UK's Cameron calls for new regulation of press

[onehandle]

Source: AP

LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister David Cameron, confessing that British politicians and the press had become too cozy, promised Friday to hold two full investigations into activities at the News of the World tabloid and into future media regulation. Cameron said press self-regulation had failed and a new body, independent of the media and the government, was needed to properly enforce standards.

"The truth is, we've all been in this together," Cameron said at a news conference a day after the announcement that the 168-year-old News of the World was closing down because of a phone hacking scandal.

"Party leaders were so keen to win the support of newspapers that we turned a blind eye to the need to sort this issue. The people in power knew things weren't right but they didn't do enough quickly enough," Cameron said.

snip...

He said a judge will be appointed to lead a thorough investigation of what went wrong at the News of the World, including alleged bribery of police officers, and a second inquiry to find a new way of regulating the press.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/uks-cameron-calls-regulation-press-091120206.html

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Hmm. Government 'regulating' the press.

What could go wrong?

[LeftishBrit]

1. 'Government 'regulating' the press'....

Actually in the UK it's the press that regulates the government, which is just as bad as the other way round. Especially as most of the press is owned by right-wing billionaires who mostly don't even live in Britain.

If someone COULD regulate King Rupert and his pals, it would be a good thing; but I'm not holding my breath.

[Liberalynn]

5. We might as well just face it that King Rupert

and his cronies are shadow running and ruining the U.S. too.

[boppers]

2. It's the 4th estate.

Not totally sure how it works in the UK, but:
1. Executive Branch (elected president in the US, and their officers)
2. Judicial Branch (the court system)
3. Legislative Branch (the lawmakers)
4. Media/Information Branch (the 4th estate)

The UK might be a bit messier (lords? royalty? WTF?), but any branch which considers itself above the laws of other branches often creates... problems. Regardless of the system.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. '4th estate' was always unofficial

And when refered to as 'estates', it's normally the pre-revolution French usage:
1st Estate = the clergy
2nd Estate = the nobility
3rd Estate = the commoners

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estates_of_the_realm

And those had their equivalents in the British parliament:

The term in current use is now appropriated to the Press,<2> with the earliest use in this sense described by Thomas Carlyle in his book On Heroes and Hero Worship:

Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters' Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all.<3>

In Burke's 1787 coining he would have been making reference to the traditional three estates of Parliament: The Lords Spiritual, the Lords Temporal and the Commons.<4>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Estate

(And the 'Lords Spiritual' still exist - the Church of England bishops still get several automatic seats in the House of Lords, making the UK the only country in the world other than Iran to have official theocratic legislators; and there are still a few hereditary 'Lords Temporal' left, and well as the appoint-for-life Life Peers)

Your list is 'branches'.

[boppers]

4. Learn something new every day!

Thanks muriel_volestrangler!

[UpInArms]

6. errr ... the fairness doctrine has a nice ring to it

but according to Robert Bork, and the USSCriminalCourt, we just don't need any of that stuff.

[Liberalynn]

7. The Sherman Anti Trust

act has an even better ring to it, IMHO. Then I don't have to tolerate listening to Rethuglican hot air. I can stick to the Dem stations and papers. The problem is there are hardly any left, thanks to Thugs like Murdoch.

[defendandprotect]

9. +1 --

[defendandprotect]

8. +1 --