While researching yesterday's blog entry, I found the following interesting tidbit on a media and journalism forum:

“In the UK, a recent series of articles in The Daily Express reporting that ‘hordes of Gypsies’ are ready to ‘flood in’ to the country on 1 May provoked a strong reaction. The Minister for Europe, Denis McShane, called it a ‘rancid hate campaign’, with other MPs condemning it as ‘obscene’ and ‘racist’. What is particularly striking about this, though, is that the newspaper’s own journalists reported the stories to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC). They sought help from the PCC to protect them by introducing a ‘conscience clause’ to protect those who resist pressure to produce stories they regard as racist.

“Editorial pressure and interference — such as the fact that the newspaper’s editor, Peter Hill, admits that proprietor Richard Desmond contributes to editing the front pages — restricts the ability of journalists to write fair, balanced and truthful articles and stories. The fact that Peter Hill is a member of the very same PCC to which the journalists complained denies journalists adequate protection. The PCC ruled that it has no jurisdiction to respond to the journalists’ call. The issue has now been taken up as a campaign by the NUJ and a group of Labour Party MPs.”

When the Express's own journalists rebel against what they're being asked to write, surely some alarm bells should be set ringing…!