Michael Gove; Press freedom and media bias
Michael Gove recently criticised the Leveson Inquiry for creating a ‘chilling atmosphere’ towards press freedoms.
‘Politicians should recognise that we have nothing to gain and everything to lose from fettering the press, which has helped keep us honest in the past,’ he said, adding that, ‘standards of debate are higher in this country than in other jurisdictions.’
However, a recent YouGov poll revealed that only 38% of UK adults trusted newspapers. Television, which is regulated by Ofcom, has higher levels of trust, at 64%. Radio, also regulated by Ofcom, is trusted by 58% of people in the UK, the survey revealed.
A Leveson Inquiry briefing on media regulation presented by Mark Thompson of the Open Society Foundations (OSF), stated that Denmark, which ranked in the top ten in the World Press Freedom Index 2011-2012, ‘appears to provide living proof that what a previous British home secretary called “a statutory underpinning” need not have chilling or repressive effects on the print media.’
- RT @mediaguardian: #Leveson's distinction between web and print news 'will undermine regulation': http://t.co/5WSUgcg1
- RT @HEEDLINES: No cultural diverity in case studies in culture and ethics sect. of #Leveson report. We need an alternative inquiry @AltL ...
- RT @HEEDLINES: Less than 15% have 'quite a lot' of confidence in press. Under 5% have 'a great deal'. http://t.co/sBa5xsIM @altleveson ...