MARCH 2000
BY JON SLATTERY
Stothard resigns
Peter Stothard, editor of The Times, revealed to staff the real
reason why he was leaving the paper – he was having chemotherapy for a
non-malignant growth and felt he could not edit a daily paper at the
same time. He made the announcement to put to an end “wild
speculation” in rival newspapers about his decision to stand down.
Stothard said: “The decision of some to use my announcement for
political ends and for damaging The Times, means that I must give up
the privacy which I had hoped to keep.”
‘Pundit journalism’ defeated
Chief
executive Stewart Purvis was claiming that ITN’s victory in a libel
trial over LM magazine was “a victory for frontline journalism over
pundit journalism”.
A jury found LM, formerly Living Marxism, guilty of libel after it
ran an article alleging that ITN journalists Ian Williams and Penny
Marshall had misled the world in their representation, in 1992 news
footage, of inmates at a Serb-run camp at Trnopolje, Bosnia. ITN was
awarded £75,000 in damages and the journalists £150,000 each. LM
publisher Helene Guldberg described the verdict as “a dark day for
freedom of speech”.
MoS wants damages from Cherie for gagging order
The Mail on Sunday was turning the tables on Cherie Blair by
demanding damages after she injuncted the paper to stop it publishing
revelations by her ex-nanny. The 2am injunction stopped the MoS presses
for two-and-a-half-hours and led to the paper having to retrieve copies
already distributed, at great expense.
Sunday Telegraph scoops newspaper of year title
It was British Press Awards time again. Top honour of newspaper of
the year went to The Sunday Telegraph while the News of the World
picked up scoop of the year for its exposé of how Jeffrey Archer had
lied in his libel case against the Daily Star. It led to Archer
dropping out of the race for London Mayor and eventually being jailed
for perjury.
NUJ signs first recognition deal in more than a decade
The NUJ had signed its first recognition deal in more than a decade.
The deal was with TR Beckett, publisher of the Worthing Herald,
Littlehampton Gazette and Shoreham Herald. The impetus for the
agreement was the new Fairness at Work Act which gave workforces the
right to ballot to see if there was a majority in favour of being
represented by a trade union.
Heat told to cool down sex related ads
Emap’s celebrity weekly Heat was told to take more care when placing
adverts of a sexual nature. It followed 10 complaints to the
Advertising Standards Authority. Objections were made over an insert
which appeared in The Times, The Guardian, The Independent and the
Radio Times.
The insert referred to Robbie Williams and Zoe Ball. One side was
headlined “Who was Robbie with last night?” The other: “How many blokes
has Zoe slept with?”
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