Assess the arguments for the regulation of the press in 2016.
Regulation of the press has been a very complicated issue from the conception of mass media and the production of mediums such as magazines and newspapers in particular. There are many arguments for the regulation and practice of the press. On the one hand, the press has been influential in a number of ways. It has been a major part of our lives in a good way - for example, the press has allowed us access into the latest news and current events and affairs. However, the press can sometimes become a major part of the our lives in the wrong way and actually cause harm and distress to our lives. This is in particular to certain public icons or people of notable public interest, where …show more content…
To the press, this is important in allowing the public eye to know about notable affairs of a public interest. One example is the ‘Keith Vaz MP’ hooker scandal, which took part in undercover surveillance to expose Vaz of the use of prostitution and male escorts, alongside the use of drugs - in his Westminster, taxpayer run apartment 12 miles from his home. The same could be perhaps seen in a lesser extent contextually, with the MP Expenses scandal where MPs used taxpayer money to spend on nonessential items from 50p chocolate bars, to thousands in landscaping the holiday home garden. This shows that the press is vital in exposing events which usually happen under our noses and not known until shown by the press, and that level of freedom of obtaining information for public interest for scandals and negative current affairs should be considered as justified in the right …show more content…
One example of this is through the early exposure of the hacking scandal, where the voicemails of Prince Andrew’s phone was tapped into, where there was a report of when he broke his leg. However, the press can go so much further as to using Children. While they are now not allowed under Article 6 of the Editors’ Code of Practice, J.K Rowling’s daughter was used by a journalist to arrange an interview - by placing a letter inside her backpack while at school. She said - ''The twist in the stomach as you wonder what do they want, what do they think they have? It is incredibly threatening to have people watching you''. This role of the press can be considered malpractice of their conduct towards getting the ‘scoop’, and hereby considered life-changing. While Christopher Jefferies was accused of being the murderer of Joanna Yeates, he was accused of being a sexual predator, while the trial of the murder was still going on. This was completely false information and caused a great deal of distress to his family and his livelihood up until the press apologized and retracted all their statements. While this cleared up a lot of false information, the emotional damage still happens. It shows that the role of a free press is very important, but the methods used of
Regulation of the press has been a very complicated issue from the conception of mass media and the production of mediums such as magazines and newspapers in particular. There are many arguments for the regulation and practice of the press. On the one hand, the press has been influential in a number of ways. It has been a major part of our lives in a good way - for example, the press has allowed us access into the latest news and current events and affairs. However, the press can sometimes become a major part of the our lives in the wrong way and actually cause harm and distress to our lives. This is in particular to certain public icons or people of notable public interest, where …show more content…
To the press, this is important in allowing the public eye to know about notable affairs of a public interest. One example is the ‘Keith Vaz MP’ hooker scandal, which took part in undercover surveillance to expose Vaz of the use of prostitution and male escorts, alongside the use of drugs - in his Westminster, taxpayer run apartment 12 miles from his home. The same could be perhaps seen in a lesser extent contextually, with the MP Expenses scandal where MPs used taxpayer money to spend on nonessential items from 50p chocolate bars, to thousands in landscaping the holiday home garden. This shows that the press is vital in exposing events which usually happen under our noses and not known until shown by the press, and that level of freedom of obtaining information for public interest for scandals and negative current affairs should be considered as justified in the right …show more content…
One example of this is through the early exposure of the hacking scandal, where the voicemails of Prince Andrew’s phone was tapped into, where there was a report of when he broke his leg. However, the press can go so much further as to using Children. While they are now not allowed under Article 6 of the Editors’ Code of Practice, J.K Rowling’s daughter was used by a journalist to arrange an interview - by placing a letter inside her backpack while at school. She said - ''The twist in the stomach as you wonder what do they want, what do they think they have? It is incredibly threatening to have people watching you''. This role of the press can be considered malpractice of their conduct towards getting the ‘scoop’, and hereby considered life-changing. While Christopher Jefferies was accused of being the murderer of Joanna Yeates, he was accused of being a sexual predator, while the trial of the murder was still going on. This was completely false information and caused a great deal of distress to his family and his livelihood up until the press apologized and retracted all their statements. While this cleared up a lot of false information, the emotional damage still happens. It shows that the role of a free press is very important, but the methods used of