Book description
A brilliantly written, concise and accessible summary of the Leveson
inquiry and a convincing argument for why we need press reform from an
expert on the subject, with an introduction by Hugh Grant, a Hacked
Off campaigner, recent witness at the Leveson inquiry and presenter of
the Channel 4 documentary Taking on the Tabloids.
When most of the British press conspired to cover up the
phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World, what did that
tell us? That it wasn't just the News of the World that had something
to hide. And when the Leveson Inquiry lifted the lid on their
activities we saw what it was: illegal practices, dishonesty, a
disregard for the rights of ordinary people and an arrogant assumption
of unaccountability. Now the battle is on to decide whether anything
will change and the editors and proprietors, with their vast
propaganda power, are determined to ensure nothing will. This book, by
a long-time journalist who is a founder of the Hacked Off campaign,
paints a damning picture of press corruption and makes a passionate
case for journalism that doesn't bully and lie - journalism that is
truly answerable to the public while remaining free from government
interference. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get this
right, and we must not allow powerful media corporations to snatch
that chance from us.
Brian Cathcart has been a journalist for more than thirty years,
working for Reuters, the Independent, the Independent on
Sunday (where he was deputy editor) and the New Statesman
(assistant editor and media columnist). He is the author of several
books, including Were You Still Up for Portillo? and the
award-winning The Case of Stephen Lawrence. As a journalist he
has campaigned for justice for Barry George, who was wrongly convicted
of killing Jill Dando, and for the families of the young soldiers
killed at Deepcut army barracks. In 2008-10 he was specialist adviser
to the Commons media select committee and he has since written about
the hacking crisis and media reform for Index on Censorship,
Hacked Off, the Guardian, the Financial Times,
the Independent, the Daily Beast, CNN, Inforrm
and others. He has been professor of journalism at Kingston University
London since 2005.
