This article originally appeared at the Daily Mirror. President Obama has had enough of Rupert Murdoch. His target is the right-wing media mogul's Fox News - the ultra-conservative TV news channel whose presenters openly compare America's first black president to Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein. Exasperated by the constant stream of televised attacks, Obama has hit … [Read more...]
Miranda detention, part 1: Why we should be concerned
The detention of a journalist under something called the Terrorism Act should raise eyebrows whatever the situation. It does not matter whether David Miranda was travelling as an ordinary man, a journalist, or a journalist’s ‘data mule’ – not unless you think that journalism is or can ever be ‘terrorism’. His nine hours at Heathrow are evidence of growing government antipathy … [Read more...]
American surveillance raises tough questions for British journalists
By Laurence Dodds Over the last week, revelations about the NSA's mass surveillance programme have burst into the public sphere in a storm of reports, op-eds, comments and interviews. But what hasn't gained quite so much attention is how this programme threatens the press itself. For any journalist who uses the web - and, spoiler, that's all of them - the scale and depth of … [Read more...]