This week in Press Gazette – Journalism Weekly: Prison warning for journalists under PACE source changes

1 Prison warning for journalists under PACE source changes. Journalists will end up going to prison if Home Office proposals to loosen up legal protection for sources go through.

“It’s going to end up with more journalists going to jail because so much information comes from people who are breaching confidentiality agreements.”

3 Mazher Mahmood switches from ST to The Sun Sunday. Fleet Street’s famous ‘fake sheikh’ Mazher Mahmood is moving back into red top journalism, leaving The Sunday Times for sister title The Sun Sunday.

"Mahmood made his name on the News of the World (NoW) with a series of often controversial stings, whose victims included former England boss Sven Goran-Eriksson and ex-boxing champion Joe Calzaghe."

4 Ingrams: Hislop has been Eye editor for ‘too long’. Private Eye co-founder Richard Ingrams believes Ian Hislop has been editor of the magazine for “too long”.

“I think the danger of him staying on is that the options become less and less and less,” he said. “He should at least now be thinking, ‘who is going to take over?’”

6 Colvin death anniversary inspires press campaign. A new campaign to secure the prosecution of those who commit war crimes against journalists and photographers is being launched today – the first anniversary of the death of former Sunday Times war reporter Marie Colvin.

“It is unacceptable that those looking to report objectively from conflict zones around the world are deliberately singled out, targeted and murdered with impunity, with those responsible for their deaths not facing any repercussions.”

8 Ex-Northcliffe editor’s site set for Plymouth launch. The team behind a citizen journalism site founded by former Northcliffe editor Marc Astley is poised to launch their first franchise – with the company also in advanced talks in several other regions of the UK.

“The ultimate goal is for a UK-wide network of sites that can work together to deliver a unique news and information service as well as a cost-effective platform for advertisers, both local and national.”

9 Lord Lester warns Defamation Bill could be dropped. Lib Dem peer Lord Lester QC has warned that “party political gamesmanship” could lead to the long-awaited Defamation Bill being abandoned.

“The threat comes from politicians who have hijacked an attempt to reform our out-of-date, repressive libel law by clogging the Defamation Bill with wrecking amendments.”

10 ‘Maybe we’ve grown up’: Ten years on, how Vice magazine got serious. In an interview with Press Gazette nine years ago Vice’s then UK editor Andy Capper boasted of how Vice’s remit was to celebrate “the things we’re meant to be ashamed of” – namely, sex, drugs and bodily functions.

“I think that one interesting thing over the last decade is how more traditional news organisations like broadsheets have veered toward lifestyle journalism. Yet we at Vice, who are supposed to just go to loads of parties, have actually gone in the other direction and become more serious and more interested in international news and politics.”

13 Tory’s Charter plans are a Royal disgrace, says Mick Hume. The Tories’ draft proposals for what they call a ‘tough’ new press regulator to be underpinned by a Royal Charter are a right royal disgrace to democracy and an attempt to impose more state supervision under cover of the Queen’s robes. Yet by far the loudest criticism of the plan has been that it does not go far enough in shackling our supposedly free press.

“The truth is that the Prime Minister was right to tell the Hacked Off lobbyists that his proposals would give the UK the toughest regime of press regulation in the Western world – though why he thinks that is something to boast about is a mystery. Yet such is the climate of hostility towards unfettered freedom of expression today that his plans are loudly condemned by the likes of Hacked Off as being too soft.”

14 Peter Preston: Journalism as an exercise in providing cases for the courts. There is a ratchet, and you can see it working in Leveson. Should police and reporters be able to meet and talk off the record? No. Can newspaper executives have freewheeling conversations with politicians any longer? Don’t bank on it; and don’t bring the proprietor when you come calling.

"Leveson, and the kind of regulation he recommends, sees journalism as an exercise in providing cases for courts to examine."

16 How Reuters man exposed Starbucks tax avoidance. UK-based Thomson Reuters journalist Tom Bergin has told Press Gazette the inside story of his four-month investigation into the tax-avoidance strategies of coffee giant Starbucks.

"We are pleased that we have informed a debate, and three years ago there wasn’t much written about tax, but now so many publications have shown that the quality of reporting on taxation has improved massively. We are happy that our story resonated with people and happy because people believe the facts, and the trust of it, and we are happy to feed into what is an important debate in the UK."

18 Publishers criticise French media for €60m Google deal. The European Publishers Council (EPC) has criticised the French media for striking up a €60m (£51.8m) deal to help newspapers develop their online presence.

“The type of deal arranged between Google and a group of French publishers does not address the continuing problem of unauthorised reuse and monetisation of content.”

19 FT: We think about how to present web stories first. Last week the Financial Times celebrated its 125th birthday, during which time it has moved from being a leaflet published in the City of London to a global journalism brand. Today it claims average daily readership worldwide (digital and print) of 2.1m – with print circulation of 272,375 and paying digital subscribers of 312,000. Press Gazette spoke to deputy editor John Thornhill.

"We’ve always had this mantra of full integration. Now we are realising more and more there are different ways of telling stories digitally – including video, blogs and mobile. The first thought should be how can we tell this story on the web, we then think about how we present it in the paper later."

24 Axegrinder: The end of news?; Mums angered by Daily Mail invasion; Dinner? Holiday? No, Boris – a toaster; When is a British reporter not a British reporter?