So Far, So Reasonable - The Leveson Inquiry Makes A Promising Start
This week, with more than a few days off work, I could have been out and about exploring London or getting in some early Xmas shopping...
Instead, I have found myself drawn to my laptop watching far more testimony than is probably healthy of the Leveson Inquiry in media practices and ethics. Regrets? So far, none whatsoever.
This week has seen a number of household names brought before the venerable peer, presumably selected to shed varying degrees of light on their treatment at the hands of the numerous organs of the fourth estate that we all so know and love.
Hours of questioning and testimony from the likes of Hollywood darling Hugh Grant, comedian Steve Coogan, former Mrs Paul Gascoigne (Sheryl), the parents of murdered school girl Milly Dowler, their lawyer Mark Lewis and Gerry and Kate McCann have so far provided a fascinating glimpse of a world we all see reported around us each day, but rarely stop to question.
Or maybe that's just me?
What I've found interesting is not the undeniably harrowing experiences that have been recounted thus far, but the degree to which many of the so-called 'celebrities' seem willing to use their own experiences to affect a genuine change for the better in press standards.
Coogan and Grant, both well known for their recent critiques of tabloid methodology, have spoken with both humour and humility, with little sign of seeking any form of unjust revenge that must have been severly tempting. Both have the advantage of being intelligent, articulate gentlemen, more than capable of voicing long-held concerns while not disregarding issues surrounding freedom of speech and the right to report wrong-doing.
Most surprising, perhaps, was the former Mrs Gascoigne's insistance that she was, to a degree, fair game to press intrusion. The 46-year old candidly accepted the fact that having sold her wedding photos the Hello and appeared on 'I'm a Celebrity...' she was indeed bound to invite a degree of public interest. She merely drew the line at her and her children's safety being threatened and pleaded for the litigation process to be simplified to ensure she, and others like her, would no longer have to put their house up for sale in order to sue for defamation. So far, so reasonable.
The McCanns both cut equally dignified figures in the witness box, recalling with understandable emotion their own media nightmare. Having opened the intially supportive Pandora's Box of media interest in a desperate attempt to widen the search for their missing daughter, the couple were forced to ensure a seemingly endless nightmare that threatened to permanently blacken their own good names.
Apparent leaks within the Portuguese police led to Kate's own private diary entries being reprinted in British tabloids, despite the journal only being begun after Madeline's disappearance - the desperate thoughts and feelings of a traumatised and grief-stricken parent laid bare for pure tabloid profit.
Headlines categorically stating that Madeline was 'dead' or that Gerry and Kate were involved in wife swapping ('Maddy Mum Orgy Fury'), or worse still the death of their own daughter, became staples for Express group titles, among others. Even subsequent front page denials, payouts and apologies seem trifling in comparison to such viscious, unsubstantiated lies.
One can only begin to imagine what it would have been like to have been them. Hounded, berated, falsely accused, slandered, tormented. And yet now, with their own personal tragedy still unresolved, they have to dignity to look the world in the eye and look for solutions for future generations.
Celebrity culture and tabloid journalism has much to answer for, as does the apparent demand for such invasive reporting. But we should at least take some heart in the fact that some of those who have been so publically wronged could now be the ones who help us all put things right.
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| Kate and Gerry McCann giving evidence on Wednesday |
Instead, I have found myself drawn to my laptop watching far more testimony than is probably healthy of the Leveson Inquiry in media practices and ethics. Regrets? So far, none whatsoever.
This week has seen a number of household names brought before the venerable peer, presumably selected to shed varying degrees of light on their treatment at the hands of the numerous organs of the fourth estate that we all so know and love.
Hours of questioning and testimony from the likes of Hollywood darling Hugh Grant, comedian Steve Coogan, former Mrs Paul Gascoigne (Sheryl), the parents of murdered school girl Milly Dowler, their lawyer Mark Lewis and Gerry and Kate McCann have so far provided a fascinating glimpse of a world we all see reported around us each day, but rarely stop to question.
Or maybe that's just me?
What I've found interesting is not the undeniably harrowing experiences that have been recounted thus far, but the degree to which many of the so-called 'celebrities' seem willing to use their own experiences to affect a genuine change for the better in press standards.
Coogan and Grant, both well known for their recent critiques of tabloid methodology, have spoken with both humour and humility, with little sign of seeking any form of unjust revenge that must have been severly tempting. Both have the advantage of being intelligent, articulate gentlemen, more than capable of voicing long-held concerns while not disregarding issues surrounding freedom of speech and the right to report wrong-doing.
Most surprising, perhaps, was the former Mrs Gascoigne's insistance that she was, to a degree, fair game to press intrusion. The 46-year old candidly accepted the fact that having sold her wedding photos the Hello and appeared on 'I'm a Celebrity...' she was indeed bound to invite a degree of public interest. She merely drew the line at her and her children's safety being threatened and pleaded for the litigation process to be simplified to ensure she, and others like her, would no longer have to put their house up for sale in order to sue for defamation. So far, so reasonable.
The McCanns both cut equally dignified figures in the witness box, recalling with understandable emotion their own media nightmare. Having opened the intially supportive Pandora's Box of media interest in a desperate attempt to widen the search for their missing daughter, the couple were forced to ensure a seemingly endless nightmare that threatened to permanently blacken their own good names.
Apparent leaks within the Portuguese police led to Kate's own private diary entries being reprinted in British tabloids, despite the journal only being begun after Madeline's disappearance - the desperate thoughts and feelings of a traumatised and grief-stricken parent laid bare for pure tabloid profit.
Headlines categorically stating that Madeline was 'dead' or that Gerry and Kate were involved in wife swapping ('Maddy Mum Orgy Fury'), or worse still the death of their own daughter, became staples for Express group titles, among others. Even subsequent front page denials, payouts and apologies seem trifling in comparison to such viscious, unsubstantiated lies.
One can only begin to imagine what it would have been like to have been them. Hounded, berated, falsely accused, slandered, tormented. And yet now, with their own personal tragedy still unresolved, they have to dignity to look the world in the eye and look for solutions for future generations.
Celebrity culture and tabloid journalism has much to answer for, as does the apparent demand for such invasive reporting. But we should at least take some heart in the fact that some of those who have been so publically wronged could now be the ones who help us all put things right.
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