» SubscribeMain section
-
Top story
Freedom of Information at risk
DATELINE: 31/1/12
Supporters of freedom of information are being urged to mobilise their forces to safeguard the scope of the 2000 Freedom of Information Act. Campaigners fear that a review into the operation of the provisions of the Act – which is being conducted by the House of Commons Justice Select Committee – could be used as an excuse by the coalition government to impose new restrictions and exemptions.
The first deadline for responses to the Justice Select Committee is Friday 3 February. But the necessity in the long term is to generate user and public support for the Act and to lobby MPs to vote against any move to limit its scope.Would users of the Act please start collating details of their experiences; the more data that can be collected proving the wider public good of freedom of information legislation, the greater the chances of heading off any threat to this widely-used right.
Maurice Frankel, director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information and the campaign's research officer Katherine Gundersen outlined their concerns to Nicholas Jones on this new CPBF podcast.
Last modified: Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Previous stories
Getting the message across
Reporting Dissent
Reporting the Riots
Leveson - A Chance for Change?
Jeremy Dear's Momentous Decade
How the media lost touch with work
A Wapping Exhibition
Wapping 25 years on
Whither the BBC facing a six-year licence fee freeze?
What will Murdoch’s Sky bid mean?
-
Notices
Events & Announcements
Freedom of Information at risk
DATELINE: 31/1/12
Supporters of freedom of information are being urged to mobilise their forces to safeguard the scope of the 2000 Freedom of Information Act. Campaigners fear that a review into the operation of the provisions of the Act – which is being conducted by the House of Commons Justice Select Committee – could be used as an excuse by the coalition government to impose new restrictions and exemptions.
The first deadline for responses to the Justice Select Committee is Friday 3 February. But the necessity in the long term is to generate user and public support for the Act and to lobby MPs to vote against any move to limit its scope.
Taking on the media barons - 17th March London
DATELINE: 7/2/12
This is the TUC's special conference on media regulation. Confirmed speakers include Harriet Harman MP, John Hendy, Michelle Stanistreet (NUJ), James Curran (CCMR), Granville Williams (CPBF) and Natalie Fenton. Entry is £10 or £6 unwaged (which includes lunch) - book now at http://mediaownership.eventbrite.co.uk/
Wapping Returns to London
DATELINE: 4/1/12
The non-stop revelations in the phone-hacking scandal have ensured that Rupert Murdoch was never far from the headlines last year, which made the 25th anniversary of the Wapping events all the more relevant. To mark the onset of 2012, the Exhibition commemorating Wapping, "The Workers' Story", returns to London, where it can be seen at the Bishopsgate Institute Library, 230 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 4QH from 9th January to 29th February. The exhibition is open Monday to Thursday and Saturday 10.am - 5.30pm on Friday 10am to 2pm
The Exhibition has been on display since August in various locations in London, Liverpool, Salford, Manchester and Brighton - the Marx Memorial Library, TUC Congress House, St George-in-the-East, Wapping, Liverpool Unite office, Goldsmiths College, the People's History Museum, Manchester, the Working Class Movement Library in Salford, and Unite conferences in Brighton and London.
A special edition of the Wapping Post was produced for the Exhibition in September highlighting the essentially anti-democratic aspects of News International's activities, particularly the company's anti-union stance. Trade union rights to be re-asserted and reinforced at NI, and this means abolishing the legal loophole which allows the company-funded and run Staff Association to pose as a union defending workers' rights.
Free Press and this website continue to summarise and analyse media issues and developments.
Some copies of the Wapping Post special edition are still available, along with anniversary badges. If you would like to help with the information desk at the Exhibition, please contact Ann Field (ann.field@btinternet.com) as soon as possible.
Latest - UnionNews has done a film on the Wapping exhibition the link to film is here: http://union-news.co.uk/2012/01/wapping-25-years-on-sun-sets-on-murdoch/
A Chance for Change
DATELINE: 25/11/11
The CPBF's 'Leveson pamphlet', A Chance for Change, is now available as a download from the site - just click to retrieve it.
DOWNLOAD FREEPRESS NOW
DATELINE: 26/3/10
Download PDFs of Freepress here.
MEDIA FOR ALL CONFERENCE
DATELINE: 26/3/10
Papers from the Media for All Conference
MEDIA MANIFESTO
DATELINE: 26/3/10
The media’s job is to inform and entertain us but we rely on them too to tell us what our rulers and representatives are up to. In the run-up to the Iraq war the government used spin and disinformation in the media to create panic and mislead people. The truth is coming out now, but we need stronger, more independent media to be able to scrutinise governments and make informed choices.
-
Previous stories