Freedom and responsibility: The Leveson Inquiry Thomas Abraham

July 2011

News of the World- a network of corruption Widespread use of phone hacking (usually to hack into the phones of celebrities) Widespread use of private investigators to get private information including bank accounts, health records Bribing corrupt police officers and public officials for tip offs and confidential records “We pay big money for stories-it’s the business we are in”-Andy Coulson, former editor, NOW

A network of power Andy Coulson Rebekkah Wade David Cameron Rupert Murdoch

The Leveson Inquiry Ordered by David Cameron on 13 July 2011 to “make recommendations on the future of press regulation and governance consistent with maintaining freedom of the press and ensuring the highest ethical and professional standards.”

Who is press freedom for? Is it for journalists? Is it for media owners? Is it for the public? If it is for the public- what does the public expect from the press?

What is press freedom for? To sell products? To make money for owners? To win influence for owners? To entertain the public? To inform the public? To enable the democratic system to function?

Is there a universal legal basis for press freedom? The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Art. 19: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”

Can we jump from individual freedom to press freedom? A right of individuals rather than corporations “An argument that speech should be free…can’t cover the speech of News International or of the BBC, any more than it can be stretched to cover the speech of governments or larger corporations.” Onora O’Neill, professor of Philosophy at Cambridge University

National constitutions are more specific on press freedoms US 1st amendment to the constitution, HK Basic Law, and many other countries have specific provisions for press freedom. But these do not create a general global right to press freedom, nor explain the purposes of press freedom

Maybe political theory will help A key element in a liberal democratic political theory "The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” Thomas Jefferson

“Freedom of the press is essential to political liberty. Where men cannot freely convey their thoughts to one another, no freedom is secure.” (Hutchins Commission)

“There were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters' Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all..” attributed to Edmund Burke

The reasons for freedom also create substantial obligations To reflect public opinion To provide accurate information about important events so that people can form opinions To act as a watchdog and scrutinise government on behalf of the people

Are these obligations recognised? How are these obligations to be fulfilled, and what happens if they are not fulfilled?

Who guards the guardians? “The press provides an essential check on all aspects of public life. That is why any failure within the media affects all of us. At the heart of this Inquiry, therefore, may be one simple question: who guards the guardians?” Lord Justice Leveson