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FWIW, some quick thoughts on #ExtinctionRebellion
1: A free press is an essential, non-negotiable element of a functioning democratic society.
2: So is the right to protest.
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1: A free press is an essential, non-negotiable element of a functioning democratic society.
2: So is the right to protest.
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3: Democracy will not fall apart because of an interruption in the delivery of half a dozen papers on one day.
4: @BorisJohnson is right to say that a free press should hold governments to account.
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4: @BorisJohnson is right to say that a free press should hold governments to account.
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5: So perhaps he could explain why his spokesman tried to block access for Guardian, Mirror and i journalists from a #Brexit briefing? And why he said he would not "waste time" answering questions about D. Cummings's trip to Durham from "campaigning newspapers
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6: And why he hid in a fridge rather than face the press and confiscated a reporter's mobile phone when he tried to show him a picture of a child lying on a hospital floor?
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7: And why (media, rather than Press) he boycotts @GMB and @BBCR4Today and threatened @Channel4News over climate debate and has tried to blackmail/bully the BBC using the licence fee as a weapon?
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8: Meanwhile, it should be noted that at least three of the five papers targeted last night tend rather to act as his cheerleaders than call him to account.
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9: A free press *is* vital. Not just the friendly papers that cost the same as a cup of coffee, but the ones he doesn't like and won't speak to.
10: #ExtinctionRebellion are a pain in the backside for a lot of people. But they have as much right as Murdoch to express their view
10: #ExtinctionRebellion are a pain in the backside for a lot of people. But they have as much right as Murdoch to express their view
11: It really isn't the end of the world if papers don't get through one night.
12: And this is really scraping the barrel. As @eshelm says, if they're laying off kids after one day, they must have some fragile business model.
https://twitter.com/TheSun/status/1302220633221275648?s=20
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12: And this is really scraping the barrel. As @eshelm says, if they're laying off kids after one day, they must have some fragile business model.
https://twitter.com/TheSun/status/1302220633221275648?s=20
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13: And of course these newspapers haven't been silenced. They all have websites and e-editions. They can reach anyone with a phone or a laptop or a computer. They all have websited and e-editions. If they believe their words are so vital, they could drop their paywalls for a day
14: Finally, here's another view. I don't agree with all of it - that's what a free society is about - but, whoever the owners, it is worrying that so much of the press is in so few hands. If only another billionaire, with a different outlook, could be persuaded to take a punt
And one last thing (sorry)
For real threats to press freedom, think #CharlieHebdo, Jamal Khashoggi, Lyra McKee, James Foley, Steven Sotloff and other Isis victims. Look at updates from
@CPJAfrica
(and other continents).
I wrote about it once.
https://sub-scribe2015.co.uk/james-foley-murdered.html#.X1PSHlVKjIU
For real threats to press freedom, think #CharlieHebdo, Jamal Khashoggi, Lyra McKee, James Foley, Steven Sotloff and other Isis victims. Look at updates from
@CPJAfrica
(and other continents).
I wrote about it once.
https://sub-scribe2015.co.uk/james-foley-murdered.html#.X1PSHlVKjIU
