by barry | Nov 24, 2024 | Campaigns, Press, Public Service Broadcasting, unions
On the evening of 21 November 1974, bombs planted by the IRA in two crowded Birmingham pubs exploded, killing 21 people and injuring 220. It was the deadliest terrorist attack in Britain during the so called ‘Troubles’. Within twenty four hours six men – Paddy Hill,...
by barry | Oct 3, 2024 | BBC, Campaigns, freedom of information, Government, Labour Party, media freedom, media ownership, media plurality, Press, Public Service Broadcasting, Vanunu
In January 2024 the Press Gazette reported that the UK saw the biggest drop in trust in the media and was the least-trusted out of 28 countries surveyed for the latest Edelman Trust Barometer.The UK fell to the bottom of the ranking, with 31% of people saying they...
by barry | Oct 3, 2024 | Campaigns, censorship, media freedom, whistle blowing
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has appeared in public for the first time since regaining his freedom last June after a plea deal https://thespark.me.uk/2024/06/25/us-enters-into-a-plea-bargaining-deal-with-julian-assange/. He told the Parliamentary Assembly of the...
by barry | Jul 22, 2024 | Campaigns, media freedom, nuj, Press, unions
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) will be able to enter evidence in the hearing into the cases taken by journalists Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney (pictured thanks to Kevin Cooper ) arising from surveillance by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, revealed...
by barry | Jun 25, 2024 | Campaigns, international, media freedom, whistle blowing
Julian Assange is about to have his freedom restored following a plea bargaining deal agreed with the U.S. authorities. The agreement announced early on Tuesday 25 June led to his release from Belmarsh high security prison the previous day where he had been held for...
by barry | Jun 10, 2024 | Campaigns, media freedom, nuj
A report presented to the Policing Board of Northern Ireland (PSNI) on Thursday 6 June revealed that 323 applications for journalists’ phone data including 10 attempts to identify confidential sources had been made by the PSNI. In addition, 500 applications were...
