This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/may/09/leveson-inquiry-press-coverage
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Leveson inquiry press coverage 'overwhelmingly negative', study finds | Leveson inquiry press coverage 'overwhelmingly negative', study finds |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Nine national newspapers, including the Sunday Times and Daily Mirror, published no positive opinion about the Leveson inquiry in the runup to its report last year, according to academic research. | Nine national newspapers, including the Sunday Times and Daily Mirror, published no positive opinion about the Leveson inquiry in the runup to its report last year, according to academic research. |
| Out of the 37 articles printed by the titles prior to the report being published in November last year, not one contained a positive viewpoint and 10 reported only negative opinion, the study shows. | Out of the 37 articles printed by the titles prior to the report being published in November last year, not one contained a positive viewpoint and 10 reported only negative opinion, the study shows. |
| The nine titles – the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, Daily Express, Sunday Express, Sunday People, Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph, Daily Star and Daily Star Sunday – were part of a wider pattern of "overwhelmingly negative" coverage of the inquiry into press standards, according to the Media Standards Trust study of more than 2,000 articles. | The nine titles – the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, Daily Express, Sunday Express, Sunday People, Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph, Daily Star and Daily Star Sunday – were part of a wider pattern of "overwhelmingly negative" coverage of the inquiry into press standards, according to the Media Standards Trust study of more than 2,000 articles. |
| Dr Gordon Ramsay, the author of the report and a research fellow at the thinktank, said: "It is startling to see the lack of diversity of viewpoints in the Leveson coverage, not just in opinion pieces, but also from sources in news articles. | Dr Gordon Ramsay, the author of the report and a research fellow at the thinktank, said: "It is startling to see the lack of diversity of viewpoints in the Leveson coverage, not just in opinion pieces, but also from sources in news articles. |
| "It is also striking that, while expressing a clear view of their own, few papers gave the public the information necessary to make their own minds up about the future system of regulation." | "It is also striking that, while expressing a clear view of their own, few papers gave the public the information necessary to make their own minds up about the future system of regulation." |
| The study comes amid a prolonged stand-off between ministers and newspaper groups over the future of press regulation, with most titles backing a rival royal charter to that proposed by the government with cross-party agreement in March. | The study comes amid a prolonged stand-off between ministers and newspaper groups over the future of press regulation, with most titles backing a rival royal charter to that proposed by the government with cross-party agreement in March. |
| The Media Standards Trust is closely linked to Hacked Off: Martin Moore, the director of the thinktank, is a founding member of the campaigning group that has led calls for stricter regulation of the industry on behalf of victims of press intrusion. | The Media Standards Trust is closely linked to Hacked Off: Martin Moore, the director of the thinktank, is a founding member of the campaigning group that has led calls for stricter regulation of the industry on behalf of victims of press intrusion. |
| Its study found that negative coverage of the judicial inquiry "increased drastically" in the 100 days before the report was published, with articles in this period five times as likely to contain only negative viewpoints as only positive ones. | Its study found that negative coverage of the judicial inquiry "increased drastically" in the 100 days before the report was published, with articles in this period five times as likely to contain only negative viewpoints as only positive ones. |
| Newspaper leader columns grew more adversarial on the eve of the report, according to the research, with 23 out of the 28 articles containing only a negative analysis of Lord Justice Leveson's scrutiny of the press. | Newspaper leader columns grew more adversarial on the eve of the report, according to the research, with 23 out of the 28 articles containing only a negative analysis of Lord Justice Leveson's scrutiny of the press. |
| The tabloids were the most hostile: 34 out of 43 articles in those titles were found to be "negative only" by the researchers, compared with 62 out of 85 reports published by broadsheet newspapers, in the 100 days before publication. | |
| The critical articles were "overt and visceral" containing "strident language" that generally warned that Leveson's report would lead to political control of the press, the study shows. | The critical articles were "overt and visceral" containing "strident language" that generally warned that Leveson's report would lead to political control of the press, the study shows. |
| "The strength and vitality of the UK press stems in large part from its ability to present the public with a wide range of authoritative and accessible views on often complex policy issues," the report said. | "The strength and vitality of the UK press stems in large part from its ability to present the public with a wide range of authoritative and accessible views on often complex policy issues," the report said. |
| "However, the data gathered here shows that, where press coverage has expressed a view on the Leveson Inquiry, one viewpoint has dominated. Though much of the coverage of the inquiry during the public hearings was neutral, comment and opinion pieces were overwhelmingly negative." | "However, the data gathered here shows that, where press coverage has expressed a view on the Leveson Inquiry, one viewpoint has dominated. Though much of the coverage of the inquiry during the public hearings was neutral, comment and opinion pieces were overwhelmingly negative." |
| • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email media@guardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication". | • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email media@guardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication". |
| • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook | • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook |