Media Quotes of the Week: From Rusbridger, Barber and MacKenzie on Paul Dacre chairing Ofcom to saving court reporting in the digital age

Alan Rusbridger on Twitter: "The Government seems determined to impose the 'unappointable' Paul Dacre on Ofcom. That means, I'm afraid, that Ofcom will no longer be seen as independent from Government. Big price to pay."

Lionel Barber on Twitter: "If Tories don’t like the conclusion of one independent committee hearing, then they move the goalposts. Applies as much to Dacre on Ofcom job as Paterson on parliamentary standards and lobbying. Slow strangulation of representative government."

Kevin MacKenzie in his a spokesman said column: "In a saga that has lasted longer than finding a decent manager for Spurs I am pleased to report that Boris is still determined to make Paul Dacre, the talented ex-Editor of the Daily Mail, chairman of the media regulator Ofcom...A new panel that will give Dacre the nod is currently being put together. Each will be asked before they join if they have a problem with Dacre. If any answer yes they won’t be on the panel. That’s how it works. The establishment hate journalists. They simply aren’t clubbable. That’s why I like them and why I am one of them."

• According to the Guardian, Paul Dacre has departed his role as chair of the Daily Mail’s parent company. Although Dacre stood down as editor of the Daily Mail in 2018, he remained as chair and editor-in-chief of Associated Newspapers.

Findings from the government's Call for Evidence on Journalist Safety include:

• Just over 4 in 5 journalists experienced threats, abuse or violence as a result of their work. These incidents included abuse, intimidation, threats of violence, violence, death threats, bullying, sexism, racism and homophobia.
• More than a third of women respondents indicated that they did not feel safe operating as a journalist in the UK.
• The majority of respondents did not report all incidents to platforms, police and employers, due in part to poor confidence they would be taken seriously.
• The Call for Evidence asked journalists to describe in more detail the impacts of incidents to identify the most common themes. The most prevalent identified impacts on everyday behaviour included avoiding certain places or crowds, being defensive and wary in public, and avoiding engaging with the public or readers in both physical spaces and on social media.

Andy Burnham on culture secretary Nadine Dorries in the Observer: "Nadine gets herself noticed, but if it becomes a thing that the culture secretary fights culture wars, then I think the job is in serious trouble. When I heard her [conference] comments, I thought, here we go, a BBC-bashing culture secretary.”

Culture secretary Nadine Dorries in the Manchester Evening News marking Journalism Matters Week: "We've introduced a trailblazing Online Safety Bill that will make us one of the first countries in the world to force tech companies to clean up their sites. But, crucially for journalists, that Bill will also prevent social media firms from arbitrarily taking down content from respected news organisations. And, even better, it includes extremely important protection and exemptions for journalists, so that we can protect their free speech while forcing social media platforms to police their sites properly."

News Media Association chairman Henry Faure Walker in InPublishing marking Journalism Matters Week: "Sadly, the American owned tech giants continue to leech revenues away from British journalism, while exploiting our content to sell advertising on their own platforms. We welcome Government moves to tackle this problem, seeking to deliver a level playing field and fair practices, but time is running out, particularly for some local publishers, and we need the Government to go further, faster. And the BBC needs to be prevented from rolling its tanks, funded by the licence fee, onto the lawn of the hard pressed independent local news sector."

BBC director general Tim Davie on the Corporation's new 10-point impartiality plan :"The BBC's editorial values of impartiality, accuracy and trust are the foundation of our relationship with audiences in the UK and around the world. Our audiences deserve and expect programmes and content which earn their trust every day and we must meet the highest standards and hold ourselves accountable in everything we do. The changes we have announced not only ensure we learn the lessons from the past but also protect these essential values for the future."

John Witherow, editor of The Times, speaking at the Web Summit and reported in his own paper [£]: “Today we are told it’s the tech giants who are killing us. Readers want everything for free, we must do click-bait, it’s a race to the bottom. Except that’s not true. Good journalism does not need saving. It’s thriving. This is a golden age for serious journalism. It’s expanding into audio and visual and reaching new audiences.When young people ask me if they should go into journalism nowadays, I say, by all means, now is a great time.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists CPJ’s Global Impunity Index finds: "In more than 80 percent of cases, the killers of journalists are still getting away with murder. Somalia continues to rank as the world’s worst offender, followed by Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, and Afghanistan. Yet while Afghanistan’s spot on the Index is unchanged from 2020, the Taliban’s August takeover raises fears that impunity for journalist murders there may become even more entrenched."

EU Commission statement on International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists: "We will stand by and protect journalists, no matter where they are. We will continue supporting a free and diverse media environment, supporting collaborative and cross-border journalism, and tackling violations of media freedom. There is no democracy without media freedom and pluralism. An attack on media is an attack on democracy.”

From openDemocracy’s new report on the UK Government and Freedom of Information, Access Denied’: "Last year was the worst on record for government secrecy, new research by openDemocracy has revealed. Just 41% of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests sent to government departments and agencies were granted in full in 2020, down from 43% the previous year. This is the lowest figure since records began in 2005."

John Battle in The Times [£] on how to improve court reporting in the digital age: "A step forward would be a reporters’ charter across civil and criminal courts to ensure basic 'rights': a designated place to sit in the court; wi-fi; access to listing details; documents used in evidence; crucial witness statements and the judgment; a point of contact for media inquiries and a right to make representations to the court. Journalists also need a database to access reporting restrictions and relevant documents...The pace of change is not keeping up with the digital age. It is in the interests of the courts, the legal system and the media to make this happen, so let’s get on with it before it’s too late."

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Media Quotes of the Week: From there are lots of commentators on crime but few court reporters to respect for MPs who go to their local papers first

Duncan Campbell in the Guardian on the decline in court reporting: "At the Old Bailey in the last few of months of last year there were six simultaneous murder trials under way, all interesting and revealing in their different ways, all concerned with fatal stabbings, and the press benches were empty most days. There is no shortage of commentators writing about crime and the causes of crime, but such space would often be better served by an accurate report on how such offences happen in the first place and how they are investigated, prosecuted, defended, judged and punished. The situation is worst for local and regional papers. A day in any magistrates court is as illuminating on the state of the nation in terms of homelessness, mental health, immigration, drug-taking, alcohol abuse, race, domestic violence and poverty as any lengthy thinktank report. Once reports from these court were an essential ingredient of every local paper. No more."

Neil Allen of The News, Portsmouth after being named Regional Journalist of the Year in the British Sports Journalism Award: "I would like to dedicate this to all local and regional sports reporters. The hierarchy at football clubs can ban us, can try to discredit us, even try to get us the sack but we always, always outlast these people."

Former head of BBC Television News Roger Mosey in the New Statesman on BBC plans to cut news and political programming: "At a time when the biggest decisions in our lifetime are being made and when politics matters more than ever, our leading public service broadcaster has decided to cut back on news and political programming. It is doing so by creating a false choice between serious news and youth-orientated shows when it has resources and air-time to do both - and when that is what audiences have a right to expect."

Jeremy Corbyn at a rally in Broxtowe, as reported by Joe: "As you may have noticed, some of the mainstream media are sometimes slightly hostile and critical. I've noticed it, and what I've noticed is they're very unkeen on relating to the issues that people face. I did an interview for Sky last night, it was 14 minutes the interview. We got to, I think, minute 12 before I intervened and said 'Is there any chance anybody other than an MP could be referred to in any of your questions, and we could actually talk about the homeless, the poverty, the hospital waiting lists. Is there any chance we could talk about the issues that people face in their day-to-day lives?'"

The NUJ and Bectu in a joint statement on Tommy Robinson and his demo against the BBC in in Salford over a forthcoming Panorama investigation:  “We roundly condemn Tommy Robinson and his fellow, far-right thugs...He is the subject of a Panorama investigation and on his Facebook page has videoed a tirade against the corporation. The NUJ and Bectu say BBC staff should be free to do their jobs without these threats. Intimidation, threats and violence carried out by far-right protesters systematically targeting the media, especially photojournalists, are becoming more frequent and we will always call out this behaviour and report criminal activity to the police."

Donald Trump @realDonaldTrump on Twitter: "The Press has never been more dishonest than it is today. Stories are written that have absolutely no basis in fact. The writers don’t even call asking for verification. They are totally out of control. Sadly, I kept many of them in business. In six years, they all go BUST!"

Rachael Pacella @rachaelpacella on Twitter: "As one of six survivors of our nation's only newsroom mass shooting, seeing generalized media-bashing tweets from the president makes me fear for my life. His words have power, and give bad actors justification to act."

Caroline Schelle, of the Australian Associated Press, reporting for the Herald Sun: "A Melbourne newspaper journalist who reported on some of the city's gangland war has been awarded $180,000 in damages for post-traumatic stress, anxiety and depression. The former reporter at The Age worked in the role for almost a decade until 2013 and covered major stories including the death of four-year-old Darcey Freeman, who was thrown off the West Gate Bridge by her father. She also covered gangland murders, road deaths, fires and police shootings."

Richard Osley Retweeted Express & Star

Tim Walker asked to give advice to new journalists by Muhammed Raza Hussain on Newsleaf: "Be yourselves and be true to what you believe in, not what the proprietor you end up working for believes in. All the journalists I love the most – Kevin Maguire, Matthew d’Ancona and, though sadly no longer with us, Anthony Howard, who gave me my first national newspaper job on The Observer – command respect because they are always true to their own lights. We need more individualists in journalism, not more yes men and women. People like that come and go and are quickly forgotten."

Verified account

Carole Walker @carolewalkercw on Twitter: "PM on plane.... Asked what she will do if she loses on March 12, May told reporters: "Why is it that people are always trying to look for the next thing after the next thing after the next thing?" ... well i wonder... maybe its because the next thing is the UK leaving the EU ..?"

Verified account

Camden New Journal deputy editor Richard Osley @RichardOsley ‏‏on Twitter: "If you’ve got some big news, tell it to the people who matter first - your constituents - via the local newspaper."

Graeme Demianyk @GraemeDemianyk on Twitter: "Respect to politicians who give the story to their local paper first. A dying tradition."

Courts in the 21st century: It's not just about tape recorders but laptops, live blogging and tweeting

A post by Siobhain Butterworth on guardian.co.uk takes the debate prompted by Heather Brooke today about whether tape recorders should be allowed in court a bit further.
What about laptops, live blogging and tweeting?
Butterworth writes: "There is something rather quaint about journalists in the 21st century using pens and notebooks to record what goes on in court hearings when the tools of the trade now include laptops, mobiles, BlackBerrys and other digital paraphernalia. Why not use them in court? In fact, why not report live from the courtroom? The obvious answer is that judges won't let you.
"In the US, lawyers have been fighting for the right of reporters and others to live-blog and tweet from court with some success. The Tribune, in Greeley, Colorado, is currently tweeting the trial of a man accused of killing his wife and last year, in Iowa, the Cedar Rapids Gazette live-blogged a tax and mail fraud case."
She quotes US lawyer Steven Zansberg of Denver law firm Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz :"The role the press plays is an important role and the question becomes why shouldn't they do it in the courtroom as opposed to stepping outside the courtroom at intervals."

'What blogger will sit in Glossop magistrates court all day?'

That is the question posed by journalist George Dearsley on his blog in a comment on the story that London court reporting agency Strand News is asking its customers for support during these tough economic times.
George says: "Clever people talk of micro-blogging replacing local journalism. But what blogger will sit in Glossop magistrates court all day? And court reporting is an art, for which an impeccable shorthand note is needed. Even if he was willing, does that micro-blogger have the relevant skills? Of course, newspapers should not be immune from general economic pressures. But the plight of companies like Strand News is an example of the very serious consequences that will follow the breakdown of traditional news coverage."
It rather echoes the comment by the creator of The Wire, David Simon, a former Baltimore Sun crime reporter, who told a US Senate Committee: "You do not - in my city - run into bloggers or so-called citizen journalists at City Hall, or in the courthouse hallways or in the bars and union halls where police officers gather."