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A week ago, I wrote an article attacking the Telegraph’s coverage of the MPs’ expenses row under the deliberately provocative headline, What has the Telegraph done for the reputation of journalism? Amidst all the outrageous abuses by MPs that the newspaper has reported, I said, it’s also been guilty of some shoddy reporting, giving equal prominence to stories which simply  [ Read More ]

No, says Don Foster, the Lib Dems’ shadow culture, media and sports secretary, following media regulator Ofcom’s announcement on Friday that it was fining the BBC £150,000 following the infamous prank calls made by Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross on Mr Brand’s Radio 2 show: This money should come out of Jonathan Ross’s salary so that broadcasting does not suffer.”  [ Read More ]

If so, then the Parliamentary Register of Members’ Interests is a must-read – though in fact Vince Cable’s articles for the Mail are a much better earner: CABLE, Dr. Vincent (Twickenham) Remunerated employment, office, profession etc Weekly column for Mail on Sunday. (£15,001-£20,000) Fee from Hat Trick Productions for appearance on ‘Have I Got News for You’ on 30 October  [ Read More ]

I’ve avoided for as long as possible the uber-hyped ‘nowtrage’ over Carol Thatcher’s off-air-but-in-the-studio comment that a still-to-be-identified tennis player looks like a ‘golliwog’. It does of course pose lots of interesting questions for liberals: the conflict between freedom of speech, and the offence that may cause; to what extent unbroadcast behind-the-scenes remarks should be regarded as private; whether remarks  [ Read More ]

The BBC reports on the latest developments in the ongoing row over the Corporation’s decision not to screen an appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee for Gaza because it does not want to compromise its commitment to impartiality: ITV, Channel 4 and Five are to show a charity appeal for Gaza amid a row over the BBC’s decision not to  [ Read More ]

For those of you able to watch BBC Parliament, I’ll be appearing on tonight’s The Record Review (11pm, 12.30am, 5am etc) reporting back on this week’s first PMQs of 2009. For those of you, like me, who can’t get BBC Parliament on your telly, it’s available on iPlayer here after transmission for a week. And it may only be a  [ Read More ]

The Daily Mail reports: A LibDem peer has joined the debate following Tom Chambers’s controversial Strictly Come Dancing win, calling Saturday’s final a ‘fiasco’. Former North Cornwall MP Lord Tyler was called on the BBC to release the voting figures for the three finalists following producers’ decision to allow Chambers to progress from the semi-final, despite coming bottom of the  [ Read More ]