december 2012 www.blueandgreentomorrow.com the Guide to Responsible Media
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04 – Foreword the guide to R esponsible M edia 05 – Press freedom
06 – A short history of trying to regulate an irreverent, unruly and opinionated press By Simon Leadbetter
10 – Today’s media landscape: who owns what?
12 – The real newspaper tax avoidance scandal By Simon Leadbetter
13 – A free press would be a good idea By Simon Leadbetter
15 – Freedom of expression is not the same as a freedom to mislead By Simon Leadbetter
17 – The Leveson inquiry and report
19 – Public opinion
20 – Hacked off over the behaviour of the press With Hacked Off
24 – The conclusion of Hugh Grant’s witness statement to the Leveson inquiry
25 – ‘Facts are to the mind what food is to the body’ With Full Fact
30 – Whitewash and greenwash: the fickle ethics of climate change reporting By Gavin Smith december 34 – Poles Apart: the international reporting of climate 2012 scepticism 36 – Skeptical Science’s top 10 climate myths 3
©blue & green communications 2012 Foreword
t’s been a tumultuous few years for the British The BBC, which has come under significant criticism press. Allegations of royal phone hacking came of late for its role in the Jimmy Savile and Lord to light in August 2006 – simply a case of “rogue McAlpine scandals, has gone about its business Ireporter” according to News International. In admirably. Top executives promptly resigned and July 2009, The Guardian published details of large independent investigations were swiftly set up. payments to leading football figures and revealed that Compare that to the behaviour of News International, there were up to 3,000 other potential victims of which overlooked phone hacking activities for a phone hacking. number years, and denied it had happened until it was What followed was two very long years of strong eventually forced to close its most popular title, The denial by News International (NI) executives, News of the World. confusion by the PCC and police and a staunch So we’re talking about a number of weeks versus a defence of NI by a few leading politicians, who number of years. debunked the original Guardian story. Our Guide to Responsible Media examines the On the July 4 2011, The Guardian broke the news aftermath of the Leveson report, while also tackling that the mobile phone of the murdered schoolgirl the subjects of press freedom, freedom of expression Milly Dowler had been hacked. Three days later and regulation. This is on top of interviews with ,amidst widespread revulsion, The News of the Hacked Off, the leading campaigning body for a free World – one of the best-selling newspapers in Britain and accountable press, and Full Fact, an organisation – closed, ending 168 years of continuous publishing. that promotes accuracy in the press. This in turn spawned independent, parliamentary We look at the difference between freedom of and new police inquiries into the ethics and illegal expression and the freedom to mislead and ask do we activities of newspapers. really have a ‘free’ press – or one owned by powerful The main recommendation of Lord Justice Leveson’s people with a specific economic agenda. landmark report, which was released at the end of There is also a section on climate change - one of the November this year, called for the establishment of an most hotly debated subjects in 21st century media - independent regulatory body, underpinned by statute. and why reporting of the issue is often fickle. Questions remain as to whether the prime minister Robert F Kennedy once said, “The problem of power and newspaper editors will agree to such a body, but is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its what is clear from various polls is that the majority of irresponsible and indulgent use – of how to get men of the public are behind stronger independent regulation power to live for the public rather than off the public.” for the UK’s newspapers. Marking their own Truly independent regulation and more effective homework simply isn’t good enough anymore. redress, coupled with a greater emphasis on ethics When we asked our readers how they thought and responsibility, would go a long way to reinstalling newspapers in Britain should be regulated, an public confidence in Britain’s essential free press. overwhelming 74% said there should be an independent body, established by law, that deals with complaints and decides what sanctions there esponsible M edia R esponsible to guide the should be if journalists break agreed codes of Editor, Blue & Green Tomorrow conduct – essentially exactly what the Leveson report recommends. Only 5% said that newspapers should establish their own regulator, while 11% said neither. Which of the following statements comes closer to your Good, honest, investigative journalism would view on how you think newspapers in Britain should be regulated? not suffer in this scenario. The press could continue to hold public figures to account, There should be an independent body, established by law, which scrutinise policy and report on issues of real 74% deals with complaints and decides what sanctions there should be if journalists break agreed codes of conduct december public interest, but unethical, immoral and illegal activities – phone hacking, intrusion, Newspapers should establish their own body which deals 5% with complaints and decides what sanctions there should 2012 threatening, bribing, harassing and so on – be if journalists break agreed codes of conduct would be condemned. And rightly so. Newspapers currently receive the least Neither stringent regulation possible – much less 11% 4 so than the broadcast media, for example, which seems able to conduct frequent 11% Don't know investigative reports perfectly freely. But even ©blue & green the staunchest advocates of press regulation communications 2012 don’t think newspapers should be as heavily regulated as TV or radio.
Source: Blue & Green Tomorrow blueandgreentomorrow.com Index Score for 2011-2012 greater freedom of the press. in the index corresponds to previous year. A smaller score press freedom records in the assessment of the countries' based upon the organisation's Reporters Without Borders compiled and published by annual ranking of countries The Press Freedom Index is an Press Freedom Index Score for 2011-2012 greater freedom of the press. in the index corresponds to previous year. A smaller score press freedom records in the assessment of the countries' based upon the organisation's Reporters Without Borders compiled and published by annual ranking of countries The Press Freedom Index is an Press Freedom Insucient data 70 or more 50 to 69.9 30 to 49.9 10 to 29.9 Less than 10 Insucient data 70 or more 50 to 69.9 30 to 49.9 10 to 29.9 Less than 10 Bhutan Bhutan Nepal Nepal Haiti Haiti Cape Verde Cape Verde Mauritania Mauritania Czech RepublicCzech Republic Niger Niger Austria Austria Tanzania Tanzania Mali Mali Ghana Ghana Finland Finland Norway Norway Switzerland Switzerland Namibia Namibia Netherlands Netherlands Denmark Denmark Japan Japan Poland Poland Iceland Iceland Comoros Comoros Tunisia Tunisia Sweden Sweden Costa Rica Costa Rica Canada Canada Belgium Belgium Ireland Ireland Germany Germany Burkina Burkina Faso Faso Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau United UnitedKingdom Kingdom Iraq Iraq Sierra LeoneSierra Leone
Togo Togo the guide to R esponsible M edia Mozambique Mozambique Uruguay Uruguay Central Central African African Republic Republic Laos Laos Australia Australia El Salvador El Salvador Romania Romania Israel (Israeli Israel (Israeliterritory) territory) Spain Spain Argentina Argentina South KoreaSouth Korea Kuwait Kuwait Liberia Liberia Burma Burma Zambia Zambia Hungary Hungary Portugal Portugal Republic Republic of China of (Taiwan) China (Taiwan) Guinea Guinea Seychelles Seychelles South AfricaSouth Africa Kenya Kenya Libya Libya Slovenia Slovenia Cameroon Cameroon France France Madagascar Madagascar Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Bosnia Bosniaand Herzegovina and Herzegovina Republic Republic of the Congo of the Congo Mauritius Mauritius Guatemala Guatemala Serbiac Serbiac Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan Cuba Cuba Italy Italy Chad Chad United UnitedStates States Kosovod Kosovod Mongolia Mongolia Lebanon Lebanon Senegal Senegal Hong Kong Hong Kong Bangladesh Bangladesh Ukraine Ukraine Croatia Croatia Gabon Gabon Brazil Brazil Russia Russia Malaysia Malaysia Brunei Brunei Montenegroc Montenegroc Greece Greece Ethiopia Ethiopia Bulgaria Bulgaria Paraguay Paraguay Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia Chile Chile Jordan Jordan Benin Benin Algeria Algeria Bolivia Bolivia Colombia Colombia Democratic Democratic Republic Republic of the Congo of the Congo Tajikistan Tajikistan Angola Angola Venezuela Venezuela Panama Panama Pakistan Pakistan Cambodia Cambodia India India Ecuador Ecuador Vietnam Vietnam Burundi Burundi Morocco Morocco Philippines Philippines Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Turkey Turkey Swaziland Swaziland Uzbekistan Uzbekistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Thailand Thailand People's People's Republic Republic of China of China Malawi Malawi Nigeria Nigeria Peru Peru Gambia Gambia Equatorial Equatorial Guinea Guinea Rwanda Rwanda North Korea North Korea december Belarus Belarus between 2002 and 2012. index scores have changed The chart below shows how Uganda Uganda between 2002 and 2012. index scores have changed The chart below shows how Mexico Mexico where freedom has decre score has risen, showing countries where the index Magenta bars are used for greater freedom of the press. scores, corresponding to Yellow bars show a fall in index where freedom has decre score has risen, showing countries where the index Magenta bars are used for greater freedom of the press. scores, corresponding to Yellow bars show a fall in index Indonesia Indonesia Getting worse Getting better 2012 Palestinian Palestinian territories territories Turkmenistan Turkmenistan Djibouti Djibouti Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Source: Wikipedia Source: Wikipedia Eritrea Eritrea Egypt Egypt Ivory Coast Ivory Coast Sudan Sudan bit.ly/Pressfreedom bit.ly/Pressfreedom Yemen Yemen Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Syria Syria 5 Iran Iran Bahrain Bahrain ased. ased. +100 +100 +60 +80 +40 +20 +60 +80 +40 +20 -60 -40 -20 -60 -40 -20 O O ©blue & green communications 2012 A short history of trying to regulate an irreverent, unruly and opinionated press
The British press and politicians are striving to implement the Leveson Report. This is the just the latest in repeated attempts to regulate the press – or encourage it to regulate itself. By Simon Leadbetter
The amusement and delight of the comments of his own, supposing other people to have few “sense enough to make reflections for themselves.” Ever since its invention in 1440 by German blacksmith In 1712, the Stamp Act was introduced; newspapers and goldsmith Gutenburg, the printing press has been subjected to tax and price increased. The stamp tax was a powerful tool that both the state and individuals a tax on each newspaper and thus hit cheaper papers have wished to control. The ability for an identical and popular readership harder than wealthy consumers message to be reproduced thousands, then millions (because it formed a higher proportion of the purchase of times, and distributed without relying on the tiny price). It was increased in 1797, reduced in 1836 and reach and vagaries of handwritten text, orators or was finally ended in 1855, thus allowing a cheap press. messengers changed the way governments and interest Despite these attempts to limit the press, it grew groups communicated with the population. The term inexorably due the ease of creating and launching a title, ‘newspaper’ gained popularity in the 17th century which has parallels with digital media today. The total after the earlier pamphlets, bulletins and gazettes. In number of copies of newspapers sold yearly in 1753 was this politically difficult time of civil war in England, 7.4m and had risen to 11.3m in 1776. publishers were often flogged down Fleet Street, the The oldest existing national newspaper, The Times, growing heart of publishing in London. Cheeks could was founded as the Daily Universal Register in 1785 be branded or ears cropped for being a seditious libeller changing its names in 1788. In 1814, The Times started (writing with intent to encourage insurrection against using steam presses, which greatly increased in print the established order). Recognising the power of the capacity. press even then, parliament passed acts to license presses in 1643, which was attacked by John Milton in Founded Title existing today Areopagitica, and again in 1662. Frequent unlicensed 1785 The Times launches as the Daily
esponsible M edia R esponsible to guide the Universal Register publishers, such as the leveller John Lilburne, emerged 1791 The Observer during this time to demand free rights and freedom of 1817 The Scotsman expression. Licensing was finally lifted in 1695 and the 1821 The Manchester Guardian free British press was born. In a blatant attempt to price 1822 The Sunday Times newspapers out of ordinary people’s reach and retain 1843 News of the World - Sun on Sunday in 2011 control of both the messenger and message, journalists 1855 The Daily Telegraph and publishers found themselves encumbered by new 1888 Financial Times taxes on paper and advertising, draconian seditious and 1896 Daily Mail blasphemous libel laws and political influence – if you 1900 Daily Express can’t beat them, use them. 1903 Daily Mirror december 1912 The Daily Herald (1912-1964) and becomes People have sense enough to make The Sun 2012 1918 Sunday Express reflections for themselves 1961 The Sunday Telegraph The first daily, the Daily Courant, was published in 1702 1982 The Mail on Sunday and its proprietor Edward Mallet inspired Blue & Green 1986 The Independent 6 Tomorrow with the following sentiment. He stated 1990 The Independent on Sunday intent to publish only news and would not add any 2010 The i
©blue & green communications 2012 A turning point in the fight for British press freedom aircraft production (1940-41), minister of supply (1941- was reached in 1817 when William Hone, an English 42), minister of war production (1942) and Lord Privy writer, satirist and bookseller, won a court battle against Seal (1943-45). He is reputed to have said in 1947 that government censorship. The attempts by the then home he ran “the paper purely for the purpose of making secretary Lord Sidmouth to put an end to “seditious propaganda, and with no other motive.” pamphleteers” had failed. It was in the 1920s that the rising divorce rate gave journalists ample opportunity to report these salacious This really was the age of the train sexual details revealed in the consequent flurry of court Between 1838 and 1855, train passenger journeys rose cases. After a long period when governments had largely from 5.5m to 111m, peaking at 1.5 billion before the given up trying to regulate the press, the hardline home first world war as the network and interest grew. At secretary, Sir William Joynson-Hicks moved a law to ban
the same time, falling freight costs meant newspapers such unpleasantness. BBC radio launched in 1922, as the guide to R esponsible M edia printed in London, Manchester and Edinburgh could a private company, and began experimental television easily be dispatched overnight to the breakfast tables of broadcasts in 1932, with regular broadcasts from households around the UK. Circulations rose rapidly and Alexandra Palace commencing in 1936. the power of the press grew with it. The total number of copies of newspapers sold yearly in 1836 was 39m Founded Titles extinct or merged today and had risen to 122m in 1854 in a country of just over 1801 Sunday Dispatch - merged with S Express 1961 21m. By 1864, the press was largely free to do as it 1801 Weekly Dispatch - renamed Sunday liked. Dispatch 1928, merged with S Express 1961 With rising literacy after the 1870 Education Act and 1842 Sunday News - merged with Sunday Graphic 1931 the advent of male (1837, 1867, 1884) then universal 1846 Daily News - merged with Daily Chronicle suffrage (1918 and 1928), the growing desire to read 1930 what political, business and religious leaders were doing 1847 Empire News - merged with NotW 1960 gave a continued boost to circulation. As did the desire 1850 Reynolds News - renamed Sunday Citizen to enjoy salacious scandals of the rich and powerful. 1962, closed 1967 1872 Daily Chronicle - merged with Daily News “Newspapers should have no 1930 friends” – Joseph Pulitzer 1877 Sunday Referee - merged with Sunday It is during this period of rapid growth that the first great Chronicle 1939 media proprietors or press barons appear in the UK – 1885 Sunday Chronicle - merged with Empire Alfred Harmsworth (Lord Northcliffe) who launched the News 1955 1909 Daily Sketch - merged with Daily Mail 1971 Daily Mail in 1896 and Max Aitken (Lord Beaverbrook) 1915 Sunday Graphic - merged with Sunday who bought the 10-year old Daily Express in 1910. News 1931, closed 1960 Northcliffe, who also founded the Daily Mirror in 1930 News Chronicle - merged with Daily Mail 1960 1903, was ennobled as baron in 1905 and elevated 1986 Today - closed 1995 to Viscount in 1918, for his service as the head of the 1996 Sunday Business - became magazine The British war mission in the US (having two 1m or so Business 2006, closed 2008 circulation newspapers probably helped). He is the great, 2011 News of the World - closed and reopened great uncle of the current proprietor of the Daily Mail, as Sun on Sunday Jonathan Harmsworth (the fourth Lord Rothermere). A brilliant businessman, during his lifetime, he However, it was only after the second world war that exercised vast influence over British popular opinion. there was a new series of attempts not to regulate Megalomania contributed to a nervous breakdown the press by law, but to find a way to avoid that - by shortly before his death in 1922 and he was succeeded fostering self-regulation. Newspapers were limited by his brother Harold Harmsworth, Lord Rothermere, the current owner’s great grandfather. Alfred “Since the printing press came into december Harmsworth’s verdict after the first being, poetry has ceased to be the week of the Daily Mail’s publication 2012 was, “We’ve struck a gold mine!” delight of the whole community of In his time Lord Beaverbrook was an man; it has become the amusement MP (1910-1916), chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1918), minister and delight of the few” – John of information (1918), minister of Masefield, Poet Laureate 7
©blue & green communications 2012 from September 1939, at first to 60% of their pre-war consumption of newsprint. By 1945 newspapers were limited to 25% of their pre-war consumption. By 1947, total annual national newspaper circulation stood at 6 billion, with the golden era being between this year and 1956. The combined daily circulation had risen to 16.6m and Sundays at 30.5m, Sundays, in a country with a population of 51.2m or 6.8bn per year.
The phone hacking scandal led to the closure of The News of the World in July 2011, and the subsequent Leveson inquiry and report. Photo: Flickr.
The Sunday newspapers, Empire News (merged with Sun in 1969 and The Times and Sunday Times in 1981. NotW 1960), Sunday Dispatch (merged with Sunday Following hot after the launch of commercial radio Express) and Sunday Graphic (closed 1960) are now in 1973 the 1974–1977 commission proposed gone, but represented 26% of newspaper sold in that the development of a written Code of Practice year. for newspapers – only for these to be followed by widespread objections in the 1980s that the press was still out of control. In 1986, News International titles (The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, The News of the World) move to Wapping from Fleet Street, followed in the next few years by The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, Observer, Evening Standard, Financial Times and Express Newspapers. This move is part of the process of transforming the production of newspapers using new technology. Unsurprisingly, this peak before the long decline sits at Between 1983 and 1990 over 800,000 homes were the inception of the Television Act 1952, which opened fitted with broadband cable. In 1986, British Satellite the airwaves to commercial television from 1954. Five Broadcasting launched, followed by Sky in 1989 (prop. years later in 1961 total annual circulation had fallen by R Murdoch). They merged in 1990 to become British over 9%. Sky Broadcasting. Instances like the publication of a rape victim’s esponsible M edia R esponsible to guide the “Who guards the guardians?” photograph and some of the reporting of the The post-war period saw no less than three royal Hillsborough disaster, along with political objections to commissions on the press. This led to the setting up of the invasion of privacy, were followed by yet another the Press Council in 1953. In the 1947-49 report it said, Inquiry, led by Sir David Calcutt, in 1990. “A newspaper is one of the most remarkable products In 1990, the government announced that the press was of modern society. To gather news from five continents; being given one final chance to make self-regulation to print and distribute it so fast that what happens at work – or legal controls would follow. dawn in India may be read before breakfast in England; But those legal controls never happened. The Calcutt to perform the feat afresh every 24 hours; and to sell Report did lead to the establishment of the Press december the product for less than the price of a box of matches- Complaints Commission, but was then shelved – a fact -this, were it not so familiar, would be recognised as an that has not gone unnoticed by Lord Justice Leveson. 2012 astonishing achievement.” In the background to all this, a British engineer, The 1961-62 commission studied the economic and computer scientist and employee of CERN, Tim Berners- financial factors that affecting the press and ordered Lee wrote a proposal in March 1989 for what would improvements to the Press Council. eventually become the World Wide Web on August 6 In was in 1968 that a certain Rupert Murdoch appeared 1991. 8 on the scene to acquire The News of the World, The Today the national press has a total annual national
©blue & green communications 2012 newspaper circulation of 3.2 billion, All broadcast media, radio and politicians or hacking phones in the down nearly 40% from its height, television, must “ensure that news, way the press has. As Leveson said, and is owned by eight companies. in whatever form, is reported with “What the press do and say is no And so after the long-running due accuracy and presented with due ordinary exercise of free speech. It phone-hacking scandal, the closure impartiality.” The BBC, ITV, ITN or operates very differently from blogs, of The News of the World, evidence Sky conduct hard-hitting investigative on the internet and other social of bribing the police and lying to journalism under the law. media such as Twitter. Its impact is parliament, the Leveson inquiry The Press Complaints Commission uniquely powerful.” was launched. This judicial public publishes an editors’ code of Digital media has many parallels inquiry into the culture, practices practice, which includes clauses with the early days of the newspaper and ethics of the British press on such things as accuracy, the era. New technology has enabled following the News International opportunity to reply, privacy, entrepreneurs to create and launch
phone hacking scandal, chaired harassment, intrusion into grief or a huge variety of publications. the guide to R esponsible M edia by Lord Justice Leveson, who was shock, children, hospitals, reporting Politicians and the powerful around appointed in July 2011 and reported of crime, clandestine devices and the world are constantly exploring in November 2012. subterfuge, victims of sexual assault, ways to control or curb this new In his speech releasing the report discrimination, financial journalism, medium. But the sheer volume of he said, “I know how vital the press confidential sources, witness sites, blogs and individuals means is – all of it – as guardian to the payments in criminal trials and the concentration of power if interests of the public, as a critical payment to criminals. considerably lower. witness to events, as a standard In June 2004, the provisions were Combining the online and offline bearer for those who have no one expanded to prevent the interception presence of the eight mass media else to speak up for them. Nothing I of ‘private or mobile telephone publishers they reach 82% of the have heard or read has changed that calls, messages or emails which, adult population of our country view. The press, operating freely and considering recent history, gives you a every month. This excludes the in the public interest, is one of the sense of how toothless the PCC is. regional divisions of some national true safeguards of our democracy. While internet publishers enjoy groups and other media holdings. As a result it holds a privileged and similar freedom of expression as the Leveson said that “guaranteed powerful place in our society. This mainstream press no single news independence, long-term stability, power and influence carries with it website, blogger, facebooker, tweeter and genuine benefits to the responsibilities to the public interest comes closes to the daily reach of industry cannot be realised without in whose name it exercises these the regulated broadcasters (BBC is legislation.” privileges.” #1) or unregulated press (Daily Mail He concluded that “the answer The British press remains the only is #1). Nor have many been engaged to the question, ‘Who guards the unregulated part of our mass media. in bribing police, blackmailing guardians?’ should not be ‘no one’.’”
How accountability works in the unregulated press and regulated media
737 – Number of days from the 2,133 38 – Number of days from the 77 scale of the phone hacking scandal – Number of days from Jimmy Savile scandal breaking on ITV – Number being published in The Guardian Clive Goodman being (03/10/12) to the director-general of of days (08/07/09) to the chief executive convicted of hacking the BBC, George Entwistle, resigning from the of News International, Rebekah royal phones (Les (10/11/12), having only been in the Jimmy Brooks, resigning (15/07/11) with a Hinton, a senior aide to role for 54 days, with a pay-off worth Savile pay-off worth £10.8m. During this Rupert Murdoch, tells a £450,000. After a career in magazine scandal time she had been promoted from Commons committee journalism, he joined BBC Television breaking editor of The Sun to the CEO role, that a "rigorous in 1989, becoming a producer with a and critical despite admitting before parliament internal investigation" primary focus in factual and political report in March 2003 to paying the police found no evidence of programmes. He rose to become the coming out. for information during her editorial widespread hacking director of BBC Vision, and became december tenure - "We have paid the police at the paper – it was a the director-general of the BBC on for information in the past." She rogue reporter, which September 17 2012. Greg Dyke a former 2012 has subsequently been arrested is backed by PCC in DG, wrote in the Daily Telegraph, and charged with conspiring to May 2007) to the “Young Entwistle was hung out to dry, pervert the course of justice. Rupert highly critical Leveson his career effectively destroyed. He Murdoch was said to have treated report coming out. wasn’t given the support from above Brooks like a daughter. that he needed and deserved.” 9
©blue & green communications 2012 Who Owns What (Monthly reach shown in brackets)
(17.4m)
News Corporation US – Fox News, Wall Street Journal and Twentieth Century Fox UK – 39.1% BSkyB, 7,5% ITV Global – Harper Collins, Dow Jones UK newspapers through News International
(5.7m)
(16.8m) Combined monthly reach
Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) Metro, previously owned Northclie 20% ITN, 70% Euromoney
Telegraph Media Group The Spectator esponsible M edia R esponsible to guide the (9.2m)
THE PRESS BARONS (NB Trinity Mirror plc, Pearson (FT) plc and Guardian (trust) not ‘controlled’ by an individual/s) december
2012 Daily Mail & General Trust News Corporation Telegraph Media Group Northern & Shell (Express) Independent Print Viscount Rothermere Rupert Murdoch Sirs David & Frederick Barclay Richard Desmond Alexander and Evgeny Lebedev b. 1967 b. 1931 b. 1934 b. 1951 b.1959 / b.1980 Non-domicile US Citizen Unclear status (Monaco or UK Citizen Russian Citizen Wiki: http:// Wiki: http:// Breqhou, Channel Islands Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ en.wikipedia.org/ Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Richard_Desmond wiki/Alexander_Lebedev 10 Jonathan_Harmsworth wiki/Rupert_Murdoch wiki/David_and_Frederick_Barclay
©blue & green Regional: Trinity Mirror (22%), Newsquest (14%), Johnston (13%) and Local World* (10%) [*formerly Northclie & Illie] communications 2012 (http://www.newspapersoc.org.uk/sites/default/files/pdf/Top-20-Publishers_July-2012.pdf) the guide to R esponsible M edia
december 2012 11
©blue & green communications 2012 The real newspaper tax avoidance scandal
Performing the important investigative journalism role so lacking in most newspapers, Private Eye exposed a real tax avoidance scandal in Issue 1329, about which newspapers have been remarkably quiet. Lord Justice Leveson recently singled out the satirical magazine for rare praise. By Simon Leadbetter
ost national newspapers have made a lot of noise about aggressive tax avoidance of celebrities and large Mcorporations. Particular hostility has been reserved for the arcane practice of using loans between Luxembourg-based shell companies and UK operations. A loan to a UK business offsets the tax bill from the interest paid, and the tax earned in Luxembourg is subject to a lower tax rate. Regular readers of the Eye will have been unsurprised by the tax scandal. The emerging scale of tax avoidance led to Panorama’s ‘The Truth About Tax’ in May 2012. Parliament’s public accounts committee got in on the act by putting Amazon, Google and Starbucks under the In these times of hardship and austerity, spotlight in early November. Starbucks, the only newspapers, which make such a noise one with any real competition, was the one that about the moral failings of other’s tax bowed to public anger, whipped up by the press. avoidance, take full advantage of the And who is one of the biggest users of this same schemes. Photo: Chris Tolworthy. loophole? The Eye points out that News International (owner of The Times, Sunday Times and The non-domicile status Sun) has exploited the Luxembourg loophole to • The Telegraph is owned by the Jersey-based May the tune of £1.2 billion via News Luxembourg Corporation and owned by the Barclay Brothers through Finance since 2008. Murdoch companies trusts in Monaco operate 152 subsidiaries in offshore tax havens • The loss-making Independent titles are owned by or jurisdictions with beneficial tax arrangements. Russian citizens and only taxed on their income here esponsible M edia R esponsible to guide the As the Eye points out, “The money keeps going • The Mirror, FT and Guardian/Observer do not make round and round and the tax advantages keep direct use of offshore loopholes, but the latter two are coming. But clearly it’s all too complex for Sunday involved through either their parent group (Pearson) or Times readers.” B2B subsidiary (Emap) respectively. News International’s tax ‘planning’ almost certainly goes back decades and was reported on It’s good to know that in these times of hardship BBC’s aborted e-cyclopedia initiative in March and austerity, newspapers, which make such 1999: “Mr Murdoch's main British holding a noise about the moral failings of other’s tax company, Newscorp Investments, has paid no avoidance, take full advantage of the same december net corporation tax within these shores over the schemes. past 11 years. This is despite accumulated pre-tax We recommend buying Private Eye. While billed 2012 profits of nearly £1.4 billion.” as a satirical magazine, it’s the best newspaper in the land and only costs £1.50 a fortnight, or less The Eye goes on to name and shame the rest of if you subscribe. our national newspapers: • The FT’s owner Pearson and Express owner Northern 12 & Shell have both used the Luxembourg loan loophole. • Bermuda-registered Rothermere Continuation ©blue & green ultimately owns The Mail. The current owner, Lord communications 2012 Rothermere, is assumed to have inherited his father’s www.privateeye.subscribeonline.co.uk A free press would be a good idea
In an apocryphal story worthy of QI, when Gandhi was asked what he thought of western civilisation, he replied, “It would be a good idea.” We have the same feeling towards the idea of a free press. By Simon Leadbetter
The debate about a free press is are a direct result of publisher and
raging (see page 15) in the aftermath advertiser prejudice and agendas. the guide to R esponsible M edia of Lord Justice Leveson’s report into We are happy to declare our own The UK national press is the culture, practices and ethics interest in promoting sustainable owned by a narrow clique of of the British press, following the investment as more responsible than billionaires with their own News International phone hacking investing unsustainably. agenda, both political and scandal. In reality, the debate has The non-profit organisation economic. Photo: University of been raging for nearly four centuries. Fullfact (see page 24) provides Salford. The core tension is between the an exceptional service at holding essential freedom and demonstrable the media to account mis- and respond to complaints and compel irresponsibility of the national press. disinformation. media owners to participate in any The national press has been It is our belief that the British press investigation. As an independent lobbying, bullying and publishing has lost the right to self-regulate body, it should also be able to initiate like mad to secure self-regulation. and lacks the real freedom to do so. its own investigations, rather than They are certainly not exhibiting Simply comparing the behaviour of simply responding to complaints. any humility on why they are in this the unregulated News International • Robust investigative powers self-made mess. over the phone hacking scandal The challenge of many regulators Campaigners such as HackedOff (years of obfuscation and is a lack of resources to effectively (see page 19) and individuals obstruction) and the regulated hold those they regulate to account. affected by press misbehaviour BBC over the Jimmy Savile scandal Any new body should be sufficiently have been arguing for some form of (heads rolled and an open inquiry resourced to undertake meaningful statutory regulation. was established) tells you everything investigations of any alleged What is so often lost in the fevered you need to know about whether misbehaviour. debate are the real victims of press the British press can self-regulate. • Meaningful redress and misbehaviour and phone hacking sanction (Hillsborough, McCanns, Dowlers) To secure a genuinely free press, we The new body needs real teeth and the press’ role in corrupting are looking for the following in any to compel the press to publish the police. Also lost is that almost new regulatory body: retractions equal in profile to the everyone believes in the vital role of • Genuine independence original coverage, pay punitive robust and unfettered investigative from media owners, corporate compensation to victims and impose journalism within a free press and influence and politicians restrictions on regular transgressors. functioning democracy. Rather than being staffed and • Statutory under-pinning Let us start be repeating that our funded by media owners and editors The press has repeatedly national press is not free. It is owned and overseen by politicians, any demonstrated that if cannot self- by a narrow clique of billionaires regulatory body should consist of regulate. Due to the ownership and with their own agenda, both truly independent laypersons who funding structure, it cannot be free. political and economic. Secondly, can review journalism. In terms of To ensure compliance there needs corporations who also have their funding, the press, rather than the to be statutory underpinning that december own commercial agenda, fund the taxpayer, should underwrite any means every national newspaper press. It was the loss of advertiser cost, which could be a simply levy must participate and adhere to the 2012 revenue, more than public feeling, on each newspaper group based on rules and rulings of the body. The that ultimately signed the death audited audience figures, both on outgoing editor of The Times James warrant of the News of the World. and offline. Harding recently suggested judicial The misinformation (unintentional • An affordable and rapid right underpinning which would remove inaccuracy) and disinformation of reply/arbitration some concerns about political 13 (intentional inaccuracy) about Libel action is prohibitively interference. Other than establishing statistics, science, climate change expensive and time-consuming and the regulatory authority’s powers, ©blue & green and investment regularly peddled thus out of the reach of most people. politicians should have no further communications 2012 in the national press and magazines Any new body must be able to role in the body. reports
The Guide to Responisble Media is the seventh report in our 2012 series that started with The Guide to Sustainable Investment back in April. Read each previous report by clicking on the relevant cover.
OCTOBER 2012 THE GUIDEwww.blueandgreentomorrow.com to Sustainable Investment National Ethical Investment Week edition
“IT IS DIFFICULT TO GET A MAN TO UNDERSTAND SOMETHING, WHEN HIS SALARY DEPENDS UPON HIS NOT UNDERSTANDING IT!” Freedom of expression is not the same as a freedom to mislead
Three hundred and sixty-eight years ago, John Milton published Areopagitica, and it remains to this day one of the most influential
philosophical defences of free expression and speech, especially the guide to R esponsible M edia that of the press. With strong evidence that our press no longer reflects the view of the people, but of vested interests, when does press freedom slip towards propaganda? By Simon Leadbetter
Areopagus is a hill in Athens and be inscribed by the printer’s name barons includes non-domiciles it lent its name to a speech by (preferably an author’s name). and alleged tax exiles, an the Greek orator Isocrates (5th If any blasphemous or libellous ex-pornographer and an ex- century BC). Milton borrowed material was published, those KGB director. Two are foreign this title for his seminal pamphlet. books could be destroyed after nationals, which would be As a protestant, he had strongly the fact prohibited in some countries, supported Presbyterian control In the Leveson era, the lasting where the power of the press in of parliament after the civil war. strength of Milton’s central shaping the national debate is Nevertheless, he objected to the arguments is evidenced, as it is recognised. Licensing Order of 1643, which these arguments that are still used While their print reach is required authors, such as Milton, and are as valid today as they declining inexorably, this group to have a government approved were over three centuries ago. of unaccountable fourth estate license before their work could be The work has been so influential billionaires is able to reach 36% published, and he wrote his 1644 that it was cited by the supreme of the UK adult population pamphlet in response. court in the US, interpreting the every breakfast. Their online He makes five arguments: first amendment – the freedom reach is also growing so they 1. A text should first be of religion, speech, press and can still reach millions. It is the “examined, refuted, and assembly. A quote from the text front pages and content of the condemned” before it is rejected, stands above the door of the New national press, of all media, that is rather than being prohibited by York Public Library: “A good reviewed on radio and television license before its ideas have even book is the precious lifeblood of news and current affairs been expressed a master spirit, embalmed and programmes. 2. Being educated involves treasured up on purpose to a life The brute power of reaching reading “books of all sorts”, beyond life.” millions may have declined including “bad” books. We learn One of the challenges for British marginally during this frenetic from their wrongs and discover democracy is our national ‘free’ period of media fragmentation, what is true by considering what press. is not Broadcast media is heavily 3. Licensing printing cannot regulated for impartiality, but “Where the prevent societal corruption. “If the press is able to blur the line we think to regulate printing, between opinion and news. With press is free december thereby to rectify manners, the exception of the loss-making and every we must [also] regulate all Guardian and troubled Mirror, 2012 recreations and pastimes...” the national press is wholly man able to 4. Licensing which adheres to the owned by wealthy individuals read, all is government’s current prejudice with strong political and hinders the discovery of truth economic perspectives. safe” – Thomas 5. Before licensing, books had to The current band of press Jefferson 15
©blue & green communications 2012 of the press but avoid billionaires “We’ve struck a gold mine!” misleading the public? – Alfred Harmsworth, Lord In November, Leveson made his recommendation on press Northcliffe, 1896, during regulation, to be self-regulated but underpinned by statute. Just the Daily Mail’s first week as Milton, we are very nervous of government or political oversight, but nor are we confident that but it is still a brave or foolhardy certainly can’t afford the risk of the press, or more importantly politician who ignores the call of inaction.” the people who run it, are acting one of the barons and one of his Really, Rupert? Really? responsibly regarding the gravest editors. It is surprising that despite threat to our way of life. The other challenge of the this clear and mostly accurate Our final word goes to a press and its agenda is the statement, Murdoch’s surprising source; Bill O’Reilly basic economics of newspaper newspapers have done so is a polemical fixture of Fox publishing. much to provide a platform for News and has strong views on The cover price that readers sceptics and pollutocrats and almost everything. However, he pay barely covers the cost of a done so much to mislead the takes a profoundly different view newspaper’s ink and paper, never public. An article from earlier to many of his colleagues and mind salaries, overheads and this year by Think Progress political allies on climate change. distribution, so 70-80% of the [http://thinkprogress.org/ In a 2010 discussion with Bill revenue comes from advertising. climate/2012/01/05/398594/ Maher, he made the point that It has long been an idiom that, murdoch-press-carbon-price- “a cleaner planet is better for “He who pays the piper, calls the negative-campaigned-against-it] everyone.” tune.” illustrates the strong climate We agree, Bill. We need a rapid With the heavy spending financial change sceptic position of his move to low pollution, low- and motoring sectors being such titles. This is the same man that carbon energy and industry. a rich gold vein for publishers, owns the odious Fox News, If only our press barons and their it was always unlikely that the where executives encourage commentators would make the press would be too critical of their journalists to deny climate case for that. unsustainable and irresponsible change �http://www.guardian. paymasters. Financial services co.uk/media/2010/dec/15/ spent £841m on advertising in fox-news-climate-change-email] 2011, with £210m or 25% going and viewers are less informed With strong evidence to the press. Motoring spent than viewers of other channels that our press no £547m on advertising; £170m or [http://publicmind.fdu. longer reflects the 31% to the press. edu/2012/confirmed/final.pdf�. view of the people, but Financial services, oil, gas and Whatever Murdoch says for PR of vested interests, esponsible M edia R esponsible to guide the mining industries are major reasons, his overall national press when does press investment sectors (47% of record is depressing. freedom slip towards the FTSE 100) and a key part A free press is a vital ingredient propaganda? Photo: of motoring’s value chain of any functioning democracy. Emilio Kuffer (manufacture, loans, insurance, However, can our press be fuel), so again they remain free described as genuinely free? It from the necessary scrutiny by has been captured by a narrow our national press. They certainly clique of supremely wealthy men, weren’t going to hold these owners of larger commercial december sectors to account in the lead up media empires. In turn, these to the credit crisis of 2007. They empires depend on the largesse 2012 need the advertising shillings of corporate executives, operating more than ever. unsustainable enterprises, who Rupert Murdoch once said, distribute advertising dollars. “Climate change poses clear, Estimated to be worth £692 catastrophic threats. We may billion globally by 2015. 16 not agree on the extent, but we How do we maintain the freedom
©blue & green communications 2012 Leveson
The Inquiry • 6 newspaper groups as core participants (DMGT, Guardian, News International, Northern & Shell, Telegraph, Trinity Mirror) • 18 months from establishing the inquiry to publishing report • 135 organisations represented • 474 people including 51 victims (of which 28 were neither celebrities, politicians or police)
• 3.2 million words spoken the guide to R esponsible M edia • Most frequent five words: people, right, press, public, media
Unforgettable Instances of not Words spoken remembering* 30,000 60
25,000 50
20,000 40
15,000 30
10,000 20
5,000 10
0 0 David James Rebekah Rupert Andy Cameron Murdoch Brooks Murdoch Coulson Colin Myler Jeremy Hunt Tony Blair
* The number of times key figures said: “I don’t remember,“ “I don’t recall,“ “I can’t remember,“ or “I can’t recall.“
Witnesses Other, 62
Enterainment, 12
Campaigns or charities, 14 Media or PR, 202
Regulators/ Watchdogs, 21
december 2012
Academia, 36 The Police, 48 17 Politics, 38 Law, 41
©blue & green communications 2012 The Report • 1,987 pages (there are just over 1,200 pages in the typical Bible and 1,000 pages in a typical edition of The Lord of the Rings) • 1,026,098 words with an average word length of 5.6 letters compared to 5.1 across the English language • Most frequent five words: public, regulate*, police, privacy*, data (* and variants) We wanted for a new regulator to ensure: • Genuine independence from media owners, corporate influence and politicians • An affordable and rapid right of reply/arbitration • Robust investigative powers • Meaningful redress and sanction • Statutory underpinning Leveson gave us: • Creation of a voluntary new independent press regulator with members drawn from outside the press • Legislation was needed to guarantee press freedom and underpin up the new regulator • New regulator would have a range of sanctions available to it including fines and direction of the prominence of apologies and corrections • Membership would o Be incentivised by schemes such as a kitemark and an inquisitorial arbitration service for handling tort (civil) claims such as libel and breach of privacy o Allows exemplary damages to be awarded in cases brought against non-participants in the scheme, something not usually part of English law. • Leveson also made recommendations regarding o the Data Protection Act, and powers and duties of the Information Commissioner o Conduct of relations between the press, the police, and politicians. o Backing of a contractual "conscience clause" for journalists Leveson rejected the characterisation of his proposal as "statutory regulation of the press". The political parties and PCC react The coalition government is drafting legislation on what statutory underpinning legislation could look like. Labour’s Harriet Harman unveiled proposals on December 10 that would put the Lord Chief Justice, head of the judiciary in England and Wales, in charge of overseeing a new self-regulatory body and certifying that it is performing its function effectively The Conservatives’ Oliver Letwin has been developing an alternative proposal for an independent
esponsible M edia R esponsible to guide the group of people appointed by royal charter to verify the press regulator. Lib Dems have been speaking to both parties and have ruled nothing in or out, except for the need for Leveson’s essential requirement, such as statutory underpinning, to be implemented. On the December 14, Press Complaints Commission chairman Lord Hunt announced the appointment of special advisers to help him establish an independent appointments process for a new press regulator. They are Lord Chris Smith, the former Labour culture secretary, the Simon Jenkins, Guardian columnist and ex-Times editor, and Lord Phillips, former president of the supreme court. His aim is to satisfy those critics who have said appointments to the PCC have been too biased in favour of powerful newspaper figures. december 2012 18
©blue & green communications 2012 Public Opinion YouGov-Media Standards Trust Poll Results
Which of the following statements comes Imagine a new system is set up where the closer to your view on how you think press continue to regulate themselves. What newspapers in Britain should be regulated? risk, if any, do you think there will be a repeat of unethical and illegal practices that have revealed during the Leveson Inquiry? 79% Independent body, established by law 9% New Self-Regulator 86% Total risk 4% Neither 9% Total no risk 8% Don’t Know 5% Don’t Know
Do you think national newspapers should be “After the phone hacking scandal it is no allowed to opt out of any new regulatory longer acceptable for newspaper owners and system, or should all national newspapers be editors to control the system for dealing with obliged to join by law? complaints about press behaviour” the guide to R esponsible M edia 82% Newspapers should be obliged to join by law 82% Total agree 8% Newspapers should be allowed to opt out 4% Total disagree 10% Don’t know 6% Don’t know
“We can trust newspaper editors to ensure that their journalists act in he public interest” What do you think Lord Justice Leveson should listen to MOST when making his 11% Total agree recommendations for regulating the press? 70% Total disagree 5% Don’t know 60% The victims of unethical press behaviour 5% Newspaper journalists 3% Newspaper owners 2% Politicians 10% Someone else 20% Don’t know To what extent, if at all, do you trust Lord Justice Leveson to make fair and eective recommendations on regulation the press?
8% A great deal 39% A fair amount Results by Newspaper Readership 27% Not very much 6% Not at all “There should be an independent body, 21% Don’t know established be law, which deals with complaints and decides what sanctions there should be if journalists break agreed codes of conduct”
Imagine a new system is set up where the press continue to regulate themselves. What Results by Political Party Voting Intention risk, if any, do you think there will be a repeat of unethical and illegal practices that have Do you think the Government should or should been revealed during the Leveson Inquiry? not implement Lord Justice Eleven’s recommendations once he has made them? “Newspapers should be obliged to join a new system by law” Should implement Should not implement Don’t know 79% Average 86% Average 60% 6% 34% 82% Conservative 60% 7% 33% 81% Mail 91% Labour 67% 5% 28% 83% LD 75% 6% 19% 81% Mirror 88% 91% 74% “There should be an independent body, december Sun 79% established by law, which deals with complaints 76% and decides what sanctions there should be if 76% 2012 Telegraph 93% journalists break agreed code of conduct” 82% Average 79% 90% Guardian 99% Conservative 80% 92% Labour 81% 77% Times 91% LD 87% 81% 19 85% Other local daily 90% “Newspapers should be obliged to join a new 84% system by law” ©blue & green Average 82% communications 2012 Conservative 82% Total sample size was 3,620 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken Labour 86% between 21st – 23rd November 2012. Source: Media Standards Trust, bit.ly/pollsapart LD 89% Hacked off over the behaviour of the press
One of the loudest voices in the phone hacking debate has been Hacked Off – a high-profile alliance of victims, journalists, academics, lawyers and other people affected by the irresponsibility and intrusion of the press.
he core group includes And it was established because of great trust and the public respected professor people felt there needed to be a expects it to hold the powerful of journalism Brian public inquiry into these kinds to account, and when they’ve TCathcart, former Lib of serial acts of malpractice by breached that trust and actually Dem MP Evan Harris, former the media. This group came go off and bully the public in police officer Jacqui Hames and together and combined lots of order to sell newspapers, then victims of media malpractice; victims, academics, journalists, people feel very aggrieved. I the Dowlers, the McCanns, lawyers and members of the think that’s why there is such a Christopher Jefferies, in addition public; because there was a growing campaign for change in to well-known actors Hugh sense that we had a common this area. Grant and Steve Coogan. Many cause in trying to understand of its members gave evidence what has occurred that had led Do we have a free to the Leveson Inquiry as core to this quite routine malpractice press in the UK? participants. occurring in the media. And I do think we have a free press, In the weeks since the when the Leveson Inquiry was yes. The press is subject to the publication of Lord Justice announced, Hacked Off was laws of the land like everybody Leveson’s report, in which he alongside the Dowlers – the else. The press has to abide recommended the establishment family of Milly Dowler, who by the laws of defamation, of an independent regulatory was murdered and her phone contempt of court, employment body that is underpinned by was hacked by the News of the – it’s not above the law. Within statute, a Hacked Off petition to World – and we were able to the laws of the land, the press is implement the recommendations shape the agenda and the remit free to attack whoever it likes, in full has attracted nearly of it, to ensure it did cover a support whoever it wants and 150,000 names. very wide range of abuses by the write what it likes. It enjoys esponsible M edia R esponsible to guide the Blue & Green Tomorrow caught press. quite significant privileges up with the campaign group’s The media as a whole has this and protections such as a head of media, David Hass, who really important place in public defence that a newspaper was spoke about why it’s imperative life. It occupies a position acting in the public interest in the government introduces such a body in order for members of the public to regain trust in UK print journalism. It’s quite obvious that Leveson regards the kind of behaviour december What is Hacked Off? Hacked Off is a campaign group among our newspapers, 2012 that was established about politicians and public 18 months ago by victims of phone hacking and other officials, including the police, forms of abuses by the press, completely unacceptable and 20 like intimidation and bullying. abhorrent
©blue & green communications 2012 the guide to R esponsible M edia
The Liberal Democrats, whose leader Nick Clegg is pictured here with actor and Hacked Off campaigner Hugh Grant, are behind the introduction of an independent regulatory body underpinned by statute. Photo: Liberal Democrats. an investigation, say, which they want, we shouldn’t fool off too lightly? tends to prevent journalists ourselves into thinking that If you look at Leveson’s report, being prosecuted for revealing newspapers freely represent the he doesn’t pull punches; it’s corruption in high places like the views of the rest of us. They quite clear that newspapers MPs' expenses scandal. usually reflect the prejudices of behaved dishonourably. He’s The caveat I’d insert there is their editors and proprietors, and somewhat restricted in that he’s that although the press is free to help to embed some of our own not able to go, at this stage, into do whatever it wishes and isn’t presumptions and prejudices as the phone hacking issue in great controlled by government; a readers too. detail and he’s limited as well majority of national newspapers in not being able to go into the are under the control of a very Does the Leveson bribery of public officials because small number of proprietors – Report go far there are court cases ongoing on december the Murdochs, Desmond, the enough in meeting those subjects. He’s not able to Barclay brothers. A very small Hacked Off’s delve into those issues. But it’s 2012 number of people exert quite demands? Did Lord quite obvious that he regards a disproportionate amount Justice Leveson the kind of behaviour among of influence over the news pull his punches or our newspapers, politicians and media in this country, so while let politicians, the public officials, including the they’re free to write whatever press and the police police, completely unacceptable 21
©blue & green communications 2012 and abhorrent. Do you see any role for private This led to a blind eye being turned to acts of and institutional investors criminality which was done on quite a routine and shareholders in ensuring basis, and regarded as simply an expense to be a more responsible press? Or taken into account – “Oh well, we’ll get sued is there some kind of conflict for defamation and libel a few times this year. there? Never mind; it doesn’t matter because it helps sell I don’t think there should be any necessary conflict hundreds of thousands of newspapers so we’ll just between wanting to have a responsible, searching accept that as being another necessary cost on our and professional journalism industry in this country bottom line.” I don’t think Leveson has let them off and those people that want to invest sustainably. the hook at all. He quite rightly realised the need In fact, we’ve seen some shareholder activism for a new system of press regulation, underpinned when we look at the affairs of News Corporation by a statutory auditor to check the regulation was and News International. We’ve seen shareholders up to scratch. say they’re not happy with the management of the Murdoch family; they don’t feel that it is Why do you think David doing the company any good and they want to Cameron and some MPs are see change because they’re uncomfortable about resistant to the essential the associations between phone hacking and other requirement of statutory forms of malpractice. We’ve seen a little bit of that underpinning of an kind of responsible and sustainable thinking over independent regulator? the last few months. You’d have to ask 10 Downing Street or David I don’t think there is a conflict because it seems to Cameron himself for the motivation behind me that it’s in the interest of investors that we have that. What’s quite obvious is that he has been a very active and a very capable press which can working very closely with the newspaper editors scrutinise the affairs of government and look at the themselves to try to find a non-statutory response activities that private companies in a lot of detail, to the Leveson Report – the report that he himself and that can determine whether people are acting commissioned by the judge that he himself reasonably within the law or, as was the case in appointed. And let’s not forget what the judge he large sections of the press, acting criminally and appointed had to say. He said, in terms, that in corruptly. order for the system to be properly independent, No sustainable investor would want their money to in order for the system to enjoy public confidence be invested in a company that is using corruption to be efficient, it need to be underpinned by as a necessary tool of the trade. So there’s no statute, and the prime minister, working closely conflict, and what’s more, a responsible and with newspaper editors – working hand in glove effective press will function extremely well – or with the people who were responsible for some of much better than it has done at the moment – if it these disastrous acts which have really destroyed has a real, independent and trustworthy regulator. confidence in the industry – The reason I say that is if esponsible M edia R esponsible to guide the thinks he can find an answer. you look at the broadcasting The problem in the first place While the news industry, it is heavily was that politicians and the media is free to regulated – much more press were too close and were than anyone suggests the doing deals behind closed doors. write whatever newspaper industry should Hacked Off thinks that it’s quite it wants, we be – and on a daily basis it wrong that once again, as a shouldn’t fool is producing investigations remedy to the problem caused into corporate affairs into by the press, the newspaper ourselves into companies and financial december industry is making secret deals thinking that institutions and by and large, behind closed doors with the I think there’s a great deal 2012 prime minister. That is not an newspapers of satisfaction in the way independent and fair system. freely represent in which broadcasters go What’s more, it means that the about their investigations victims of phone hacking and the views of the and carry out their work as press intrusion are completely rest of us providers of television and 22 locked out of the process. radio and providers of good,
©blue & green communications 2012 there’s nobody checking their No sustainable investor homework. would want their money If however, as Lord Leveson to be invested in a company proposed, above the regulator there is an independent body that is using corruption as a representing the public that is necessary tool of the trade checking whether the regulator is effective enough, then I think that would be an extremely investigative journalism in the suffered in different way. I think good outcome for the public and public interest. the fact that Hacked Off was certainly for the victims of phone
able to stand up for them and hacking and press intrusion. the guide to R esponsible M edia What do you think represent their views on the day is Hacked Off’s of the Leveson Inquiry really put Is Hacked Off proudest moment so their positions to the fore – that optimistic? far? was the proudest moment for I think people are optimistic. The I think organisation has made a the organisation. campaign has gained enormous really significant impact in terms amounts of public support – we of the debate in this country. What happens if had over 120,000 signatories Obviously Hacked Off was Leveson's essential to our campaign after about involved in helping to draw up requirement 10 days. So there is optimism the terms of the Leveson Inquiry, of statutory that the public is behind us; and I think that was a very underpinning of there’s optimism that there important contribution for a very an independent are politicians in every party new group of people to make – regulator is and behind us – certainly Labour to say that we do need to have isn't implemented? and the Lib Dems as a whole, a proper inquiry that should I think there will be a new and a number of Conservative have a good, comprehensive regulator in any event because MPs – but we are cautious, and direction. I hope that Hacked the industry itself is proposing we realise there is quite a battle Off’s also made an impact with to make a new regulator. And ahead. We’re dealing with very, the victims of phone hacking in fact, that’s one area where very powerful vested interests. and press intrusion. there isn’t much disagreement. When your opponent is sitting in I talk about phone hacking Everyone thinks there should Downing Street with the editors but we shouldn’t forget the be a new independent regulator of every national newspaper, you other forms of harassment and – but a self-regulator; one that realise that you have a tough intrusion. People like Kate is run by the industry. Where battle ahead. and Gerry McCann, whose the disagreement lies is whether reputations were trashed by that regulator should have the Express Group and other another body that looks at that newspapers as well when regulator run by industry and they were searching for their says whether it’s up to scratch daughter, Madeline. And and doing its job. I think if the Christopher Jeffries, who was newspaper industry gets its essentially dubbed a murderer way and is able to self-regulate by several newspapers but was without any kind of checks, then a completely innocent man. So I fear we’ll be back to the bad people like that who weren’t old days of PCC, a self-regulator hacked, but whose reputations funded and run by the industry december were trashed; they now have a and it was completely useless. It representative organisation. was run by the very people that 2012 There was an industrial scale it was supposed to be holding phone hacking – thousands of to account. It was a paper people were hacked – but there tiger. Now, that would be the were also lots of people who worry; if they get their way and www.hackinginquiry.org 23
©blue & green communications 2012 The conclusion of H ugh Grant’s witness statement to the Leveson inquiry I don’t want to see the end of popular print journalism. And I for one certainly wouldn’t want a country that was fawning to power or success. I like, admire and would always want to protect the British instinct to be sceptical, irreverent, difficult, and to take the piss. And of course a free press is the cornerstone of democracy. That is a certainty.
And then, hiding under the same umbrella, a second press that has been allowed to become something toxic. That has developed a new I see in this business model, depending no longer But whatcountry are on journalism (as it did once), but on racketeering. A press that has accrued power to itself and mugged British citizens for one of their most two presses. basic human rights on an industrial One which does exactly what a good scale. A press that has enfeebled and disgraced our democracy; bribing police, press should – informing the public, emasculating parliament, and enjoying holding a mirror up to society, holding the competitive sycophancy of five power to account. successive governments.
To some degree this has been the result of too much influence being wielded by individual media owners and plurality of ownership is something I’m sure this inquiry is looking at and I hope will make strong recommendations on.
But it has also been the result of straightforward intimidation. Historically, this country has a good record for courage when it comes to standing up to bullies. In my opinion, it needs to rediscover that courage now. ‘Facts are to the mind what food is to the body’
Twenty-first century journalism can be typified by tight deadlines, demanding workloads, fierce competition between publications and almost universal accessibility. But in the age of the internet, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to discern fact from fiction, fiction from honest mistakes and honest mistakes the guide to R esponsible M edia from propaganda.
Leveson’s subsequent report process as possible. recommended that an Will Moy is the organisation’s independent regulator should director, and also sits on the be created – one that was Hacked Off board (see page underpinned by statute, and 15). He personally addressed was the voice of the British the Leveson inquiry on press public – in order to keep the regulation in October last year, press in check. and recalls a conversation But Leveson also touched upon with one newspaper’s political accuracy in the press. In Part editor, who told him, “I know F of his report, a section titled journalists, myself included, ‘Criticisms of the Culture, are guilty of some wilful acts of Practices and Ethics of the inaccuracy”. Press’, he describes accuracy However, he assures us this as “the foundation stone on isn’t across-the-board thinking. which journalism depends”. “Some people really live by Indeed, he points out that the values of journalism – it’s it is the first requirement in about giving their readers the Will Moy worked the Editors’ Code of Practice best available version of the as a parliamentary – the benchmark for current truth”, he explains. researcher before ethical standards, set by the “But mistakes happen; with coming up with the Press Complaints Commission the nature of journalism idea for Full Fact in (PCC). especially, which is about 2008. Much of the evidence on busy journalists dealing with accuracy given to Leveson hard topics to tight deadlines, during his inquiry came from means mistakes will happen, he debate around Full Fact – an independent and good journalists know that media accuracy has fact-checking organisation that and just want to correct them. long been prevalent has been meticulously sifting “It’s our job to play the ball, Tin both parliament through oceans of facts since not the man, so we don’t and the press itself. But when its foundation in 2010, picking tend to get onto whether David Cameron asked Lord out the inaccuracies and [mistakes are] deliberate or december Justice Leveson to conduct calling for corrections. Many not; that’s for our readers to an inquiry into media ethics of the inaccurate statements judge. But certainly, when we 2012 last year, focusing particularly go on to influence policy; but have had occasions in the past on phone hacking and press more often than not, Full Fact where newspapers have had intrusion, the spotlight on the is on hand to prevent this from to correct stories, sometimes issue became brighter. happening as early on in the at the behest of the PCC, 25
©blue & green communications 2012 and then they’ve printed the same story again tracked it back to a report that cited a book later on down the line, those are the ones that [‘The Maximum Surveillance Society: The Rise concern us most.” of CCTV’ by Clive Norris and Gary Armstrong]. It was while working as a parliamentary The book includes a made-up journey in which researcher that Moy decided to pitch the somebody goes through Heathrow, a maternity premise of Full Fact. The immediate reaction ward, Chelsea football ground and so on, and from both politicians and journalists was in that journey they had reckoned that they incredibly positive, and so, in April 2008, might be able to pass 300 CCTV cameras. So inspired by to Peter Oborne’s book, ‘The Rise of this purely hypothetical thing has become a Political Lying’, the philosopher Onora O’Neill’s touchstone of the debate on CCTV. 2002 Reith Lectures, and a similar organisation “Our job is to try and intervene before things in the US, FactCheck.org, the idea for Full Fact reach that stage of everybody ‘knows’, but was born. nobody knows where it comes from.” he team now consists of a core group of The areas that Full Fact tries to concentrate its eight, along with a number of volunteers efforts on are the issues that tend to dominate Tand contributors. One of its founding public opinion surveys. Ipsos Mori, one of the trustees – businessman Michael Samuel, who UK’s most well-known market research groups, helped kickstart the project with the journalist does a monthly poll that examines what the John Lloyd, who has since stepped down – now public deems to be the most important issues acts as chairman alongside four other board facing Britain today, and on almost every members: House of Commons public affairs occasion, the economy comes out on top. committee special adviser, Simon Briscoe; In the latest survey – conducted on November Labour peer, Lord David Lipsey; crossbench peer, 30 this year – the top five unprompted answers Baroness Julia Neuberger and official historian of were: economy, unemployment, NHS, race the BBC, Professor Jean Seaton. Another Labour relations/immigration and crime/law and order. peer, Lord Peter Archer, was also instrumental oy says, “The areas that are most in Full Fact’s early life, but has left in the years satisfying are where you pick up a since. mistake that is being made early on It became abundantly clear from the off that Min the process – especially policy there was indeed a place for an independent process – where sooner or later somebody fact-checking body in the UK, and even before is going to be making a decision using this it became a fully-fledged venture, Moy and Full information and you manage to get it corrected Fact already had their work cut out with the before the ill-judged decision is made. “That’s swarms of inaccurate facts floating around. in many ways what we’re trying to achieve. It’s “When I was doing the prep for Full Fact before not just helping people have better informed we started, there was a famous story that said conversations, but actually helping people make everybody in London passed an average of 300 better informed decisions.” CCTV cameras a day”, Some of the facts and esponsible M edia R esponsible to guide the Moy recalls. claims that Full Fact “This is one of those Our job is to try checks are outstandingly things that everybody bad. Others stem from knows. It’s been on and intervene simply misreading data. most major news before things One of the “saddest”, outlets, cited in the according to Moy, House of Commons reach that stage appeared in The Sun in and was in a report October 2011. A Labour by the Information of everybody MP, John Spellar, posed december Commissioner’s Office. ‘knows’, but an interesting question to “One day, [Times David Cameron during 2012 columnist] David nobody knows prime minister’s questions Aaronovitch decided one Wednesday: “Has to track it back to find where it comes the prime minister read out where it came from today's article in The Sun 26 from. He eventually revealing 40% of all knife
©blue & green communications 2012 haven’t-got-a-clue-whether-it’s-right- or-not information, that’s a pretty bad starting point for getting the policy right, whatever you think it should be. There are actually national figures on this and in fact, the national figure is half of what The Sun was reporting, at roughly 20%. “That kind of thing looks like a fact just got away from someone slightly. There isn’t malice there; it’s maybe slightly exaggerated but nobody’s deliberately
trying to distort something. They’ve just the guide to R esponsible M edia got a big number and run it, without checking it carefully or even gone to the official figures at all as far as we can tell.” The Sun, on this occasion, was relatively speedy in retracting this claim and issuing a correction. The online piece now includes the add-on, “We reported on October 18 that “more than 40%” of all crime involves juveniles. In fact, this was an estimate by local police for the London borough of Enfield. The most recent Ministry of Justice figures Full Fact was inspired by Peter show the proportion is just under 20% in Oborne’s book, ‘The Rise of Political England and Wales.” Lying’, the philosopher Onora O’Neill’s But a simple amendment doesn’t always 2002 Reith Lectures, and a similar happen straight away when Full Fact organisation in the US, FactCheck.org. gets in touch with a journalist or a Photo: akachela. newspaper to inform them of an error. And this is an area in which Lord Justice Leveson was highly critical. crime is carried out by under 18s? Why won't “There is a cultural tendency within parts of the he deliver on his promises and put them in jail?” press vigorously to resist or dismiss complainants ameron said he hadn’t seen it, but later almost as a matter of course”, the Leveson went away to read the piece, which indeed report’s executive summary reads. Cclaimed that more than 40% of all knife “Securing an apology, a correction or other crime involved juveniles. appropriate redress, even when there can be “There was a review of knife crime sentencing no argument, becomes drawn out and difficult. going on at the time. And the decision had been When an apology or correction is forthcoming, taken to leave under 18s out of it; the idea was there is then an argument as to prominence to toughen up sentencing”, explains Moy. which, again, can be prolonged.” “By the weekend, they’d actually decided to Moy says that a significant part of this include under 18s in it, and it turned out that conclusion is likely to have been drawn up from the headline was completely wrong. What The evidence provided to the inquiry by Full Fact. Sun had done was taken an estimate from the He adds, “That particular Sun example stands borough commander in Enfield about his single out as one of the few where we’ve had really december patch, and just presented that as a national quick responses, and that was towards the figure, which is a shame because knife crime is beginning of the Leveson inquiry, so maybe it 2012 one of those issues that everyone cares about was trying to show how good it could be, but and it’s really important that we get the policy that was corrected about a week later – too late right. to stop it influencing policy, but a reasonable “When you’re starting from such wildly length of time. 27
©blue & green communications 2012 “So it would be nice to think I think that a new culture that between newspapers recognising how much trust in regards to accuracy and authenticity actually could go a long way to mean to their brand and cultural changes coming out helping newspapers better of the back of the Leveson process, there would be serve their readers less of a role for Full Fact in newspapers, but mistakes will always happen and “But we’ve had occasions where it’s taken I think between journalists, politicians and months and months to get anything corrected. pressure groups, we’re going to have plenty We talk about this in our evidence to the of work to do for the time being, so we’re not Leveson inquiry. There’s a phenomenon where going out of business just yet.” some newspapers will just deny almost anything you put to them, and give this long, rearguard SIDEBAR: Will Moy on responsible media action to avoid printing any correction at all. There are a lot of ways to be responsible media. “And then, as Leveson said, once they’ve You don’t have to be po-faced; you certainly conceded that they need to print a correction, shouldn’t get rid of opinion; you want people there’s another long conversation about where to be giving their views robustly; you want a they’re going to print it. So it can take a dozen platform on which anybody with any views feels bits of correspondence with a couple of weeks in like they can express themselves in different between them.” outlets; some things should be high-minded ord Justice Leveson’s report ultimately and some should be just fun. That mix is very recommended the foundation of a important. It’s not like you can identify one truly independent body underpinned thing that defines responsible media; it’s much Lby statute to regulate the press. And if more about what the baseline is. this were to be implemented, Full Fact’s job as s someone once said, you can choose a fact-checking organisation would undoubtedly your opinions; you can’t choose your be made easier. Afacts. Accuracy is just about the only If we’re being frank, in a completely unrealistic thing that everybody agrees journalism is about. but ideal world, there’d be no need for Full Fact. Whatever else you do, if what you’re presenting The press would report accurate information; as true facts aren’t true facts, you aren’t doing politicians and pressure groups would cite journalism; you’re doing propaganda, or at accurate information and the public would the least, you’re making a mistake. So I think consequently be fed accurate information. But a responsible media is one that tries its best as it stands, Moy and his team remain employed not to make mistakes and when it does make esponsible M edia R esponsible to guide the for at least the foreseeable future – much to the mistakes, corrects them quickly, and recognises delight of Full Fact’s many readers, and although that making mistakes is just a part of doing it might not admit it, the UK press. journalism – and therefore you’ve got to have a Moy is therefore pragmatic about Full Fact’s way of handling it. future, and the future of media accuracy more generally. “I think that a new culture in regards to accuracy could go a long way to helping newspapers better serve their readers”, he says. december “Trust is going to be the vital commercial commodity of the next few decades, what with 2012 the rise of the internet, and I think newspapers more and more are going to recognise that building trust is crucial to their own survival. Accuracy is going to become more of a priority from that point of view. 28 fullfact.org
©blue & green communications 2012 soonthe guide to R esponsible M edia www.blueandgreentomorrow.com 2013 reports: January - Guide to Tourism the Guide February - Voice of the Investor March - Guide to Investment to Sustainable Tourism April - Guide to Fairtrade May - Guide to Clean Energy June - Guide to Climate Change July - Guide to Charity and Philanthropy September - Guide to Banking October - Guide to Investment November - Guide to Shopping December - Guide to Sustainability ? December - Guide to 2014
december 2012
January 2013: A guide that aims to open your eyes to a new way of experiencing the29 many wonders of the world - through sustainable tourism that doesn’t harm the planet. ©blue & green communications 2012 Whitewash and greenwash: the fickle ethics of climate change reporting
Gavin Smith assesses the extent to which the scientific realities of climate change are distorted by political leanings, financial pressures and the fact that the news media is only partly concerned with the truth.
hortly before this article the press, benign bias is treasured; confused with ‘orthodoxy’ by was written, Lord Justice in science, bias is anathema in any feckless right-wing polemicists Leveson’s 2,000-page report form. – must be set against complex Son media standards went Compared to science, mainstream cultural responses to climate some way to beating ethical sense journalism is opaque, subjective change, and the vital fact that the into the British press. Yet even and addicted to false certainty scientific community is very far he concedes, in a roundabout because it is a variety of from a complete understanding way, one very significant point. storytelling. When these two of both the terrestrial and Despite the legal and moral abuses starkly different sets of ethics astronomical mechanisms that committed in the name of tabloid meet, the reader is left with a govern our planet. titillation, it remains perfectly toxic sludge of warped science If there is one inconvenient truth, proper for the press to not only and rancorous reporting to wade it is that seizing upon a given inform and educate, but also to through. occurrence as evidence of a pre- entertain. This isn’t to say that facts can’t determined theory risks creating a In other words, the press doesn’t be found in the fog of scientific false certainty. exist as some sort of philosophical hedging and press skulduggery. It In November 2009, Time guiding light, parsing the messy is however a long, winding and presented Mount Kilimanjaro’s reality of our world to divine some fascinating journey which shows receding glaciers as evidence of absolute truths, like self-flagellating how ingenious as a species we are global warming. In September hermits on some high desert at painting our hopes and fears 2010, New Scientist contended plateau or on the editorial staff of onto the natural world. that that the effect was evidence The Independent. In September 2010, the Royal only of local logging: fewer trees In my experience of writing and Society published guidance citing, meant less transpiration and less esponsible M edia R esponsible to guide the reading the news, journalism is “strong evidence that the warming moisture to form ice. all about giving the readership of the Earth over the last half- In the same month but on a what it wants and needs to know, century has been caused largely by different scale, New Scientist often while nudging them towards human activity.” reported that solar fluctuation a given commercial or political This conclusion is echoed had a greater influence on climate agenda. When the news features in findings from the change than had previously been climate change, this simple Intergovernmental Panel on appreciated and that the IPCC principle can give rise to an ethical Climate Change (IPCC). Since would be adapting its models tangle. 1990, atmospheric greenhouse gas accordingly. december Pure science, which rejects concentrations have risen by “25% The indeterminacy of good orthodoxy and sometimes accepts of the total increase since �their� science therefore gives rise to a 2012 consensus, eschews definitive pre-industrial level.” Furthermore, logical dilemma when the media answers. Any proposition must “the world is warming, and circus rolls into town. Global be rigorously tested by the most �…� there is �…� 0.6 degrees of warming could have calamitous objective and empirical standards. additional warming ‘in the bank’.” consequences; humanity may Absolutely certainty belongs to This apparent consensus – a have a causative and therefore a 30 religion and tabloid newspapers. In concept sometimes deliberately preventative role in that process.
©blue & green communications 2012 The exploitation of this doubt for entertainment or political purposes could be highly damaging. It would be surprising if the truth weren’t manipulated by philanthropic climate-change scientists for the good of all. To put it another way, faced with the standard, adversarial format of journalistic debates, which polarise complex issues and create false equivalences, what scientist concerned about his or her credibility wouldn’t come out swinging? At least public opinion has swung the scientist’s way in the developed world, as evidenced by the blogs of marketing specialists. Not only does the the guide to R esponsible M edia “environmental culture permeate all walks of life”, A glacier in Greenland, where ice but “the other problem for marketers is that ‘the melt has increased five-fold since environment’ is a very broad term, encompassing the mid-1990s. greenhouse effects, global warming, disappearing rain forests �et al]”. George C Marshall Foundation, could not be more Green is so fashionable it has spawned an inevitable stereotypically pro-oil and anti-green. It declares counter-culture, particularly among right-wing that “actions must not be predicated on speculative libertarians. Speaking to The Telegraph, Jeremy images of an apocalyptic vision of life in the near Clarkson pondered the consequences of global future”. warming: “Switzerland loses its skiing resorts? The Yet the Marshall Foundation’s subversion of beach in Miami is washed away? Anything bothering apocalyptic language hints at an ancient cultural habit you yet?” that may have sprung from organised religion but Still, a belief in our civilisation’s power to wreck the naturally grafts itself to some very secular issues and planet or warp a debate is substantial enough to form their presentation in news and fiction alike. the basis of litigation as well as policy. In Kivalina Writing about Christian Europe in the eleventh v Exxonmobil, Alaskans threatened by melting century and its sure and certain expectation of the permafrost are suing “major energy companies” for second coming of Christ in 1033, Tom Holland the cost of moving their village to higher ground, asserts that “we in the West are never more countering the difficulty in proving a causative link recognisably their descendants then when we ponder by arguing that such companies have “conspired to whether our sins will end up the ruin of us.” After all, create a false scientific debate about global warming “for a long while, the notion that the world would be in order to deceive the public”. brought to an end �…� had been a kind of answer.” Conversely, in Texas v EPA, the US Environmental As if to prove that our venerable, millenarian habits Protection Agency was sued by the oil-addicted state of mind can withstand hard science, Martin Rees, of Texas on the grounds that “it used invalid science Astronomer Royal, wrote in 2004: “Earth itself may to determine that CO2 is harmful.” endure, but it will not be humans who cope with the Arguably, belief in anthropogenic global warming scorching of our planet by the dying sun; nor even, (AGW) has become a civic virtue. Even powerful perhaps, with the exhaustion of earth’s resources.” corporations which find it highly inconvenient feel Such a view intersects neatly with the norms of a compelled to pander to their demographic’s new, once millenarian culture and may contribute to the green prejudices. ExxonMobil’s website boasts about fact that AGW is frequently conflated with other its “long-standing policy to conduct business in a climate changing factors beyond our control, such as manner that considers both the environmental and volcanic activity, oscillations in Earth’s axis of rotation, economic needs of the communities in which [it solar fluctuations and the eccentricity of our solar operates]”. orbit. However, organisations such as the Union of An expectation of apocalypse is a standard plot december Concerned Scientists allege that, indirectly, device. Few teachers of hard news journalism would ExxonMobil is adopting “the tobacco industry’s accept stories that didn’t impose an angle on a climate 2012 disinformation tactics �…� and personnel �…� to cloud change story that didn’t either spell doom or else the scientific understanding of climate change and harangue the doom-mongering boffins. Painstaking delay action on the issue” at a cost of $16 million empiricism makes poor copy and our civilisation can’t over seven years. quite shake off the notion that cataclysm can result One of ExxonMobil’s alleged media outlets, the from moral failure. 31
©blue & green communications 2012 In 1985, the BBC screened the but ostensibly virtuous: “some documentary, Lovelock is one Cold War TV thriller, Edge of countries intend to harness of “the minds behind some of Darkness. The story’s protagonists nuclear power toward green the greatest scientific discoveries become anti-nuclear activists, ends [while] other nations will of our age”, despite his struggle fighting against a militarised use warming as a pretext for less against a “scientific establishment nuclear processing industry while virtuous purposes.” [that] stifles intellectual creativity”. at the same time embracing the Writing of his own Damascene The Guardian’s position is Gaia hypothesis. Paradoxically, conversion in The Washington somewhat more sober – Lovelock one character expresses her joy Post in 2006, Patrick Moore, one is “the globally respected that nuclear war will cleanse Gaia of the founders of Greenpeace, environmental thinker”. The of mankind’s abuses shortly before said, “I believed that nuclear Daily Mail was by comparison she is killed in a bid to end a energy was synonymous with melodramatic and variously nuclear programme. nuclear holocaust �…� Thirty years inaccurate with this exclamation This influential piece of popular on �…� nuclear energy may just on Lovelock’s work: “We’re all fiction amply illustrates both a be the energy source that can save doomed [and] there’s nothing conflation of hazards to form one our planet from another possible we can do about it, says climate extinction theory, and a blurring disaster: catastrophic climate change expert.” of the lines between science and change.” The media’s tendency to resort to philosophy; both amply reflected The Gaia theory remains stereotype and depict scientists or in media coverage and political evergreen, despite the causative scientific commentators as either propaganda. change in the means of our all-knowing oracles or outright In 2008, the foreign policy think- destruction. James Lovelock’s charlatans was much in evidence tank, The Carnegie Endowment description of Earth as a single, in the coverage of ‘Climategate’. for International Peace, published self-regulating organism has In late 2009, the University of an incisive article on the new been criticised for its illogical East Anglia’s Climate Research acceptability of nuclear energy. assumptions and questionable Unit’s (CRU) server was breached For much of the last half-century, methodology. by a hacker. Emails and other it said, “’nuclear’ has been Significantly, Lovelock is typically documents were taken and passed synonymous with ‘doom’”. presented as a scientist rather to climate change sceptic websites. Indeed, “many opponents than as a philosopher, thinker or Due to the prominence of its of nuclear power and many polemicist; furthermore, the term scientists in the reports of the supporters of nuclear disarmament ‘scientist’ is often used as if it IPCC, the CRU had been a focus had come to see themselves might be a synonym for ‘oracle’. of concerted efforts by climate merely as different manifestations The Daily Express described change sceptics to obtain its of the same movement.” Lovelock as “one of the world’s records, ostensibly in a bid to Now that nuclear war has been most respected scientists”; winkle out inconsistencies. supplanted by global warming answering a momentous question, In June 2008, the climate sceptic as the most favoured cause of “he is unfazed as he relays his blog, Climate Audit, reproduced a our extinction, nuclear power wisdom”. lengthy and prolix correspondence esponsible M edia R esponsible to guide the has become not just acceptable In the synopsis of a BBC in which the site demanded the release of data under the freedom of information act, and the CRU declined on the grounds of cost Smog is a big and confidentiality and referred problem in the matter onwards. Los Angeles, The popular impression that but scientists the CRU had been secretive predict a proved to be far more damaging warmer december than any supposedly concealed climate will data disclosed by its emails and 2012 increase the documents. Denied any gross severity of factual fallacies, the media could pollution in still seize upon the implications the city even of the CRU’s apparent siege further. mentality. Few outlets were as 32 even-handed as The Philadelphia
©blue & green communications 2012 Enquirer, which wrote; “the emails give little new information and appear to have failed to change the mind of anyone within the scientific world.” Kowloon in Hong The bulk of the emails were Kong, where 98% concerned with such mundane believe in climate matters as the processing of change, and 94% statistical data, so predictably the agree that it’s glimmers of fallible humanity primarily driven attracted most coverage. Far- by human activity. right US radio broadcaster Rush
Limbaugh seized upon the use by the guide to R esponsible M edia CRU staff of the phrases ‘trick’ and feel that owning an SUV is a ‘sin dragged into a war of presentation ‘hide the decline’ as “substantial against the planet’”. and out of their own ethical fraud”, manifestly so “because While wholly political in the sense comfort zone. liberals are behind it”. of being concerned with public They learned the hard way what Scarcely less right-wing but more policy, one of the least brazenly far too many news consumers mainstream, Fox News remarked partisan verdicts can be found in may never discover; that their that the CRU had “brazenly the parliamentary science and favourite news outlets will only [discussed] the destruction and technology select committee’s tell them the elements of the hiding of data that did not support report of March 2010. The truth that happen to form a nice, global warming claims.” phrases ‘trick’ and ‘hiding the tasty narrative of the right political The more sober Associated Press decline’ were “colloquial terms flavour. concluded that the messages �…� not part of a systematic didn’t disprove global warming, attempt to mislead”. However: but did “show that �the CRU� “the climate science community stonewalled sceptics and discussed �needs to] become more hiding data.” transparent by publishing raw data The Daily Mail took the and detailed methodologies.” opportunity to announce that A Guardian article reported global warming had made these findings sympathetically a “U-turn” and had stopped despite a conspicuous attempt at in 1995, then dusted off the balance, including an accusation of stereotype of the absent-minded “whitewash”. It featured a telling professor, lacking “organisational comment from the parliamentary skills”, having “trouble ‘keeping committee’s chairman on the track’ of the information” and CRU’s Phil Jones: “�He� has �…� inhabiting an “office swamped been scapegoated as a result of with piles of paper”. what really was a frustration on his Gavin Smith is a The left-leaning Huffington Post part that people were asking for freelance writer pointed out how completely information purely to undermine and a former police the issue had been hijacked by his research.” officer and editor political interests: “The nickname Those who formed the media of policing magazine should be ‘Swifthack’ for the way response to ‘Climategate’ did not Constabulary. He is people with political agendas have use bad judgement. They simply currently working on ‘swiftboated’ the global warming obeyed the ethics of their salaried his second novel and reality”. It also recorded how trades, which dictate that they building a property the niceties of data handling in exploit and report a news story portfolio. His first december Norfolk had fed into the parochial according to the agenda of their novel, 'Bright Spark', politics of former vice-presidential political backers, the expectations is available for the 2012 candidate, Sarah Palin, who of their audience, the prejudices Amazon Kindle. decried “doomsday scare tactics of their editors or the dramatised http://www.amazon. pushed by an environmental norms of news. co.uk/Bright-Spark- priesthood that capitalizes on the By choosing to confound the ebook public’s worry and makes them sceptics, the CRU’s scientists were 33
©blue & green communications 2012 Poles Apart Period 1 – 2007 The international reporting of climate scepticism Period 2 – 2009/10
Express Mail Star IndependentTelegraph Financial TimesGuardian/ObserverSun Times Mirror
50
40
30 Articles mentioning sceptics % (Percentage of sampled articles) 20
10
0
2 Author as sceptical scientist % 1 (Percentage of sampled articles) 0
12 11 10 9 8
7 Regular columnist % 6 expressing sceptical view (Percentage of sampled articles) 5 4 3 2 esponsible M edia R esponsible to guide the 1 0
2 Invited columnist other % 1 than scientist (Percentage of sampled articles) 0
december 7 2012 6 5 Sceptical voices included 4 % but contested 3 (Percentage of sampled articles) 34 2 1 0 ©blue & green communications 2012
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Join us at www.blueandgreentomorrow.com Skeptical Science’s top 10 climate myths
1. What does past is influencing the global climate dioxide will, in the foreseeable climate change tell causing the world to get warmer. future, cause catastrophic us about global (BBC) heating of the Earth's warming? What the science says atmosphere...”. (Petition Project) The sceptic argument In the last 35 years of global What the science says Climate is always changing. We warming, the sun has shown That humans are causing global have had ice ages and warmer a slight cooling trend. Sun and warming is the position of the periods when alligators were climate have been going in Academies of Science from 19 found in Spitzbergen. Ice ages opposite directions. countries plus many scientific have occurred in a 100,000 year Source: http://www. organisations that study climate cycle for the last 700,000 years, skepticalscience.com/solar- science. More specifically, and there have been previous activity-sunspots-global-warming- around 95% of active climate periods that appear to have been basic.htm researchers actively publishing warmer than the present despite climate papers endorse the CO2 levels being lower than 3. Positives and consensus position. they are now. More recently, we negatives of global Source: http://www. have had the medieval warm warming skepticalscience.com/global- period and the little ice age. The sceptic argument warming-scientific-consensus- (Richard Lindzen) Two thousand years of published intermediate.htm What the science says human histories say that warm Natural climate change in periods were good for people. 5. Global cooling: the past proves that climate is It was the harsh, unstable Dark is global warming sensitive to an energy imbalance. Ages and Little Ice Age that still happening? If the planet accumulates heat, brought bigger storms, untimely The sceptic argument global temperatures will go up. frost, widespread famine and In fact global warming has Currently, CO2 is imposing an plagues of disease. (Dennis stopped and a cooling is energy imbalance due to the Avery) beginning. No climate model enhanced greenhouse effect. What the science says has predicted a cooling of the Past climate change actually The negative impacts of global Earth – quite the contrary. And provides evidence for our warming on agriculture, health, this means that the projections esponsible M edia R esponsible to guide the climate's sensitivity to CO2. economy and environment far of future climate are unreliable. Source: http://www. outweigh any positives. (Henrik Svensmark) skepticalscience.com/climate- Source: http://www. What the science says change-little-ice-age-medieval- skepticalscience.com/global- Empirical measurements of warm-period-intermediate.htm warming-positives-negatives- the Earth's heat content show intermediate.htm the planet is still accumulating 2. Solar activity heat and global warming and climate: is the 4. Is there is still happening. Surface sun causing global a scientific temperatures can show december warming? consensus on short-term cooling when heat The sceptic argument global warming? is exchanged between the 2012 Over the past few hundred The sceptic argument atmosphere and the ocean, years, there has been a steady The Petition Project features which has a much greater heat increase in the numbers of over 31,000 scientists signing capacity than the air. sunspots, at the time when the the petition stating “There is no Source: http://www. Earth has been getting warmer. convincing scientific evidence skepticalscience.com/global- 36 The data suggests solar activity that human release of carbon cooling-intermediate.htm
©blue & green communications 2012 6. How reliable are 10 – fail to meet the National 1998? climate models? Weather Service’s own siting The sceptic argument The sceptic argument requirements that stations must For the years 1998-2005, �Models� are full of fudge factors be 30 metres (about 100 feet) temperature did not increase. that are fitted to the existing or more away from an artificial This period coincides with climate, so the models more heating or radiating/reflecting society's continued pumping of or less agree with the observed heat source. (Watts) more CO2 into the atmosphere. data. But there is no reason to What the science says (Bob Carter) believe that the same fudge Numerous studies into the effect What the science says factors would give the right of urban heat island effect and The planet has continued behaviour in a world with microsite influences find they to accumulate heat since different chemistry, for example have negligible effect on long- 1998 - global warming is still the guide to R esponsible M edia in a world with increased CO2 term trends, particularly when happening. Nevertheless, surface in the atmosphere. (Freeman averaged over large regions. temperatures show much Dyson) Source: http://www. internal variability due to heat What the science says skepticalscience.com/surface- exchange between the ocean While there are uncertainties temperature-measurements- and atmosphere. 1998 was an with climate models, they intermediate.htm unusually hot year due to a successfully reproduce the past strong El Nino. and have made predictions 8. Can animals and Source: http://www. that have been subsequently plants adapt to skepticalscience.com/global- confirmed by observations. global warming? warming-stopped-in-1998- Source: http://www. The sceptic argument intermediate.htm skepticalscience.com/climate- �C�orals, trees, birds, mammals, models-intermediate.htm and butterflies are adapting well 10. Is Antarctica to the routine reality of changing losing or gaining 7. Are surface climate. (Hudson Institute) ice? temperature What the science says The sceptic argument records reliable? A large number of ancient mass �Ice� is expanding in much of The sceptic argument extinction events have been Antarctica, contrary to the We found [US weather] stations strongly linked to global climate widespread public belief that located next to the exhaust change. Because current climate global warming is melting fans of air conditioning units, change is so rapid, the way the continental ice cap. (Greg surrounded by asphalt parking species typically adapt (e.g., Roberts, The Australian) lots and roads, on blistering-hot migration) is, in most cases, What the science says rooftops, and near sidewalks simply not be possible. Global While the interior of East and buildings that absorb and change is simply too pervasive Antarctica is gaining land ice, radiate heat. We found 68 and occurring too rapidly. overall Antarctica is losing stations located at wastewater Source: http://www. land ice at an accelerating rate. treatment plants, where the skepticalscience.com/Can- Antarctic sea ice is growing process of waste digestion causes animals-and-plants-adapt-to- despite a strongly warming temperatures to be higher than global-warming.htm Southern Ocean. in surrounding areas. Source: http://www. In fact, we found that 89% of 9. What has global skepticalscience.com/antarctica- the stations – nearly 9 of every warming done since gaining-ice.htm
december 2012 37
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