Tuesday 27 September 2011

Former Times editor on the case for public interest journalism

Former Times editor Harold Evans asks how far the press should go in persuit of public interest in a piece in this morning's Times.

His simple test is will this scoop advance human wellbeing whilst arguing quite rightly that what interests the public is not necessarily in the public interest.

The article unfortunately sits behind the paywall but if you get a chance all you aspiring journalists,then it is worth a read

Here is a taster though:

So what kind of wrongdoing justifies investigation? Article 8 concedes that intrusion might be permitted when in the interests of national security (a concealed jihadist, say) or the economic wellbeing of the country (a speculative scheme to weaken sterling) or for “the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others”.
These would seem to justify a breach of private trust if the press were revealing negligence in, say, the manufacture of a dangerous drug. But look at the history of the thalidomide disaster. Two laws were invoked to justify suppression: the law of contempt and the law of confidence to keep the manufacturers’ documents secret.

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