1 Alfie, Sarah
https://theday.co.uk/stories/zayn-pain-as-singer-takes-new-directionWhy should we care about paparazzi culture?
The accounts of many celebrities have been hacked and their privacy destroyed.
Zayn Malik, 22, decided to leave One Direction in 2015 explaining that he wanted to lead a ‘normal life’ away from media scrutiny. Do celebrities like Malik deserve to be treated with more respect by the press?
Celebrities, who owe much of their fame and money to the tabloid press culture, cannot have their cake and eat it. If celebrities are careful, they can manage their publicity. What’s more, privacy is a privilege, not a right. As the controversial PR guru Max Clifford admits: ‘If you use the media, you can’t complain too much when the media uses you.’
But Malik is a 22-year-old who has been thrust into the limelight on the back of hard work and talent. Doesn’t he deserve to have his private life kept out of the public eye? And had the press not interfered, he would probably still be part of One Direction. As Malik explained: ‘I don’t want to live a life where everything I do is put on the internet and dissected.’
Malik is the latest in the long line of celebrities who have had their private lives scrutinised, some would say persecuted, in the media. Earlier this month, in a development of a long-standing case, X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos declared that she was suing The Sun after the newspaper claimed she dealt cocaine.
In cases of severe intrusion, celebrities often receive compensation when the press has meddled in their private affairs. In May 2011 actress Sienna Miller won £100,000 in damages from the now-defunct News of the World after herphone was hacked by the newspaper. Two months later the newspaper closed down when it was revealed that it had illegally obtained information on celebrities, royals, politicians and the murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler.
2 Tom, Lucy
Six years in prison for sharing fake news
Malaysia has introduced a controversial new law to combat 'fake news'. The bill’s definition of fake news is incredibly broad, describing it as “any news, information, data and reports which is or are wholly or partly false”. Offenders are defined as anyone who “knowingly creates, offers, publishes, prints, distributes, circulates or disseminates any fake news”.
Professional news sites, blogs and personal social media accounts are all covered by the law. Many see the bill as an attempt by the government to crack down on dissent and silence political opposition ahead of upcoming elections.
Professional news sites, blogs and personal social media accounts are all covered by the law. BUT Many see the bill as an attempt by the government to crack down on dissent and silence political opposition ahead of upcoming elections.
How to define 'fake news'?
There is currently no law specifically banning “fake news” in Britain. However, newspapers are mainly regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation which states that the press must not publish “inaccurate, misleading or distorted information or images, including headlines not supported by the text”. In practise, those who break this code are usually asked to publish a correction or make an apology.
6 Charles Gordon, Rosie Brown
https://theday.co.uk/stories/judge-sends-press-politics-and-police-to-stocks
Why is it essential that what newspapers report is as accurate and fair as possible?
Are newspapers still so relevant now as decades ago? Did the Leveson report look at online media? Is that easy to regulate?
Leveson's report on the ‘Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press’ was published – and the troubling reality behind some of Britain’s most powerful people and institutions was exposed.
The Inquiry – chaired by Lord Justice Leveson – was born from scandal. What scandal?
Leveson remained optimistic about the Press:
‘I know how vital the press is,’ he said, as he announced the publication of his report. ‘The press operating freely and in the public interest is one of the true safeguards of our democracy’.
Some share that optimism. Largely, they argue, the problems of the press are down to foolish mistakes, selfish behaviour and short-sighted misjudgement. Leveson’s report, they say, identifies that human error causes corruption: by cracking down on these individual slip-ups, we can reform our troubled press.
Others disagree. When newspapers are run by large and powerful companies bent on increasing their sales, they say, of course the press will be dominated by seedy reporting and sinister political influence. It is not individuals, they say, but institutions that created this mess.
7 Martha, Max Green
Murdered Teenager's Voicemail Hacked by Tabloid
https://theday.co.uk/stories/murdered-teenager-s-voicemail-hacked-by-tabloid
The latest chapter in the story of phone hacking at the News of the World has shocked the UK: a missing girl's phone messages were listened to, suggesting to police she was alive.
Until now, some members of the establishment have held off from condemning Rupert Murdoch's media empire for its involvement in illegal hacking of mobile phones.
But this week, as it emerged that private investigators working for the News of the World had been listening to voicemail on the phone of murdered 13-year-old Milly Dowler, condemnation was near-universal. The fact that the police investigation may have been misled into thinking she was still alive because there was activity on her mobile account, has prompted widespread anger.
5 Georgie, Nathan, Thea
Phone Hacking Trial Reaches Dramatic climax
Story behind the phone-hacking conspiracy - BBC News Video
It all began in 2005 when royals and celebrities accused theNews of the World of hacking into their private voicemails in order to obtain salacious stories. But the paper claimed that just a few ‘rotten apples’ were responsible.
Brooks walked free from the Old Bailey after being found not guilty of four charges, including plotting to hack phones. Coulson was found guilty of conspiring to hack phones while at the now defunct newspaper.
The crisis reignited when allegations emerged that staff at the newspaper had hacked into the phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler. It sparked a wave of public revulsion that forced Brooks and Coulson to resign.
The verdict on Coulson has also damaged the prime minister David Cameron, who hired the tabloid editor to lead the Tory party’s media operations in 2007. Cameron has been obliged to apologise.
Some believe the outcome of one of the most expensive criminal prosecutions and lengthy police inquiries in history has drawn a line under the phone-hacking scandal. Six journallists out of the eight charged have pleaded guilty or been found guilty of phone-hacking. Two were sent to prison.
4 Charles Clements, Max Ragan
https://theday.co.uk/stories/prime-minister-takes-the-stand-at-leveson-inquiry
Prime Minister takes the stand at Leveson Inquiry
3 Lucas Keech, Yue Chun
UK Newspapers Face Toughest Ever Press Code
