• As dissed on Fox NewS •

Shooting the Messenger

online reporting by INDependent journalist Dean Sterling Jones

Category: Law and Politics

  • Down by [Copyright] Law

    Are Massachusetts cops trying to censor local journalists? [UPDATE: Massachusetts cops says someone else filed the fraudulent DMCA requests] Earlier this month, ‘legal agent’ Mike Ferrell filed a copyright complaint with Google¹ on behalf of the Burlington Police Department, in Massachusetts, requesting the deletion of a number of local news articles regarding arrests made by the department. In his November…

    Read more: Down by [Copyright] Law

  • The Brexit Effect

    “They will soon be calling me MR. BREXIT!” – President-elect Donald Trump Despite nearly every poll indicating that Hillary Clinton would win a landslide victory this election, Donald Trump swept the electoral vote, even taking several traditionally blue states. Call it the Brexit Effect. Though it was widely assumed that Clinton was a shoo-in to…

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  • The Case for Regulation

    Members of UK official press regulator IMPRESS answer criticism that state-backed regulation could undermine a “vibrant local press” Last week, I blogged about IMPRESS, which recently gained recognition as the first official press regulatory body in the UK. The decision was made by the Press Recognition Panel (PRP), the government-funded body set up in the wake of the…

    Read more: The Case for Regulation

  • UnIMPRESSed

    Two publications are no longer seeking membership with UK state-backed press regulator IMPRESS, with another on the fence This week, it was announced that IMPRESS, a UK press regulator funded by motor racing tycoon Max Mosley, has gained recognition as a state-backed media watchdog. The decision was made by the Press Recognition Panel (PRP), the…

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  • The Tyranny of Values

    Downing Street used misleading data from “right-wing think tank” to “name and shame” universities that host “extremist” speakers, newly released e-mails show Late last year, Downing Street unveiled its updated Prevent strategy, requiring universities and colleges to “stop extremists radicalising students on campuses.” Citing work by Whitehall’s Extremism Analysis Unit (EAU), Downing Street claimed that…

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  • Unblurred Lines II

    The Daily Telegraph publishes Page 2 clarification based on my corrections request re: Crown Prosecution Service’s skewed statistics on rape Last month, I blogged about how the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) exaggerated the 2015-16 rape conviction rate. Via a press release, the CPS claimed that it was “convicting more cases of rape…than ever before,” with “a rise…

    Read more: Unblurred Lines II

  • Unfurnished

    Award-winning reporter Tristin Hopper says The National Post geo-blocked his article about UK celebrity injunction after being contacted by internationally renowned law firm Fasken Martineau Last month, I blogged about efforts by David Furnish—husband of pop singer Elton John—to censor journalists and Internet users from reporting or discussing his alleged extra-marital affair with another married couple. Furnish…

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  • Unblurred Lines

    The Independent publishes my corrections request re: Crown Prosecution Service’s skewed statistics on rape convictions Last week, I blogged about the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) having exaggerated the 2015-16 rape conviction rate. Via a press release, the CPS claimed that it was “convicting more cases of rape…than ever before,” with “a rise in the rape conviction rate…

    Read more: Unblurred Lines

  • Blurred Lines

    UK prosecution service fudges the statistics on rape Earlier this month, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) released its annual Violence Against Women and Girls crime report.¹ Via a press release, the CPS claimed that it was “convicting more cases of rape…than ever before,” with “a rise in the rape conviction rate [from 56.9] to 57.9 per…

    Read more: Blurred Lines

  • The Bitch is Back

    Carter-Ruck Lawyers passes the baton to Schillings partners in Elton John three-way tabloid scandal, but where does that leave Internet users threatened with legal action? The juiciest celebrity news story of 2016 went unreported in the UK thanks to strong-arm legal tactics by David Furnish, husband of pop singer Elton John. As you didn’t read in the newspapers,…

    Read more: The Bitch is Back