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In the decade 2008–18, between the eruption of the phone hacking scandal and the cancellation of part two of the Leveson Inquiry, the editorial position of The Guardian on press regulation went from indifference to demanding wholesale reform, and then back to indifference and even active opposition to change. Inevitably, this entailed reversals and contradictions, yet these were not acknowledged to the newspaper's readers, who are left with a misleading impression of continuity. This study, by an academic and journalist who campaigned for regulatory reform throughout this period, aims to shed light on The Guardian's 360‐degree progression by reference to its editorials and other published statements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Daily Mail's coverage of the 1993 race murder of Stephen Lawrence has been held up as an example of newspaper journalism at its best. It is a cause of pride to the paper, which has asserted that its 1997 front page accusing five men of the murder, and the comment and reporting that followed, brought about significant social and policy changes and helped achieve justice. The coverage has also been cited by the paper to rebut critics who accuse it of intolerance. Examined in detail here and set in their context, the paper's claims about its role in the case prove to be either exaggerated or not supported by evidence. The Mail's engagement in the Lawrence case involved a famous instance of editorial brilliance, but insofar as its campaign brought about or contributed to changes, they were not usually changes sought by the paper and they were sometimes contrary to its aims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Writing recently in The Political Quarterly, the journalist John Lloyd took issue with regulatory remedies for 'bad journalism' in the United Kingdom that were proposed by the Leveson inquiry of 2011-12 and endorsed by Parliament in 2013 in the form of a Royal Charter. State action will fail, he asserted, because only journalists can change journalism, and he urged British journalists to undertake this transformation. This response argues that Lloyd dismisses the Leveson process too lightly and takes too little account of the many victims of press abuses, who are entitled to better protection. A decent society had to do something about this, and the Leveson Charter process was a measured and constructive response that offers the best hope of higher press standards and of protection for ordinary citizens while safeguarding freedom of expression for journalists. Lloyd's proposal for action by journalists, by contrast, is impractical, not least because it ignores powerful forces preventing journalists from taking control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the launch of the pressure group Hacked Off to campaign for a public inquiry into the telephone-hacking scandal involving the newspaper "News of the World." It is noted that a public inquiry might be the only chance of ensuring that facts about the controversy were presented before the public. The possible impact of the campaign on the state and reputation of British journalism is explored.

Reporters and the public were outwitted after the mysterious deaths of young soldiers at the Surrey Barracks, writes Cathcart: "Knowing what we now know (and that is still less than half the picture), we should expect people to be held to account." The author believes that, "at the very heart of this scandal has been the withholding of information - reporters, families and the public have been kept in the dark" and he warns: "All this may be history now...but it is not without current resonance. Deepcut was left to run amok by the Army because resources were tight. Just such a squeeze is under way within the Armed Forces again today and there is no guarantee that commanders will not make the same, potentially disastrous decisions again." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]