Friday 17 February 2012

Media Quotes of the Week: From Trev and Nev on the Sun arrests to Nat taking a beating in court



Trevor Kavanagh on the arrest of Sun journalists: "Before it is too late, should we not be asking where all this is likely to lead? Will we have a better Press? Or a Press that has been bullied by politicians into delivering what they, not the readers, think fit?"

Neville Thurlbeck on his blog: "The anger among Sun staff at the moment is straight from the furnace and springs from the company’s desire to sacrifice anyone in order to protect itself. They have effectively declared war on their own staff, a disastrous corporate strategy. Many have called me to vent their anger. One told me: 'The hatred the Sun is at such a pitch, senior executives ought to seriously consider hiring bodyguards when they go out at night'.”

Brian Cathcart of the Hacked Off campaign: "The bathwater of unethical and illegal practices in journalism needs to be drained, and the Leveson process exists to do that. There is no reason to suppose that the baby of free expression will be washed away in the process. A far more realistic prospect is that, if we are persuaded to leave this bathwater where it is, the baby will drown in it. Corrupt journalism is the enemy of free expression; it places us at the mercy of monopolists, bullies and lawbreakers. We surely don’t want that."

Nick Ferrari on Newsnight: "We are living in a country where Abu Qatada walks free but we are banging up the picture editor of the Sun."

Michael Wolff, the US media commentator, on Newsnight on News Corp: "The US operation has had it with the Brits...I would say the Sun is screwed."

Richard Littlejohn in the Daily Mail: "The Establishment has declared war on the Press and by extension our very democracy. They want to stifle criticism and suppress stories about wrongdoing in public office. If the politicians can shackle popular newspapers they are far less likely to be called to account for their actions."

Stewart Lee in the Observer on The Word magazine: "I was reading Word, the culture primer for the time-poor ageing hipsters, a midlife crisis in magazine form."

Lords Communications Committee report on investigative journalism: "It is important for the future of responsible investigative journalism that journalists are able to offer adequate protection to their sources. We therefore call on the Government and Lord Justice Leveson to make the question of the suitable protection of whistleblowers a core part of their ongoing inquiries."

Ray Snoddy on MediaTel's Newsline: "There is a dramatic way for the press to fight back against its many tormentors, one that would take real guts. Rupert Murdoch could relaunch the News of the World in time for the first anniversary of its closure in July and in time for the Olympics."

James Kirkup in the Daily Telegraph on Nat Rothschild losing a libel case against the Mail: "The aristocrat may love the exquisite torment of the Russian banya, but yesterday he discovered the words of a learned English judge can sting more than birch twigs on cold flesh."

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