The Media Reform Rally

Last night I attended the Media Reform Rally at Westminster Central Hall, as organised by Hacked Off. It was a seminar in just how feral the press can get.
The rollcall of speakers each gave their own experiences and perspectives. Some frightening, in how the press can tread over people's lives in order to get their own way in a manner which would do the secret police in a dictatorship proud. In fact the former Crimewatch presenter Jacqui Hunt nearly burst into tears when relating her story.
Owen Jones spoke about the need for better Union representation and that Murdoch's attack on the unions made it hard for staff to stand up for themselves or speak out within the News Corp environment.
Former Daily Star reporter, Richard Peppiat, who resigned from the Desmond stable and gave a public letter giving his reasons to The Guardian, stated that the media defence of their behaviour is rather pathetic when you look at it, that it is like defending public hangings because they draw a good crowd and that they are hardly holding the powerful to account when tabloids playing guessing games as to which soap actress's knickers are on the bedroom floor of which footballer!

 Hugh Grant made the important point that, in the flurry of reports about horses and texts one can easily forget that there is more than one newspaper group involved in using dubious resources to make stories. The motorman files make that clear, he said, and that more than one paper used a convicted criminal for their information.Why, he asked, has not one journalist been prosecuted?

Harriet Harman looked at the relationships between politicians and journalists, that Jeremy Hunt has shown that he was not prepared to obey the rules and the law and that this is an historic opportunity to solve these problems and make sure that neither politicians or press get too powerful. She suggested a "knife amnesty" for the press in getting to the root of finding out what happened!

Tom Watson was one of the last speakers and was cool, calm, and stated the obvious in a meaningful way as per usual. Such as asking what do we know about the Murdoch empire that we didn't ten years ago? What does it take for someone to be declared unfit to run a public company? Plus that politicians will come under enormous pressure to dilute Leveson's proposals and we must not let that happen!Later I got a chance to speak with Tom Watson and he stated further on the need for public support. One through letter writing, and sending postcards (such as advertised by Hacked Off) to one's local MP. The other is to make full use of Twitter and Facebook in helping to share information and putting the pressure on the press and politicians alike to bring forward the results that are needed.
Much food for thought and the end, and a reminder that many of us have a role to play and there is much left to do!