Weekly Articles

The Sun and Daily Mail accused of 'fuelling prejudice' in report on rising racist violence and hate speech in UK - The Independent (11)

This article discusses a report examining The Sun and Daily Mail on “hate speech” and discrimination in the UK. The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) aimed some British media outlets, particularly tabloid newspapers, for “offensive, discriminatory and provocative terminology”. Its report said hate speech was a serious problem, including against Roma, gypsies and travellers, as well as “unscrupulous press reporting” targeting the LGBT community. This in relation to a trans schoolteacher who committed suicide after being outed by the Daily Mail newspaper. Other forms of hate speech have also been mentioned in this article, such as Kate Hopkins column in The Sun where she likened refugees as to cockroaches in one of her articles. The report by the ECRI called for the establishment of a press regulator, and said the two competing bodies currently in place were insufficient. It also recommended more rigorous ethical training for journalist and widening a clause of the Editors’ Code of Practice on discrimination

• The number of hate crimes recorded for the last two weeks in June has spiked by 42 per cent since last year.
• A total of 3,076 incidents were recorded across the country between 16 and 30 June

I agree with the ECRI as hate crime is on the rise as shown from statistics, and this can only be tackled if certain tabloids prevented articles that degrade ethnic groups and communities being published as this only fuels hatred and divisions. Journalists have a responsibility of understanding the difference between blatant racism and homophobia and freedom of speech. 

Donald Trump as president 'would be a threat to press freedom' - The Guardian (12)

This article discusses the view of the the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which is that if Donald Trump wins the presidency he would be a threat to press freedom. The CPJ’s board of directors passed a resolution declaring Trump to be a “threat to the rights of journalists and to CPJ’s ability to advocate for press freedom around the world”. Several issues in the past are recalled in this article, such as when Trump mocked a disabled New York Times journalist and called an ABC News reporter a ‘sleaze’ in a press conference. According to the CPJ Trump had refused to condemn attacks on journalists by his supporters while his campaign team had “systematically denied press credentials to outlets that have covered him critically”. The rally in Texas in February is also mentioned in which Trump pledged to “open up our libel laws so when [newspapers] write purposely negative stories… we can sue them and make lots of money”.

Personally I agree with this article as Trump clearly has no respect for the profession of journalism, and with his current attitude it won't be a surprise if he attempts to oppress the press and the work they produce