In this episode we discuss the fall out of the BBC's coverage of the police search of Cliff Richard's home, how the government reacted and what happened in Richard's complaint that the police and the BBC violated his human right to privacy.

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On the 14th August 2014 the BBC broadcasted an exclusive story of British singer Cliff Richard’s home being searched by police. In this episode we discuss how South Yorkshire Police complied with the demands of an ambitious journalist, and how privacy rights were forgotten in the process. We study court documents of the privacy trial and uncover some bizarre and shocking details of what happened in the lead up to the BBC's aerial coverage of Richard's home. Was all of this in the public interest? Should the public know if a member of the rich and famous are being investigated for a serious crime?

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In this episode we discuss the defamation of Christopher Jefferies and the subsequent contempt of court charges against two tabloid newspapers - The Sun and The Daily Mirror - over the monstering of Jefferies after he was arrested on suspicion of murdering his tenant Joanna Yeates in 2010. Lawyers acting on behalf of Jefferies launched libel and privacy proceedings against newspapers: The Sun, Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror, Daily Mail, Daily Star, Daily Express, Scotsman, and Daily Record over their coverage of his arrest. Let’s examine whether these risked serious harm to his reputation and personal injury. 

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In this episode we will be discussing the Contempt of Law Act 1981 with regards to crime reporting. On the 13th of June 2012, Attorney General Dominic Grieve charged the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror with contempt following coverage of Levi Bellfield's conviction for the murder of Milly Dowler. The court had yet to deliberate on the charge of attempted kidnapping of Rachel Cowles before both newspapers released information deemed novel to the jury.

A fair trial is a human right and sub-judice must be treated as innocent until proven guilty. Freedom of expression is also a human right, yet one right does not outweigh another. We invite you to decide whether you think in this case, the media darkened the character of a convicted killer.

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Welcome to Bad News where we discuss the rules of journalism, dramatic media failures and threats to public interest news. This podcast contains adult themes which may not be appropriate for all audiences.

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