Hot topics click link for more
Let’s just say the printed page holds endless memories. Headlines are catchy. Photos bold and bright. News stands bulge. Money comes in. Everybody is happy, until somebody gets caught.
The notorious UK tabloids were rattled several years ago by seemingly endless revelations of murky methods used to dredge up stories. There were trials, inquiries and editorials. Little happened other than a few financial settlements, well covered by insurance policies. One tabloid was closed, the proprietor apologizing. (See more about tabloids here)
Time has passed and like the proverbial bad penny, phone hacking and related tabloid misadventures are back in the news, mostly. Associated Newspapers Limited, publisher of the Daily Mail, is having a day in court, actually more than one. The Royal Courts of Justice, referred to as the London High Court, is hosting hearings on claims of several high profile persons that damage payments are due from unlawful information gathering, reported CNN (March 27). Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, is one. Sir Elton John is another. Actor Elizabeth Hurley yet another. And they all gathered in the courtroom yesterday (March 27) and again today.
The claimants’ lawsuit was brought last October. ANL also publishes Mail on Sunday and Mail online and is one of several subsidiaries of Daily Mail and General Trust, principally owned by Jonathan Harmsworth, Viscount Rothermere. Claimants contend they were “victims of abhorrent criminal activity and gross breaches of privacy.” That would include bugging homes and cars, paying corrupt cops to obtain private information (“blagging”) and hacking into bank accounts and medical sources. (See more about newspapers in the UK here)
ANL has retorted that this is “unsubstantiated and highly defamatory claims, based on no credible evidence.” Defence attorneys, however, are rather concerned about “confidential” material revealed by the Leveson Inquiry in 2011, the big phone hacking dispute, might find its way into the current proceedings. ANL is seeking to have the case dismissed before a trial.
Those with an axe to grind - for whatever reason - move to punish media outlets with great regularity. It has come to be expected. Security services are regularly employed to watch over facilities and offices. Cameras are everywhere. People entering buildings a regularly scanned and photographed. For all the obvious reasons, television stations are targets.
The letter bombs sent to five media workers in Ecuador last week received dutiful attention from international news outlets. The packages were all the same, containing explosive-laden UBS sticks, all sent from the coastal town of Quimsaloma, reported US network CBS News (March 21). One addressed to Guayaquil reporter Carlos Vera was seized by police at a delivery service. Another exploded, with minimal damage, as Ecuavisa reporter Lenin Artieda inserted the dummy UBS plug into a laptop. Authorities pointed to drug gangs.
Concurrent with the discovery of the letter bombs, TC Television reporter Jose Luis Calderón and camera operator Pedro Maruri were attacked as they were preparing for an early morning live report in Guayaquil, noted media freedom advocate Fundamedios (March 23). The two armed attackers, arriving on a motorcycle, grabbed Sr. Calderón’s mobile phone, then sped away. The TV crew did, however, capture the license plate number. (See more about press/media freedom here)
After posting a report about gang leader Junior Roldán, La Voz del Pueblo journalist Karen Minda attracted death threats on the portal’s website (March 24). This week the director of Quito radio stations Radio América and Radio Municipal, Jorge Ñacato, received omnious messages. One specifically threatened his family. In another, placed to the station’s telephone system, a caller said he was “waiting outside.” Station employees noticed a suspicious automobile in the parking lot. After several minutes, the car drove off.
Showing continuing displeasure with news reporting, the ruling authorities in Burkina Faso suspended “indefinitely” the broadcasts of French international TV channel France 24, reported news agency AFP (March 26). The action comes after France 24 reporter Wassim Nasr, a specialist in jihadist issues, broadcast answers (March 6) to several questions posed to Islamic Maghreb (Al-Qaeda) leader Yezid Mebarek. The West African country of Burkina Faso has been in a rolling conflict with jihadists since 2015, which reportedly has claimed 10,000 casualties and two million people displaced. The violence has increased since the first of this year.
"France 24 is not only acting as a mouthpiece for these terrorists, but worse, it is providing a space for the legitimisation of terrorist actions and hate speech,” said Burkina Faso military spokesperson Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo, in a statement. France Medias Monde, which operates France 24, said there had not been direct contact with Yezid Mebarek for the interview as it used indirect means to “inject the necessary distance and context.” Tensions with France have risen considerably since the Burkina Faso military staged a coup last October. International broadcast outlet RFI (Radio France International) was suspended in December for “giving voice to Islamist militants.” (See more about media in Africa here)
Sahel region neighbor Mali, with its own military government, banned last March both France 24 and RFI after reports of “abuse” by the military. Radio is widely used in Burkina Faso, with state broadcaster RTB, several private stations as well as BBC and VOA relays. France 24 remains available in Burkina Faso for those able to access satellite and internet service.
|
