inbrief... news


CLEESE QUITS UK AND BLAMES THE PRESS John Cleese is going to move to the Caribbean because of the ‘lying and the triviality’ of UK newspapers. The Monty Python star, who is a supporter of Hacked Off, told Newsnight: “I’m so disappointed with so much about this country at the moment … my particular beef is with the newspapers.”


BORIS RACES BACK TO THE TELEGRAPH Boris Johnson resumed his Daily Telegraph column just days after resigning as foreign secretary, in breach of the ministerial code. Former cabinet ministers are expected to wait for a minimum of three months after leaving office before taking up a business appointment, according to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments.


SCOTLAND FERRET SNIFFS OUT CASH Scottish investigative reporting cooperative The Ferret has won a $100,000 two-year grant from Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm created by Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay. It will enable The Ferret to expand its journalistic capacity.


FUTURE APPOINTS GUITAR EDITORS Magazine publisher Future has appointed editors for two guitar titles. Damian Fanelli heads Guitar World and Christopher Scapelliti is at Guitar Player. Fanelli was previously online manager at Guitar World, where he raised its Facebook following to more than one million.


GRANTHAM JOURNAL GOES BACK HOME The Grantham Journal has moved back to the street where it was founded in 1854, and will be open to the public five days a week. The regional weekly and website, which has moved to Watergate, had previously rented a shared office block with no public access.


04 | theJournalist


BBC politics programmes and commentary to be cut


The NUJ has raised concerns over BBC plans to cuts its political coverage, with the loss of journalists’ jobs. The Sunday Politics programme is to be


axed and Daily Politics replaced by a shorter programme. This represents around two hours of network politics coverage being lost on BBC1 and BBC2 every week, as well as the loss of eight journalists’ jobs. BBC Parliament is to lose all original


programme making and a third of its small editorial team. The channel will concentrate solely on live and recorded broadcasts of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, some select committees and proceedings in the UK’s devolved parliaments and assemblies. Currently, these broadcasts are accompanied


by on-screen information explaining how parliamentary procedure and legislation work, in line with audience feedback calling for more information. These cuts will result in the channel being unable to provide much of this information, making Parliament less accessible. Programmes to be cut include: • The Day in Parliament and the Week in


Parliament – round-ups and explanations of the day’s and week’s events in the Palace of Westminster.


• Conversations – long-form interviews with


senior political figures about their lives and careers, also shown on BBC2 and BBC4 • BOOKtalk – a book review programme • Speaker’s Lectures – historical lectures by


senior politicians that help to explain the current state of politics • Short films about and items explaining parliamentary procedure. BBC Parliament’s annual budget is


£1.6 million, compared with nearly £50 million for the BBC News channel and more than £1 billion for BBC1. Séamus Dooley, NUJ assistant general


secretary and Irish secretary, said: “We need to be able to see the work of Parliament and the expert analysis and explanations provided by BBC journalists.”


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The BBC has been refused leave to appeal against Sir Cliff Richard OBE’s privacy case victory, which could have a ‘chilling effect’ on press freedom,according to the corporation. If it wishes to overturn the decision, it will have to apply directly to the Appeal Court. Gavin Millar QC, of the BBC’s legal team, said: “The risk is a severe chilling


effect on the freedom of the press in relation to reporting police investigations.” The corporation had broadcast a raid on the singer’s home in 2014. Sir Cliff was awarded £210,000 in damages, as well as £20,000 in


aggravated damages because the BBC nominated the story for an award. Fran Unsworth, the BBC’s director of news and current affairs, said: “This judgment creates new case law and represents a dramatic shift against press freedom and the long-standing ability of journalists to report on police investigations. This impacts not just the BBC, but every media organisation.” Raymond Snoddy, Page 19


Irish Times buys Landmark group


The union has welcomed assurances from The Irish Times following its acquisition of the Landmark publishing


group. Séamus Dooley, Irish secretary, said: “Staff at all of the media organisations, including The Examiner and Echo, have endured a period of


uncertainty. We welcome the commitment of the owners to honour existing agreements and work in a collaborative way with the trade unions.


“The NUJ enjoys a positive


relationship with The Irish Times and our chapel has negotiated a number of agreements over the years.”


We need to be able to see the work of Parliament and the expert analysis and explanations provided by BBC journalists


Séamus Dooley NUJ assistant general secretary


Appeal refused in Sir Cliff Richard case


WENN LTD / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO


AMER GHAZZAL / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO


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