong."

Rupert Murdoch in a meeting with Sun journalists, leaked to Exaro and broadcast by Channel 4 News: "The idea that the cops then started coming after you, kick you out of bed, and your families, at six in the morning, is unbelievable. But why are the police behaving in this way? It's the biggest inquiry ever, over next to nothing."

NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet in a statement: "News UK's response has been to say that Murdoch was showing ‘understandable empathy’ with his staff. He’s about as empathetic as he is humbled. Murdoch set up the Management and Standards Committee and, at the same time as setting up shop with the Metropolitan Police, he threw his staff to the wolves. Data was handed over to the police as an act of corporate damage limitation – there was no consideration of public interest tests, there was no thought to the consequences of outing journalistic sources, and there was no consideration the impact on staff who’ve worked loyally for Murdoch’s titles and done as they’ve been told."

Lynn Barber on Liz Jones in the Sunday Times Magazine [£]: "At 54, she is single, childless, friendless, facing bankruptcy, still anorexic and, of course, completely bonkers. On the other hand, this is all meat and drink to her fans."

Lynn Barber ‏@lynnbaba  on Twitter: "Abject apologies to all who helped with Liz Jones and now can't read because of effing paywall. I objected but no joy - sorry"

Mail on Sunday in a leader: "Lord Justice Leveson’s report on the press is not wearing at all well. Like a week-old party balloon, it already looks faded and deflated."

Trevor Kavanagh in the Sun: "It is now clear the Leveson Inquiry was an establishment stitch-up. It was intended to move fast, avoid scrutiny and deliver its report in time for swift, irreversible legislation. Instead, plans for a royal charter are bogged down in discord and controversy, making a laughing stock of Britain’s hard-won reputation as a bastion of Press freedom. After this fiasco, it would serve MPs right if the newspaper industry now withdrew from the process, flatly rejected Press regulation — and challenged Parliament to do its worst."

Mark Wallace on Comment is Free: "The Daily Telegraph has cut itself loose of its party ties, and adopted a far more pugnacious, champion-of-the-people worldview. In fine conservative style, it has dedicated itself to historic principles whilst using the very newest technologies to promote them. The Torygraph of old may be dead and gone, but it has grown into a beast that is just as important – and all the more tricky to handle."

Mike Darcy, chief executive of News UK, quoted by Press Gazette: "It is better to sacrifice reach and preserve sustainable profitability.“Moreover, when we sacrifice this so-called reach, what have we really lost?  A long tail of passing trade, many from overseas, many popping in for only one article, referred by Google or a social media link, not even aware they are on a Times or a Sun website, wholly anonymous. That passing trade was good for the ego, if unique user stats do that for you, but they don’t really add to our purpose at all.”

James Harding, speaking at the Journalists' Charity annual lunch,  on leaving the editorship of The Times: "I resigned…err…I was resigned from The Times.”

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Media Quotes of the Week: From Leveson comes down to a Parly vote to Vicky Price and betrayal

David Cameron ruling out a full legislative response to Leveson and opting for a vote in Parliament, as reported by the London Evening Standard: "“Effectively this is bringing this to a head. I have chosen action over inaction. I have chosen workability against unworkability. I have chosen something that would protect the freedom of the press over something that would undermine it.”

Ed Miliband on Cameron's move, as reported by the BBC: "I told him I thought he was making a historic mistake which would not serve the victims, and that we should carry on working to serve the victims of the abuses that took place in the past and to see whether we could find a solution together." 

Nick Davies ‏@Bynickdavies on Twitter: "Cameron caves in to Fleet Street bullies"
 
Dan Hodges on Telegraph blogs: "Next week’s vote in the Commons is now a win/win for the Prime Minister. Either the Government prevails, and Miliband is left humiliated and empty handed. Or the Opposition wins the vote, in which case David Cameron is able to frame himself as the heroic defender of press freedom; both now, and come the election in 2015."

The Daily Mail in a leader: "For deplorably cynical short-term motives, a tawdry alliance of Labour and LibDem politicians is holding Parliament to ransom in a bid to force through legislation which could seriously diminish the freedom of the Press to expose injustice, corruption and hypocrisy in public life."

The Independent in a leader: "This newspaper recently backed calls for a charter, underpinned by a short statute. With the Prime Minister still willing to talk, there is time for that compromise to be achieved. With so urgent a need for a tougher system of media regulation, a split between politicians and the press helps no one."

The Daily Telegraph in a leader: "In recent weeks, two senior police officers have been arrested for passing information to journalists even though no money was exchanged or even requested. In other words, they face prosecution for briefing reporters on their activities. This is a worrying development because maintaining a relationship between newspapers and people in public office – be they police chiefs, soldiers, civil servants or government ministers – is a central plank of democracy. Those who doubt this simply fail to understand that a function of the press in a free society is to act as a conduit between people in positions of authority and the public."

Sun investigations editor Brian Flynn, speaking at the 'Journalism in the Dock' debate at City University:"It feels like we are being frogmarched into a police state".

Lynn Barber on Piers Morgan in theSunday Times Magazine [£]: "He says he’s keenly aware that he must not come across as hectoring, but that’s exactly how it felt when he was reeling off statistics about gun deaths in America. I was impressed by his command of the subject, but also thinking: 'Can we get back to talking about Cowell soon?' Serious Morgan is all very well, but fluffy Morgan is far more fun."

Piers Morgan about his Twitter account, to Lynn Barber in the Sunday Times Magazine [£]: “I have more followers than eight British national newspapers put together have readers.”

Tom Streithorst on The Prospect blog:  "As industrial jobs evaporated, few of us in the news business cared. Remember that famous quote about Nazi Germany. When they came for the miners, I remained silent because I wasn’t a miner. When they came for the air traffic controllers, I remained silent because I wasn’t an air traffic controller. When they came for the middle managers, I remained silent because I wasn’t a middle manager. When they came for the journalists, only the journalists spoke out—and guess what, nobody listened."

Peter Preston in the Observer: "Ask local and regional journalists and they'll tell you the truth: journalism isn't well-paid. But where does it sit in the third division of trades and professions? Forbes, using government statistics, has just constructed a US league table around an annual mean yearly salary of $43,640. You'll be happy to learn that reporters, notebooks open, fit in the same category as airline stewards, marriage therapists, chefs – and embalmers. I know people keep saying papers are dying, but this is ridiculous."

Isabel Oakeshott on Vicky Pryce in the Sunday Times [£]: "While I was busy protecting her identity, she had been busy revealing all to a rival newspaper, The Mail on Sunday. Even worse, she had handed it a copy of the tapes. This was an extraordinary betrayal and deeply underhand after everything we had been through together. Our relationship had been based on trust. I had kept my side of the bargain; she had broken hers."

Nick Cohen on The Spectator blog: "Oakeshott does not understand that the moral obligations between a journalist and his or her sources flow in one direction only. They are putting their life and liberty in your hands not vice versa. They are free to deny the truth of the stories you print, if that's what it takes to keep them in a job or out of prison. They can speak to other journalists; they can do whatever they want. You are in their debt. They are not in yours."

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Sunday Times: Sugar not so sweet on journalists

Alan Sugar doesn't think too much of journalists, judging by this exchange between his Lordship and Lynn Barber in a Sunday Times Magazine interview.

Barber writes: "He [Sugar] claims that he was never taught manners as a child, not even basic things like saying hello or thank you, but he learnt them later.

"When, I wonder? Certainly not when I interviewed him in Boca Raton six years ago and he was rude to me before I even had a chance to be rude to him. He says that he doesn’t remember, so I remind him: “Almost my first question was, ‘Why do you like flying?’ You said, ‘To get away from people like you.’”

"Lord Sugar smiles equably. “Maybe it was a generic thing, because you’re a journalist. They’re all scum, aren’t they? With all due respect. Now don’t forget to write about my new book.”

• The Sunday Times is behind a paywall.
  

Libel victory: 'Higher bar' set for defamation cases

Good news on the libel laws front today after lawyers for the Daily Telegraph said a legal victory for the paper over a Lynn Barber review has raised the bar for claimants who sue for libel.
Press Gazette reports: "Justice Tugendhat today dismissed a libel claim made by Dr Sarah Thornton against the Telegraph over a review written by Barber in November, 2008 of her book Seven Days in the Art World.
"Thornton sued over a section in which Lynn Barber said she had given her interviewees 'copy approval', meaning that they had the right to read what she had written about them for the book and alter it.
"In his judgment today Justice Tugendhat notes that Thornton "appears to share the view" that "giving copy approval is something to be disapproved of".
He added: "In my judgement, if read by itself, the first paragraph containing the copy approval allegation is not capable of being a personal libel. It is not capable of meaning that Dr Thornton had done anything which in ordinary language could be highly reprehensible, or reprehensible at all…"
In his judgment Tugenhat said the "threshold of seriousness" in libel needed to be raised. Referring to the Jameel versus Dow Jones case, considered a benchmark libel ruling, Tugenhat said the word "substantially" should be inserted into the definition of libel used in it.
Tegunhat said that the definition quoted in the Jameel case, and which he applied to the Thornton case, is that: "The publication of which he [Jameel] complains may be defamatory to him because it [substantially] affects in an adverse manner the attitude of other people towards him, or has a tendency so to do."
A spokesman for David Price Solicitors and Advocates, which represented the Telegraph, said Tugendhat had concluded that for a libel claim to be successful "not just that the words complained of must impute some detriment to the claimant in the estimation of right-thinking members of society, but also that there must be a substantial effect on the claimant in order to deem a publication defamatory".
The spokesman added: "Inclusion of the word 'substantially' is crucial and is likely to set a higher bar for defamation cases in future."

• MediaGuardian commentator Roy Greenslade has welcomed the ruling: "Tugendhat, in accepting Price's argument, effectively raises the bar for libel claimants. He gave a new definition of what may constitute defamation by ruling that publication should "substantially" affect a claimant. Journalists should applaud his judgment as tilting the balance in favour of press freedom."