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SubscriptionsAuthor: Brian Cathcart
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The Jewish Chronicle Crisis Should Mean the End for Sham Press Regulator IPSO
Labour says press regulation must be effective and independent. As never before, the press industry’s tame complaints body stands exposed as neither. For all our sakes, the government must call time, argues Brian Cathcart.
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Victims of Jewish Chronicle Falsehoods are Demanding Action from Press Regulators
A series of columnists have resigned from the paper over fabrications in articles by former IDF soldier Elon Perry. Now victims of the publication’s false claims are speaking up
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Hate Sells: ‘The Spectator Cannot Defend Douglas Murray But It Won’t Sack Him’
Cutting ties with the controversial columnist and the magazine’s Associate Editor would be bad for business – and it is hard not to conclude that it must agree with him, writes Brian Cathcart
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A Revealing Argument from The Times of London: ‘Don’t Worry About Journalistic Ethics, What Matters is the Money’
Columnist Gerard Baker glossed over the Murdoch press’ criminality in a recent comment piece – and the accusations against his own Editor. Why?
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Will Lewis and The Washington Post: ‘Real Journalists Don’t Ignore the Failings of Their Own Industry the Way the UK Press Does’
In the US, reporters on The Washington Post are investigating their own bosses – and their stories get published. It is hard to even contemplate such fearless reporting happening in the UK, writes Brian Cathcart
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Labour’s Shadow Culture Secretary Says the Press is Bound by the Law: Has She Been Paying Any Attention?
Days after four more current national newspaper editors were accused of having acted unlawfully, the party’s media spokesperson rules out future action on press accountability
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‘Starmer Cosied Up to the Murdoch Press in the Same Week It Faced New Allegations of Criminality – Why?’
The latest legal claims allege that law-breaking at the Murdoch tabloids has been even more widespread and systematic than previously acknowledged
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UK News Coverage of Conflict in Israel and Gaza Showed ‘Overwhelming’ Bias, Report Finds
The Centre for Media Monitoring found that, in the month after the 7 October attacks, pro-Israeli sources were quoted more often and challenged less frequently than Palestinians
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Labour Backs Leveson-Style Press Reforms in Commons Vote
The party’s decision signals continuing, if low-key, commitment to press reform, writes Brian Cathcart
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‘Media Bill Votes Will Show Us the Real Keir Starmer’
How far will Labour go to appease the billionaire press ahead of the general election? We are about to find out, writes Brian Cathcart
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‘Starmer’s Refusal to Confront the Press Isn’t Just a Mistake – It’s Irresponsible’
If the Labour Leader does not embrace media reform now, he never will – and the entire country will be far worse off as a result, writes Brian Cathcart
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‘News Corp Was Out to Get Me’: Chris Huhne Condemns Murdoch Empire after Settlement for Phone-Hacking and Intrusion
The media company has now paid to settle a claim that alleges the involvement in, or at least the knowledge of, illegal activities by senior executives
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No Surprise as Ipso Brushes Off Latest Challenge over Serial Failures at Jewish Chronicle
The sham ‘regulator’ admits there are standards problems at Sir Robbie Gibb’s newspaper but insists – against all the evidence – that it has the matter under control, writes Brian Cathcart
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‘Unacceptable’ Jewish Chronicle Puts Sham Press Watchdog IPSO on the Spot
A softly-softly approach to the newspaper’s reckless journalism has failed – now the ‘regulator’ has been challenged to make a landmark choice, writes Brian Cathcart
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Three Sensible, Non-Radical Things Labour Could Do to Reform our News Media
Nothing drastic is required if a new government is to tackle the obvious crisis in the way we get our news, while the benefits of change could be enormous
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‘The BBC Presenter Scandal: Every Editor and Reporter who Helped Promote the Sun’s Story Should Feel Shame’
How did they allow a threadbare tale from a totally discredited news source to swamp the airwaves and the news pages, asks Brian Cathcart
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Sham Press Regulator Bows to Public Pressure and Condemns the Sun over Clarkson’s Attack on Meghan Markle
With complaints about the notorious column on the grounds of harassment, inaccuracy and racial discrimination dismissed by IPSO, this ruling will have no effect on the conduct of the press, writes Brian Cathcart
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Double Trouble for IPSO: The Sham Press Regulator is Contending with Two Crises at Once
The very limited authority of the UK press industry’s tame watchdog is under assault from its members, vividly exposing the contradictions in its make-up, writes Brian Cathcart
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‘It’s Not the Economy, Stupid. It’s the Press’
The right-wing papers have trashed the country and they mean to go on doing so whoever wins the next election. We must stop them, writes Brian Cathcart
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Ofcom Does Nothing as Complainant is Threatened With Violence
When Dr Ella Cockbain complained to the broadcast regulator that the GBNews channel encourages violent hatred, she was subjected to it on social media. Brian Cathcart reports
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‘The Sun, Clarkson, Meghan and IPSO – Prepare for Another Shaming Episode of Non-Regulation’
The public is being strung along – again. No matter how outraged you were by the vicious words used against the Duchess of Sussex, nothing will change and the press will do it again, writes Brian Cathcart
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Britain Needs Wide-Ranging Media Reform – Now
It’s not just Harry and Meghan, we are all paying the price for a dysfunctional, corrupted established media – opposition politicians must take action, writes Brian Cathcart
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Clarkson, Misogyny and the Sun: ‘End the Farce of the Sham IPSO Press Regulator’
Complaining to the fake standards body is worse than a waste of time; it plays into the hands of a cynical and immoral industry, writes Brian Cathcart
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‘When he Chooses to, Rishi Sunak is Happy to Match Braverman in the Hate Speech Stakes’
Asked about ‘grooming gangs’, he ignored the evidence and slapped the blame on a single ethnic minority – a revealing moment, writes Brian Cathcart
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The Right-Wing Bid to Capture the National Trust Exposed
With days to go before the National Trust’s members choose its new council, the ‘Restore Trust’ group is campaigning in a manner that scarcely inspires trust. Brian Cathcart reports
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The End of the Mail’s Useful Legend? Doreen Lawrence Accuses Newspaper of Spying on Her
The case may shatter the Mail’s claims about its role in achieving justice for Stephen Lawrence, writes Brian Cathcart
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‘Beergate’: It’s Time for Labour to Embrace Press Reform
The papers will attack Starmer and Rayner more viciously than Corbyn, writes Brian Cathcart. So they have nothing to lose and everything to gain by taking them on
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Equality and Human Rights Commission Should Be Defending Our Rights – Instead it Sits on its Hands
Brian Cathcart explores the abject failure of our official watchdog to challenge the Government’s onslaught on human rights
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Jeremy Clarkson, The Sunday Times and the Slave Trade: Some Basic Failures of Journalism
In his eagerness to whitewash British history, Clarkson didn’t do quite enough research to get his facts straight, says Brian Cathcart
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Darkness Falls: Ministers are Making Themselves Unaccountable – Because They Can
The public bodies that are supposed to keep government virtuous have been systematically subverted by crony Conservative appointments, says Brian Cathcart. We must make them independent
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Government Refuses to Reveal Taxpayer Cost of Secret COVID Subsidy for Its Wealthy Press Friends
Just how much cash have ministers given Murdoch, the Mail and Co to help them through the pandemic? Brian Cathcart investigates
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The Times Smears Black Lives Matter and Stonewall: Another Example of Bad, Unaccountable Journalism
The Murdoch newspaper’s allegations about the campaigning organisations were simply false. Brian Cathcart looks at the evidence
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‘Settlement Equals Guilt,’ the Sun tells Prince Andrew. Where does that Leave the Sun?
Brian Cathcart on the flagrant hypocrisy of Sun outrage on the subject of ‘buying off’ victims
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10 Favours the Government has done its Press Friends – At Our Expense
The corporate newspapers are playing their full part in the corruption of the UK and they are being handsomely rewarded, says Brian Cathcart
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The Outrageous Attempt to Keep Johnson in Power is Britain’s Insurrection
Those still supporting the Prime Minister are engaging in a flagrant attack on British democracy and its constitution, says Brian Cathcart
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Sue Gray’s Inquiry: The Great Charade Exposing Our Failing Democracy
The notion that a civil servant working within the structure she is tasked with scrutinising can get to the truth of the Downing Street parties is an affront to Britain’s political system, says Brian Cathcart
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The Programme Remains the Same: Beware the Post-Johnson Conservative ‘Reboot’
It’s not who leads the Conservative Party that we should worry about – it’s the Conservative Party itself, says Brian Cathcart
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The Sham of Press Self-Regulation Shattered – by the Self-Regulator
IPSO has backed down from investigating the systemic journalistic failures at the Jewish Chronicle, revealing it was never fit for purpose – says Brian Cathcart
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A Landmark Case: Sienna Miller Sued The Sun for Hacking and Other Intrusions – and the Company Paid Up
The tabloid has always denied that it hacked phones, but the actress says that the latest out-of-court settlement is ‘tantamount to an admission’ of doing so
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Downing Street Christmas Parties: Journalists, the Public and an Ethical Void
We don’t know yet whether journalists were among last year’s revellers at Number 10, but if they were — they betrayed the public they are supposed to serve, says Brian Cathcart
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New Study Highlights Anti-Muslim Bigotry of the Spectator Magazine
The most antagonistic, the most biased and the most prone to misrepresentation – Brian Cathcart argues that the Spectator isn’t posh and clever; it’s just a hate rag
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‘The Toughest Regulator in the World?’ – IPSO Stares Failure in the Face
As the Independent Press Standards Organisation prepares to discuss the standards crisis at the Jewish Chronicle next month, Brian Cathcart explores how early indications of the outcome do not bode well
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The Today Programme and the War on the National Trust: An Episode in Shameful Journalism
A discussion about wokeness, colonialism and the National Trust on the BBC’s flagship radio show came across like a public school reunion dinner, says Brian Cathcart
