Radio bulletin 4

In the presentation of the recent budget, Alistair Darling has announced that the threshold for stamp duty on first time buyers has doubled from one hundred and twenty five thousand pounds, to two hundred and fifty thousand pounds. This increase will mean that around one hundred and thirty six thousand first-time buyers will be exempt from paying tax on the value of their house, however Darling plans to raise the duty to five percent in order to fund the increase.

We spoke to a student at the university of Winchester, Matthew Maidment who himself is a first time buyer of a property in Southampton:

http://edublogs.tv/play_audio.php?audio=6832

Radio bulletin 3

In the presentation of the recent budget Alistair Darling has announced that cider has incurred a thirteen percent increase, meaning a seventy-five centre-litre bottle will now cost nine pence more. This has left many cider consumers angry especially considering wine, beer and spirit duties will only rise by five percent.

We spoke to a Winchester local:

http://edublogs.tv/play_audio.php?audio=6831

(Written in way of a script, so numbers written as words)

Radio News day - Week two

Winchesters three prospective MP's were this week questioned on the ban of fox hunting, and whether the constant debate to overturn this ban was correct. Steve Brine, Martin Tod and Patrick Davies were the three to take part in the debate and were hoping to get the votes of local countryside campaigners and farmers, just months before the general election.

We asked local Councillor, Daryl Henry, of Colden Common and Twyford her opinion;

In: ...Its very difficult

Out: a different matter...

Return of the Beck

When Manchester United drew AC Milan in the last 16 phase of the Champions League, I do not think anybody could have predicted the emotions displayed at the full time whistle. The occasion saw David Beckham, a United legend and supporter return to his former club.

Being a Manchester United supporter myself it was hard not to wish a man who I had idolised in my younger years luck, and secretly maybe wanted him to score (although I failed to mention that to the lads in the pub).

Manchester United fans gave Beck's a tremendous reception and personally I think that meant more to him than the scoreline, which he pretty much overshadowed! Beckham even joined in the recent campaign against the Glazer families control of Manchester United by donning the green and gold scarf at the full time whistle, at which point he was almost in tears.

Personally, I hope this is not the last time we see Becks at Old Trafford. Maybe a bit far fetched, but it would be nice to see him return to his old club to see out the rest of his career.

Radio News day - Week one

Winchester's long standing Fire Station is set to be relocated to Easton Lane in Winnall in 2011 after a deal was done to turn the old one into affordable housing, something there has been much demand for in recent years.

Bergate Homes are the company that have secured the deal giving the fire station a chance to cope with an ever increasing staff load by relocating to a larger site.

We caught up with the Station Manager of Winchester Fire Station, Dave Turner, to ask his opinion on the relocation.

*AUDIO CLIP* http://edublogs.tv/play_audio.php?audio=6480

(FOR THOSE WHO CANT UPLOAD GO TO EDUBLOGS.TV AND CREATE AN ACCOUNT WHICH WILL ALLOW YOU TO UPLOAD MP3 - THEN SIMPLY POST A LINK ON YOUR BLOG)

The development of the new housing is said to be costing around £10 million, with the new fire station costin £4 million.

Immanuel Kant - HCJ - Lecture 2

HCJ – Lecture two

Kant

Kant:

Immanuel Kant was the last influential philosopher in the theory of knowledge, following on from people we have covered such as Locke, Berkeley and Hume. Kant was a liberal thinker and his ideas on noumenal objects were supportive of those same ideas that Hume and Berkeley had. Kant believed that when you looked away from an object, or stopped perceiving it, it stayed there, but was not the same; when you begin perceiving the object it becomes phenomena. So if you was in a room with no windows and no doors, then Kant would have believed that anything outside of that room was different to what it would be if it were being perceived through a window. Berkeley had a similar notion in that he believed when you do not perceive something it does not exist, or that it flashes in and out of existence, Berkeley believed that God was to blame for this. This would have been because at the times of his philosophy, anything un-explainable was considered an act of God. Hume, however believed that there is no causation in nature, only in our minds the objects are there; anything that you can see is in one’s eyes only.

Kant’s morality

In Kant’s opinion something is only good if it can be legislated as a universal law. This was in opposition to utilitarianism, which is the greatest good for the greatest number. Kant would believe that making all the money would bring all the pleasure. However, utilitarianism would reject this notion as not everyone can be rich. The morality by which Kant lived by also included the theory that any kind of lie is bad, and that the whole World ending would be better than someone telling a lie. So telling an axe murderer where your friends are so he can kill them would be better than lying to save them. Regardless of the outcome, the intent one has is most important. Kant believed that if you were doing something morally right in order to gain respect than it was wrong, but if you were doing something morally right, just because you know it is morally right than it is a good thing.

HCJ - Lecture 1 - Semester 2 - Liberty/Liberalism

In the first semester we discussed certain philosophers who believed that the individual should have more power, therefore more freedom. These philosophers include people such as John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In order to achieve the Liberalism and to give power to the individual each should be given the equality of opportunity, however also freedom should be more important than equality itself. This fits in nicely with the views of three important Liberal figures: John Wilkes, Mary Wollstonecraft and J.S Mill.

John Wilkes:

Wilkes was an ugly fellow and was somewhat well known for his bad looks! Although this is the case, it did not deter from the fact that he was man of strong opinion and actually established laws that journalists use today. He was a very rebellious character and a member of the Hellfire Club, which were a group that pretty much did whatever they pleased. Wilkes was also the co-writer of, what was at the time, described as the dirtiest poem in the English language: 'Essay on Woman'. It was for his rebellious behaviour that he was liked so much by common people of England, and was elected Mayor of London.

Wilkes importantly for us today established a law that allows us to report on parliament. This consequently giving journalists of the time more freedom, and therefore more power. This links in well with the notion of liberalism and giving the public more knowledge on what actually happened in the politics of their country. In 1762 the 3rd Earl of Bute, John Stuart was appointed Prime Minister by King George III. This was extremely opposed by Wilkes, and he showed his hatred for the King and Stuart when he, although it could not be proved, published a newspaper opposing the King's 'North Briton', with the 'South Briton'. The South Briton was a much loved newspaper, and included scandalous insults on Stuart and the King, including one story claiming John Stuart was having a relationship with the King's mother. The King done everything in his power to stop Wilkes, including bribery and prosecution; neither being successful. In Issue 45 of the South Briton, the publisher accused the King of being a liar, to which a general warrant was issued and Wilkes was arrested. There was no proof and Wilkes consequently sued the government. This sort of behaviour was generally unheard of at the time, however Wilkes won the case, displaying a further power for the individual and a greater step towards a liberal England.

It began to go down-hill for Wilkes when his 'Essay on Woman' poem was read aloud in Parliament by Lord Sandwich (the inventor of the sandwich!) causing pandemonium. Wilkes fled to France, but upon his return was arrested. This did not cease his popularity though, as he regained his seat from prison, however the house voted Wilkes incapable of being elected. Wilkes also pushed for more freedom in the form of complete male suffrage, thus giving every man the ability to vote. This because at the time only people of certain standings within the community had the vote.

Mary Wollstonecraft:

Mary Wollstonecraft had a very hard early life, her father was obsessed with public standing, which led to his inevitable downfall, and she was forced to work as a governess in Ireland for extremely poor pay. She had an extreme passion for education and most importantly, giving women the same education as men. She believed that women were only given this education by which they were taught superficial things such as how to cook, clean or sew; the things that were expected of a woman in those days. She believed that women ere entitled to a freedom of knowledge and that they should be given the equality of opportunity. In Mary's opinion, women were too quick to accept this education, and she was in general critical of women as a whole, and not men, who may have been seen as the people to implement this method of education.

Wollstonecraft would have supported John Locke's theory that the human has nothing in their mind to start off with, and that everybody starts with this 'blank slate'. The majority of men at the time would have believed this applied only to men, whereas Locke and Wollstonecraft believed it to be all humans. She published her first book, 'Thoughts on the Education of Daughters', this was described as a 'self-help' book that gave women advice on not only how not to accept the conventions of education, but also gave etiquette and morality advice, as well as guidelines on how to care for infants.

Another philosopher who intrigued Wollstonecraft was Jean-Jacques Rousseau; even though she was in awe of him she was also critical of him; Mary was fully supportive of the French Revolution and the tearing down of the old regime, which was mainly driven by Rousseau, however, she had previously pleaded with the leaders of revolutionary France to ignore Rousseau's views of women and to grant them full equality.

Wollstonecraft's most famous publication was the Vindication of the Rights of Women; this was diagnosis of the current state of female manners, and was not an attack on society for treating women the way they did, but rather aimed at middle class women to ask them why they were accepting these conventions. It metaphorically put a mirror in front of the female population, and was seen as a well needed wake up call. The vindication was given a very warm response.

J.S. Mill

J.S. Mill was an important figure for political liberalism. He was a son of a philosopher, and was grandson to Jeremy Bentham, the creator of utilitarianism. He was a very smart young man, however this could have been seen to be his downfall when at 20 he had a nervous breakdown. William Wordsworth was an important figure in his life, and his poetry helped him through his tough time. Mill was a big supporter of liberty and said that 'freedom of speech is an absolute, never silence an opinion'. This something that Descartes would have approved in. Descartes believed that until something was proved beyond reasonable doubt then it could not be dismissed. Therefore, one persons opinion is as important as 100 peoples opinion. The notion Mill had was 'do and think what you want as long as it does not harm anybody'. Examples we had in the lecture was a policeman can get drunk everyday, as long as he is sober for his day of work.

Utilitarianism is the greatest good for the the greatest number and was a method thought up by Jeremy Bentham, primarily to help aid the poor law reformation in England. He believed that individuals should have economic and personal freedom, separation of Church and the State, freedom of expression, equal rights for women and laissez faire, which is free trade. All of these beliefs were held in high regards and taken upon knot only by Mill, but by others including Mill's father, James, and political leaders such as Robert Owen.

Media Law (6) - notes

Copyright:

• Similar to theft as it is taking someones work and passing it off as your own.
• The person who originally published this work could sue you if they did not grant you or sell you permission to use their work.
• Original act was in 1911 but was updated in 1988 for technological advancements such as photography.
• If it was not for copyright then journalism would not exist: no copyright, no profit.
• Any work you do belongs to you unless you are contracted to give it up or you sell it.
• wages or fees are often substituted for the right of your work
• If you are freelance then you can sell your work for whatever price you please. For example if you get the last photograph of David Beckham before he dies and you are freelance you could sell it for millions. On the other hand, if you are a working for The Sun and you get this photograph, they will sell it for millions. You will get your £100 usual rate!
• It is very important to understand that there is no copyright in ideas or facts and information.
• The Da Vinci Code case:

Dan Brown the author of the Da Vinci Code was sued in 2007 by two authors who claimed to have published a similar story to his some years before. Even though what they were saying was true, the stories were similar, there was no direct lifting from Brown and the judge ruled that there was no copyright in idea of this sort.

Media Law (4) - notes

Qualified Privilege:

• Common law QP is one of the best defences for defamation.
• The defence has to prove that the statement they have made was in the 'public interest'.
• The publication also has to be free from malice
• For the judge to decide, he/she will look at the whole career of publications in order to determine if the journalist in question generally reports accurately and fairly.
• The Toogood Vs Spyring case:

Spyring accused his butler Toogood of stealing silverware so fired him. When Toogood went to get another job Spyring was asked for a reference to which he mentioned about the incident. Toogood attempted to sue claiming it would be impossible for him to get a job elsewhere, however the appeal was rejected as it was judged that Spyring was acting in the public interest.

• Another important case for QP is the Reyonlds Vs Sunday Times:

The Times published a story that the then Prime minister of Ireland, Albert Reynolds knew about the Catholic Churches priests child abuse. Reynolds unhappy at this sued for libel but failed as the Times proved that it was in the public interest. However, the case was made very hard to judge as The Times omitted the Prime minister's response from the time of accusation, therefore meaning that he was being victimised and not being treated fairly. Subsequently this case was the starting point of the Reynolds test by which further tricky defamation cases would be measured against:

1. The seriousness of the allegation.
2. The nature of the information and whether the subject matter is of public concern.
3. The source of the information.
4. The steps taken to confirm/verify the information obtained.
5. The status of the information. Has it already been subject to investigation.
6. Urgency.
7. Was the Claimant’s comment sought.
8. Does the article contain the ‘gist’ of the Claimant version of events.
9. What is the tone of the article. Should avoid making allegations a statement of fact.
10. circumstances of the publication concerning the timing.

Media Law (3) - notes

Defamation:

• People consider their reputation when attacking someone for defamation.
• The person does not have to prove they have been defamed; the person being accused of publishing a defaming statement has to prove it is not.
• Dr Joe Rahamim is an example when it was accused he was not good at his job by channel 4 news/ITN and was awarded one million pounds. They said he was probably responsible for the death or serious injury to many of his patients. Channel 4 also had to retract their statement.
• The dead cannot be defamed.
• A third party cannot sue on a defamed ones behalf.
• Slander is different as it is not permanent, you may still be sued for it, however journalists rarely get sued for slander as anything they publish is often permanent.
• Internet libel = bad! Becomes international.
• Libel requires:

1. exposing defamed to ridicule/contempt
2. causes them to be shunned/avoided
3. discredits them
4. lowers them generally

• Malice is lies, and for publishing a malicious statement not only will you be sued but could also face police prosecution.
• Defences for defamation:

1. Justification - If the information is true then cannot be defamatory.
2. Fair comment - an opinion and not fact (often done in the way of a cartoon).
3. Absolute and qualified privilege.

Media Law (2) - notes

There are three basic legal principles:

1. Presumption of innocence until proven guilty beyond any reasonable doubt.
2. Justice seen to be done - accusation of law breaking must stand up in court.
3. Evidence based - so the right to have evidence tested in front of a jury.

In England there are six Crown Courts, with two presiding judges; their key functions are to try indictable crimes which are sent from the Magistrates court, cases sent for sentences which cannot be administered in a lower court and to hear appeals.

• Magistrates Court - deals with family matters/disputes such as divorce, child benefit.
• Most court cases are protected by the human rights act which allows us and anybody else the freedom to sit in; the exceptions are adoption cases, family matters and official secrets.

Contempt:

• Anything that will cause a prejudice opinion in court is considered contempt.
• reporting opinions expressed by jurors.
• anything that interferes with course of justice.
• any breach of a court order.

Media Law (1)

In the UK there is no written fundamental law for the media or journalists. There are however statute laws, historical documents and case laws that prevent certain publications, and these these laws are enforced through many different court systems.

The Supreme Court is the highest court, although cases here are often appeals from the next court down which is the High Court. This is divided into three:
1) Queens Bench - compensation claims/breach of contract
2) Family Division - divorce/welfare claims
3) Chancery Division - bankruptcy

A good example of a family division case heard in the High Court is the Diane Blood case in which a woman fought for the rights of her children to be given their deceased father's name even though he had died months before their posthumous conception.

The Civil and Criminal Courts deal with civil disputes and acts that are either anti-social or criminal law. As oppose to cases heard in the Supreme and High Courts, the Civil and Criminal cases are heard as Smith Vs Smith as oppose to Queen Vs Smith. The criminal courts are organised using a hierarchy:
1) Crown Court/Old Bailey
2) County Court
3) Magistrates Court

In a court room, if the jury are not convinced beyond reasonable doubt then the defendant is NOT guilty.

Cape Town joy for England

After all the build up and hype surrounding the 2010 football World Cup, the draw for the first round group stages was announced today. Many in England are hopeful for the nations chances in South Africa following an almost perfect qualification campaign; but lets face it everyone fancies England before a major competition.

The optimistic fans will be boosted by what seems a pretty straight forward draw for the English, as they face the USA, Slovenia and Algeria at the first hurdle. However, the second round could prove a test: if England do qualify, they could face a tricky test against Germany or Serbia. Only time will tell if England will line up against their arch enemies.

As for the rest of the draw there will be some interesting fixtures; especially that of group G which is being labelled a group of death: tournament favorites Brazil, arguably the strongest African nation, Ivory Coast and Portugal will battle it out to escape to the next round along with rank outsiders North Korea.

Italy, Spain, France and Argentina all seem to have favourable draw and are poised to qualify from their groups, however at this stage of the competition no games are easy. Only 188 days to go until the tournament kicks off, and it can almost be guaranteed that all the players and staff involved are chomping at the bit to get out there.

Hampshire Council to implement 'driving under the influence' campaign

Across Hampshire the County Council are implementing a ‘driving under the influence’ campaign from the 30^th November to reduce the number of drunk and drug drivers.

     The Council are sending out 32 taxis with the slogan ‘you drink, I’ll drive’ plastered on the side in an attempt to persuade drivers to use them instead of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 

      This seems like a good idea, but the Council could surely look at other was to make the campaign more effective; cheaper fares or free bus services could seem more appealing to possible offenders.

      A recent road safety week was organised by a charity called Brake, and according to them 15,935 people were either killed or injured in 2007 due to intoxicated drivers.

      Many people who drug-drive often do so without realising due to taking prescribed medication, which affects their driving ability; this is now being highlighted on pharmacy bags as part of the campaign.

     As with the drink driving campaign surely there could be more done to prevent prescription drug driving, and the success of the campaign will reflect this.

    There are already deterrents in place to stop drink or drug drivers: doing so can land you up to 6 months in prison, at least a years driving ban and up to £5000 in fines.

      The results of the campaign will be interesting, and if it is a success the campaign will surely be implemented elsewhere in the UK. 

Will it be a white Christmas?

If you have poked your head out of the door recently, I am sure you would have felt the extreme chill in the air. Just a week ago it would have seemed extremely unlikely that we would be talking about a possible white Christmas, however with conditions this week being reported at 5-6 degrees Celsius, a lot of people are predicting snow.

Snow can be an exciting time for a lot of people, especially the young; a lot of people will also be hoping for snow in order to make their own Christmas experience that extra bit special. After all, in England all we usually experience is soggy leaves and puddles. Even though this is the case, people who are travelling around the Christmas period in order to spend this time with family or friends could face the hardships of delays and cancellations in public transport, and the impossibilities of driving; we all remember the immense problems caused by the snowfall in the early parts of this year! One thing that stands out for me about that time was seeing cars abandoned at the side of the road; if we do have a repeat performance I would advise steering clear of road use!

The temperatures for the beginning of the year that prompted those major snowfalls ranged between -18.4 degrees to 15.4 degrees, so if you are hoping for a white Christmas you could well be in luck, be sure to keep an eye on those weather updates.

Stats source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/hi/uk_reviews/newsid_7924000/7924118.stm

The Daily Telegraph/BBC Radio One - News Agenda

The Daily Telegraph is the ‘UK’s best selling quality daily newspaper, outselling its nearest competitor by a massive 255,840 copies a day’. Out of all of these readers 87.4%, on average, read it every day and 72% read no other papers.

The Daily Telegraph is mainly aimed at people who fall under the ABC1 bracket, 1.2 million of which are AB. It can also be said that it is more aimed at the male population, as recent figures show around 56% of all readers are male. In recent times The Telegraph has been nick-named ‘The Torygraph’, and from this we can see that it has right wing beliefs and reaches out to a Conservative audience.

Close analysis of ‘The Telegraph’ supports the fact that it is aimed at the ABC1 audience; advertisements used range from eco friendly cars, to business flights. One major comparison you can make between The Telegraph and a general tabloid newspaper is the use of car advertising: in The Telegraph you will find a Saab automobile being advertised for its ‘eco power engine’, whereas in a tabloid you will find a Volkswagen being advertised for its sleek design and high performance. The reason for this is that you will find a lot more ABC1’s who will have a high drive for saving the planet and the ‘Act on CO2’ policy. On the other hand C2DE’s, who are lower down the social spectrum will not be influenced to buy a car for these such reasons; they are more likely to be persuaded by an advert that promotes the cars attributes in speed, power and sex appeal.

The stories in The Telegraph are always consistent in content. Front page news is usually made up of political activities or War efforts: ‘Back pedalling on MP’s expenses’, this being an example of a recent headline. The ABC1 audience will be much more inclined to read about this type of story as oppose to a headline found in The Sun: ‘Katie’s not rushing home to kids’, which would appeal to the C2DE audience as it is about television, something that ABC1’s generally have little time to enjoy. In The Telegraph the stories have a lot more text and fewer photographs, on the contrary tabloid newspapers tend to have little text, but huge headlines and photographs. Having much larger size pages, The Telegraph has an advantage for appealing to advertisers in that it gives the adverts more exposure as readers tend to take longer on the page.

BBC Radio One is one of the most popular radio stations in the whole of the UK. It plays all the current popular music and chart hits, and after 7pm it also plays alternative music, such as dance. This makes the station extremely popular to the younger audience and the more C2DE social classes. It is broadcasted via different methods such as internet, TV and radio itself.

This music is reflected in the news bulletins that are broadcasted: One of the main stories this week for example has been about the cannabis health risk not rising, and police tackling internet knife crime. These types of stories would appeal a lot more to a younger audience and therefore mirrors the music played. Other stories would also appeal to many young people, especially those at school: one of the main ones that have stood out to me was ‘bulimia was my escape from bullying’, this not only would help young school children with the same problem, but also offers great advice and support lines.

On the other hand, a radio station such as BBC Radio Four which is the second most popular domestic radio station in the UK which deals with news, drama, science and history. One of the more recent programmes is called ‘farming today’, and this gives an example of what is likely to be broadcasted. Unlike BBC Radio One, the news is directed more at the ABC1 audience, news concerning trades unions and banks are more commonplace.

Handy Henry

The age old question in modern day football: Is it time for the introduction of the video referee? The mid-week World Cup Qualifier between France and The Republic ofIreland has sparked the grand debate once again.

So it's the first half of extra time in this epic match up between a brave Ireland, and a under-par France. The Irish had overturned a 1-0 home defeat in Paris when Thierry Henry handled the ball to set up William Gallas to snatch a winner and break the hearts of an entire nation. Now we have all seen a 'cheeky' handball before, but this one, it has to be said was absoloutely blatant. Despite Irish appeals the goal stood.

The after match debates have ranged from the Barcelona striker being labelled a 'cheat', to demands for a replay. Many argue, however, that a decision as important as this one could have easily been rectified with the aid of a video referee. Does a video ref take the unpredictability and passion out of the game? Or is football lacking the technology that other sports such as Rugby, Tennis and Cricket have adapted?

Henry has come out and defended himself against the claims he is a cheat and has told that he reacted with instincts. He even went as far as telling the officials of his 'mishap', and he backs the pleads of the Irish for a replay. Fifa have however ruled out this possibility.

Some may say that the Irish were unlucky, but it could also be argued that they should have finished off the French in normal time. Still the debate will go on to whether or not video technology should be introduced, and there will no doubt be more events in the future that will contribute to it.

Gutenberg, Caxton and the origins of printing - Journalism Now

In the year 1436 German inventor Johannes Gutenberg began inventing the printing press; it was complete in 1440. This machine, although requiring many tweaks over the years, remained the principal means of printing until the late twentieth century. Gutenberg had created the first machine that could print using movable type: each character is cast upon a separate piece of metal, therefore giving the availability to move the lettering around.

     Before Gutenberg's invention woodblock printing was used; this took a lot longer as the lettering was carved by hand. It was also extremely costly as the wood would have a short life span, so the lettering would have to be reproduced on a large scale.
      

     Early productions from the printing press were slips of paper sold by the Catholic Church to remit temporal punishments in purgatory for sins committed. This is what was known as a mass-produced indulgence but though only the wealthy could afford it, it was done on a large scale. In 1450 Gutenberg entered into a partnership with Johan Fust and legal documents suggest this is when he began producing the Bible. Fust entered into this partnership as Gutenberg was finding it difficult to fund the printing press - something Fust would be able to help with.

     All seemed to be going well, until 1455 when Fust sued Gutenberg winning possession of all the equipment and the almost completed version of the Bible -- this was completed in 1456. One year after the production of the Bible, Fust and former assistant to Gutenberg, Peter Schoffer, published the Mainz Psalter which featured red and blue text; this Psalter was also the first book to have the printer's trademark and imprint along with the date of publication.

      At this point it is clear to see the impact that Gutenberg's invention had on the advancement for printing. People were now able to read the Bible and not only saw publications as a reminder of the past, but also as a sign for the future.

     Even though Gutenberg had lost his invention to Fust, he was not finished. He created the new printer's outfit which was a set of small types with round, cursive handwriting an invention which really took off after Gutenberg's death in 1468. One of the most influential printers was a man called William Caxton. He was an Englishman who was the first to bring the print press to England (1476) and was arguably the best printer of his day. It can be said that Caxton was the important figure for printing in England and was therefore instrumental in getting English scholars heard around the world.

     The print press houses were so common that by 1499 more than 2500 European cities had one; also by this time 15 million books had been produced, which is a staggering amount. Obviously, the more books that were produced, the cheaper they became. And this, in turn, meant that wider groups of the public were able to enjoy them.
      

     Gutenberg's invention has proved extremely important to the growth of the media today. Such things such as propaganda have relied heavily on the print press; the 'Turkenkalender' was the one of the original works of the printing press and was propaganda against the Turks. It can be inferred that if Gutenberg had not invented the printing press, propaganda such as motivational signs during the World Wars would not have been able to have such a great affect. It also resulted in an increase in censorship, which was a sign that it was felt by those in authority to be dangerous and challenging to their position. 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zqgs4iS76c This link is a six part documentary to the invention of the printing press. I found it very helpful, and interesting.


Acknowledgments
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/printpress.htm (1)
http://www.britaininprint.net/introtoprint/road2BiP_hires.swf (2)
www.wikipedia.org (3)
www.youtube.com (4)
www.google.co.uk (5)

Media Law and Ethics - Week 5 - Secrets/Confidentiality

In this week's 'Media Law' lecture we discussed the three areas of the rights people have to keep secrets. The three main areas were state secrets, commercial secrets and the invasion of ones privacy (human rights).

The revealing of a state secret can range from anything such as accidentaly publishing a picture of a military building, to revealing the identity of an MI5 spy. Any building can be protected by The Official Secrets Act; if caught filming these buildings without any form of permission, you could run the risk of being in serious trouble. Even though this is the case, the building in question would have to display a clear sign indicating this, and if not, then you run no such risk.

Each person has the right to be sure that anything told in confidence will not be reported or disclosed to a third party. One of the best examples of this is a doctor-patient confidentiality. If a doctor decided that he/she wanted to tell somebody about a particular patient's condition without permission then this is judged as a breach of confidence, for which the doctor would be in serious trouble. Something like this is an example of a commercial secret. On the other hand, if the person telling the secret tells it to a brother/sister or boyfriend/girlfriend, the situation changes; there is judged to be no absoloute confidence in family members, and as a result there is no reasonable expectation for them to keep the secret. In order for us to know that the secret information is genuine it must have four things: quality of confidence, told in the correct circumstance (so not blurted out at a party in front of hundreds of people), no premission to reveal and it must cause actual detriment to the person.

One of the most famous cases to come out of the privacy law is that of Max Mosley. He had been accused by the News Of The World of taking part in a 'sick Nazi orgy' with prostitutes. At the time everyone expected Mosley to be fighting a losing battle as it was believed that he had no reasonable expectation for the prostitute not to reveal this. Mosley however was awarded a staggering amount of money in damages for the defamatory comments. For an overview of the full story visit http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/jul/24/mosley.privacy

The invasion of somebodys privacy is the third aspect to consider: one of the main ways we can explain this is in that of taking photographs (still or motion). For example, if one was to secretly take photos of somebody in their home and publish these photos, they would be in clear breach of this Human Rights Act. A main area that is being affected by these privacy laws is that or the workplace. Employers however, have a way around having employees tell secrets about the workplace or any dis-functionalities it may have. These are called 'gagging clauses': these are set out in the contracts of employment stating that if the employee reveals any work secret, they can be fired on the spot. This could inevitably work as a way around the beloved public interest law. A good case is that of Graham Pink, who in 1990 went to a newspaper and revealed NHS inadequacies in caring for the elderly; consequently Pink was dismissed for 'breaching confidentiality.' This behaviour is known as 'whistle-blowing', and many people have suffered the same fate as Pink. A good website for research on 'whistle-blowing' is http://www.pcaw.co.uk/ .

Red ball leaves Liverpool red faced!

So there I was watching Match Of The Day, when I witnessed one of the strangest goals in the Premier League match at The Stadium Of Light between Sunderland and Liverpool. A fifth minute strike which can only be described as a 'freak', hit a beach ball, that ironically a Liverpool fan had thrown onto the pitch. In doing this the ball left Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina totally flat footed and somewhat confused as he watched the ball (the real one) hit the back of the net.

At the time there did not seem to be much complaint or controversy about the goal, however post match interviews with referees and players seemed to change this. I share Darren Bent's opinion that if the ball was on the edge of Reina's six yard box, and was bothering him that much then he should have moved it himself, which he failed to do. However, former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher, believes the referee should have intervened to remove the beach ball, or instead of allowing the goal, forced a drop ball.

The arguments over this matter will rage on for years to come, but the simple truth of the matter is that Liverpool quite frankly did not deserve anything out of the game anyway, so to have robbed Sunderland of a historic win for something as bizarre as this, would have been a huge injustice. Even Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez believed 'he could have no complaints about the result'.