The 'Sun' newspaper is doing a lot of apologising for the way it gathered and reported news in the past. Today an apology was given about the way the Sun represented Mr Jefferies, a retired teacher, in January 2011. Eight newspapers have since paid libel damages to him as they vilified him as a 'peeping tom' and 'nutty'. The way it was reported suggested that he may have some connection to the death of his tenant Joanna Yeates. Her killer Vincent Tabak was later convicted of the murder.
Jefferies was questioned by police and released without charge but the press ran stories about him being an 'unmarried oddball' and 'obsessed with death'. It was the way that they took the views of ex-students and then presented him as 'strange' that is now seen as unethical.
Not only was it contempt of court it was also libellous and damaging to the reputation and life of an innocent person.
Consider the damage caused by irresponsible journalism. What other cases can you find where reporting in tabloid newspapers has overstepped a moral and ethical line ?
The focus now, with the current 'Leveson' inquiry, is how can we make our newspapers more ethical and responsible. Each day there are further revelations about phone hacking and practices in news rooms that show journalism in a dim light. Many think that this outpouring of apology and regret is long overdue.
What do you think was the reasoning behind running these stories and does it reflect on our culture ? One could argue that it is the public's appetite for this style of story that led to this style of journalism taking root. At the time the 'Sun' sold 3 million copies a day, easily the best selling daily, and if you consider that each copy may be read by on average three people this gives it a readership of maybe 9 million. There are 60 million people in the UK.
Should tabloid newspapers be more responsible in their reporting considering the influence and affect they have on our daily diet of news ?
For more information look at www.guardian.co.uk/media for coverage of this story and the wider Leveson inquiry.
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