The Power of the Tweet
By Charlotte Plews
Monday 2nd November 2009
Monday 2nd November 2009
The importance of the internet on the Media has been profoundly influential during the last few weeks, from following Question Time on Twitter (@bbcquestiontime) to reading the Jan Moir article before or after the headline was changed (from 'Why there was nothing “natural” about Stephen Gately's death' to 'A strange, lonely and troubling death ...'). Questions about government and big business infringements of our right to free speech have been voiced loudest on social networking sites, the likes of Twitter and Facebook, in the wake of the Trafigura scandal.
This was the Cater-Ruck injunction preventing The Guardian from publishing a question posed in the House of Commons on the 12th October. The press is not unused to gag orders from legal firms such as Carter-Ruck, who specialise in prosecuting the Media. However, the 1688 Bill of Rights that guarantees free speech when reporting parliamentary proceedings, something Carter-Ruck chose to flout. Had Cater-Ruck and Trafigura maintained silence and let The Guardian report MP Paul Farrelly's question then most people would have been none the wiser.
Instead the Guardian published an article saying they were gagged from reporting Parliament, and the internet exploded. Twitter was awash with outcry at big business' attack on freedom of the press and speech. The Guardian's archives were searched, as were the transcripts for the House of Commons (Hansard), all available online. Soon speculation was focusing on the Trafigura question—about the dumping of toxic waste off the Ivory Coast. The Spectator went so far as to publish the question posed to Justice Secretary Jack Straw, while the BBC and Sky News were studiously maintaining silence. Carter-Ruck discovered it is very difficult to gag the internet.
The advent of this, the technological age, where newspapers can now be read not only online but via iPhones has seen print numbers dwindling. However, there is the distinct advantage of easily searchable websites. No more microfilms in libraries to comb through news archives. On this occasion, it resulted in the linking to and quoting of Paul Farrelly's gagged question; since it became essentially common knowledge the injunction became redundant.
The viral nature of the debate about the Trafigura scandal saw big business defeated by Twitter users, spreading their objection to the assault on freedom of speech. The viral nature of Twitter is a curious phenomenon, the ability to searching the so-called 'trending topics' allows users to see the most mentioned words—discussion then snowballs. Twitter also had heavy usage following Jan Moir's Daily Mail article, guilting the paper to change the inflammatory headline and likely prompting most of the 22 000 complaints to the Press Complaints Commission. Jan Moir should not have made the unsupported allegations about Stephen Gately's tragic death, but the paper should have been able to print it; which, of course, is very different from the editor choosing sensationalism over respect for Gately's partner and family.
What is worrying is that Cater-Ruck thought it permissible to infringe on the freedom of the press and that the judicial establishment, for a time, allowed them to. If it were not for the outrage that it stirred up on blogs and Twitter then a precedent could have been set for global corporations to cover-up their environmental and humanitarian crimes. The internet has seen a reduction in the numbers of people buying newspapers, however, the freely available news websites are seeing more and more traffic. While this speaks for the public's preference for free news, it allows for a wider audience and the liberty of the press. Even if it does include the Daily Mail.
Links:
http://twitter.com/bbcquestiontime
Jan Moir Daily Mail article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1220756/A-strange-lonely-troubling-death--.html
Gag announced
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/12/guardian-gagged-from-reporting-parliament
Gag lifted:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/13/guardian-gagged-parliamentary-question
This was the Cater-Ruck injunction preventing The Guardian from publishing a question posed in the House of Commons on the 12th October. The press is not unused to gag orders from legal firms such as Carter-Ruck, who specialise in prosecuting the Media. However, the 1688 Bill of Rights that guarantees free speech when reporting parliamentary proceedings, something Carter-Ruck chose to flout. Had Cater-Ruck and Trafigura maintained silence and let The Guardian report MP Paul Farrelly's question then most people would have been none the wiser.
Instead the Guardian published an article saying they were gagged from reporting Parliament, and the internet exploded. Twitter was awash with outcry at big business' attack on freedom of the press and speech. The Guardian's archives were searched, as were the transcripts for the House of Commons (Hansard), all available online. Soon speculation was focusing on the Trafigura question—about the dumping of toxic waste off the Ivory Coast. The Spectator went so far as to publish the question posed to Justice Secretary Jack Straw, while the BBC and Sky News were studiously maintaining silence. Carter-Ruck discovered it is very difficult to gag the internet.
The advent of this, the technological age, where newspapers can now be read not only online but via iPhones has seen print numbers dwindling. However, there is the distinct advantage of easily searchable websites. No more microfilms in libraries to comb through news archives. On this occasion, it resulted in the linking to and quoting of Paul Farrelly's gagged question; since it became essentially common knowledge the injunction became redundant.
The viral nature of the debate about the Trafigura scandal saw big business defeated by Twitter users, spreading their objection to the assault on freedom of speech. The viral nature of Twitter is a curious phenomenon, the ability to searching the so-called 'trending topics' allows users to see the most mentioned words—discussion then snowballs. Twitter also had heavy usage following Jan Moir's Daily Mail article, guilting the paper to change the inflammatory headline and likely prompting most of the 22 000 complaints to the Press Complaints Commission. Jan Moir should not have made the unsupported allegations about Stephen Gately's tragic death, but the paper should have been able to print it; which, of course, is very different from the editor choosing sensationalism over respect for Gately's partner and family.
What is worrying is that Cater-Ruck thought it permissible to infringe on the freedom of the press and that the judicial establishment, for a time, allowed them to. If it were not for the outrage that it stirred up on blogs and Twitter then a precedent could have been set for global corporations to cover-up their environmental and humanitarian crimes. The internet has seen a reduction in the numbers of people buying newspapers, however, the freely available news websites are seeing more and more traffic. While this speaks for the public's preference for free news, it allows for a wider audience and the liberty of the press. Even if it does include the Daily Mail.
Links:
http://twitter.com/bbcquestiontime
Jan Moir Daily Mail article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1220756/A-strange-lonely-troubling-death--.html
Gag announced
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/12/guardian-gagged-from-reporting-parliament
Gag lifted:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/13/guardian-gagged-parliamentary-question