Category Archives: Newspapers

JK Rowling: UK domestic abuse adviser writes to Sun editor

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Interview with author’s first husband unacceptable, says abuse commissioner

The government’s lead adviser on domestic abuse has written to the editor of the Sun to condemn the newspaper’s decision to publish a front page interview with JK Rowling’s first husband, under the headline: “I slapped JK and I’m not sorry.”

In the letter seen by the Guardian, Nicole Jacobs, the independent domestic abuse commissioner, said it was “unacceptable that the Sun has chosen to repeat and magnify the voice of someone who openly admits to violence against a partner”.

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New York Times says senator Tom Cotton’s op-ed did not meet editorial standards

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Newspaper drops initial defence of ‘Send in the troops’ opinion piece that called for Donald Trump to use military against protesters

The New York Times has issued a mea culpa over the paper’s decision to publish an op-ed by the Republican senator Tom Cotton entitled: “Send in the troops”.

The decision to run the piece, which advocated for the deployment of the military against protesters rallying against police brutality toward black Americans, drew widespread criticism. Dozens of Times journalists voiced their opposition, noting that inciting a heavy-handed response to the protests put black journalists, and people of color more broadly, in danger.

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New York Times under fire over op-ed urging Trump to ‘send in the troops’

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Decision to run opinion piece from Republican senator Tom Cotton sparks criticism from staff who say it puts people in danger

The New York Times’ decision to run an op-ed from the Republican senator Tom Cotton titled “Send in the troops” is drawing widespread criticism, including from Times staff.

In the piece, Cotton called for the use of US military troops to quell civil unrest, and indicated the president would be justified in doing so under the Insurrection Act of 1807.

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‘Incalculable loss’: New York Times covers front page with 1,000 Covid-19 death notices

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As US Covid-19 death toll nears 100,000, Times presents a tribute to some of the Americans to fall victim to the disease

As the US approaches the grim milestone of 100,000 coronavirus deaths, the New York Times has filled the entire front page of Sunday’s paper with the death notices of victims from across the country.

In a decision the paper said was intended to convey the vastness and variety of the tragedy, the front page is a simple list of names and personal details taken from obituaries around the US.

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BBC director general candidate accused in phone-hacking case

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Exclusive: Former newspaper executive Will Lewis allegedly played part in email deletions

The former senior newspaper executive William Lewis, on the shortlist to be the next director general of the BBC, has been accused of playing a part in the concealment and destruction of vast amounts of emails relating to phone hacking by the publisher of the Sun and News of the World, according to high court documents made public on Wednesday.

Lewis, who ended a six-year stint as the chief executive of the publisher of the Wall Street Journal this month, has been named in the case being lodged by about 50 alleged victims of phone hacking against the publisher News Group Newspapers. NGN is a subsidiary of News UK, which is run by Rebekah Brooks and ultimately controlled by Rupert Murdoch, through the parent company News Corporation.

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Ronan Farrow: master #MeToo reporter hit by surprise New York Times takedown

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Pulitzer-winning New Yorker journalist rejects claims from paper’s Ben Smith that work exhibits ‘shakiness at its foundations’

Ronan Farrow is no stranger to the rough and tumble of investigative journalism. His exposés on sexual abuse that helped to inspire the #MeToo movement have led to him to being trailed by private detectives employed by his most famous target – Harvey Weinstein – and to accusations from his former employer, NBC News, that he told “outright lies”.

Related: Shredded Trump documents and spy games: Ronan Farrow's biggest scoops

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UK takes a pasting from world’s press over coronavirus crisis

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Across Europe to the US, the foreign newspaper verdict is Britain has performed badly

Britain’s reputation for its handling of the coronavirus epidemic has taken another global pasting after newspapers worldwide reported on what they described as confusion and internal divisions that are rapidly creating a crisis as big as Brexit for the UK.

With many diplomats admitting that soft power reputations are being forged or destroyed during the pandemic, the European press in particular is taking time to point out that the UK is experiencing the worst death rate in Europe, revealing a National Health Service that is underfunded and underprepared.

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Bangladeshi journalist is jailed after mysterious 53-day disappearance

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Campaigners warn Shafiqul Islam Kajol faces a lengthy sentence as his family worries about his exposure to Covid-19 in prison

Fifty-three days after he disappeared, Bangladeshi journalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol turned up on Sunday in police custody at a border town 150 miles from where he had last been seen.

“I am alive,” he told his son by phone, the first time the family had heard his voice since his disappearance in early March, a day after a case was filed against him and 31 others under the country’s controversial new Digital Security Act.

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No 10 battles to regain control of lockdown messaging amid fierce criticism

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PM’s roadmap announcement thrown into chaos by newspaper headlines heralding significant easing

The government was on Thursday evening urgently trying to regain control of the next phase of the pandemic crisis as it faced fierce criticism and warnings that mixed messaging was priming the public to give up on the lockdown.

Related: PM will announce modest changes to UK lockdown, says Raab

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Egypt has made journalism a crime with crackdown, says Amnesty International

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Egyptian government using pandemic to tighten control of media and quash dissent, rights group reports

Journalism in Egypt has effectively become a crime over the past four years, Amnesty International says, as authorities clamp down on media outlets and muzzle dissent.

As the number of coronavirus infections in Egypt continues to rise, the government is strengthening its control over information instead of upholding transparency, the London-based rights group said in a report released on Sunday.

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Meghan privacy claim against Mail on Sunday owner ‘continues’ despite setback

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Judge rules part of Duchess of Sussex’s case against Associated Newspapers be struck out

Lawyers for the Duchess of Sussex have insisted her privacy claim against the publishers of the Mail on Sunday (MoS) will continue after she was dealt an initial blow when a judge ruled that part of her case should be struck out.

Lawyers for Associated Newspapers had argued last month against elements including that some words and sentences from a letter by Meghan to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, had been “dishonestly” cut out before publication in order to paint a misleading picture of the relationship between the two.

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Mail publisher had agenda of ‘offensive’ stories about Meghan, court told

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Duchess sues publisher of British newspapers over use of letter to father Thomas Markle

A newspaper was accused of “stirring up” issues between the Duchess of Sussex and her estranged father, Thomas Markle, then using it to justify publishing a “private and confidential” letter, a court heard.

Lawyers representing Meghan said she was distressed at the realisation that Associated Newspapers had an agenda of “intrusive and offensive” stories about her, a judge was told.

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Independent caught in tit-for-tat Turkey-Saudi media battle

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Ankara bans UK publication’s Turkish-language site over its links to Riyadh

The Independent has found itself caught in a bizarre tit-for-tat press freedom war between Turkey and Saudi Arabia, after the British publication’s Turkish-language site was banned by authorities in Ankara over its links to Riyadh.

The move comes shortly after Turkish authorities charged 20 Saudis over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, an incident that soured relations between the two countries.

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Woman’s attraction to chandeliers not a sexual orientation, Ipso says

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Amanda Liberty made complaint about article in the Sun mocking declaration of love for German light fitting

A woman in a long-term relationship with a 92-year-old German chandelier has been told that her attraction to historic light fittings is not considered to be a protected sexual orientation.

Press regulator Ipso made the ruling after Amanda Liberty, a woman from Leeds in her mid thirties, complained about an article in the Sun mocking her public declaration of love for Lumiere, her name for an intricate lamp she bought on eBay.

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Hungarian journalists fear coronavirus law may be used to jail them

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Reporters say measures are being used to deny them access to information on pandemic

Hungarian journalists say a new law supposedly aimed at fighting the coronavirus will make objective reporting of the pandemic harder and leave them open to facing court cases or even jail time for their reporting.

The measures, in place since Monday, have been roundly criticised for the sweeping powers they hand to the nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, to rule by decree. Another part of the bill provides penalties of up to five years in prison for those spreading misinformation during the pandemic.

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US newspapers appeal to China not to expel their reporters

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Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Washington Post use open letter to urge reversal of decision

Publishers of the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal have pleaded with the Chinese government not to expel their reporters, in an open letter published on Tuesday.

Earlier this month at least 13 journalists from the three major US news organisations were ordered to leave China in response to what the government said was “unreasonable oppression” of Chinese journalists in the US.

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Johnny Depp’s libel case against the Sun adjourned

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Actor is suing paper over claims he was violent and abusive toward ex-wife Amber Heard

Johnny Depp’s libel case against the Sun over allegations he was violent and abusive towards his ex-wife Amber Heard, which was due to begin on Monday, has been adjourned to a later date.

Mr Justice Nicol made the announcement at the high court on Friday. “I have reached the reluctant conclusion that the trial does have to be adjourned,” he said.

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China: expulsion of US journalists was response to ‘unreasonable oppression’

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Beijing defends ban of 13 journalists, which has been criticised as irresponsible during coronavirus crisis

Beijing has defended its decision to expel journalists from three major US publications, saying it was responding to “unreasonable oppression” of Chinese journalists in the US, as a diplomatic row escalates between the two countries.

Speaking at a regular press briefing, the foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing had been “compelled” to take countermeasures after Washington imposed restrictions on staff at Chinese state media outlets in the US.

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China-US standoff escalates as Beijing expels major US media staff

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New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post journalists among staff ordered to stop reporting and leave

China will expel US reporters of three major US news outlets, in a hugely damaging attack on foreign media coverage of the country – and an escalation of the showdown over the press between Washington and Beijing.

The decision, announced just after midnight Beijing time, requires US citizens working for the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal to halt reporting and hand in their press cards within 10 days, if their credentials expire before the end of 2020.

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