Justice for the common man ... and woman
There's been much in the media recently of injunctions and privacy laws. The PM has said the law should be reviewed to "catch up with how people consume media today" and that it's unfair that newspapers couldn't name individuals whose identity was being widely circulated on the internet. Twitter and Facebook, emailing and blogging is a major part of daily life for most of us - well, you wouldn't be reading this now if that wasn't the case.
I know from personal experience that views and perspectives that the public take from the media are not always the full story. Newspaper reports are often taken as ‘gospel’ and our local newspapers in particular have a duty to represent all views and rectify false accusations. Once something is written it becomes fact for some people and no amount of further evidence will change their views.
Over the past 18 months there have been many instances of defamation and libel against me and my friend on the letters pages of MaltbyNews paper and those responsible continue to send malicious and libellous emails, cc’ing numerous people into them including Maltby News, The Rotherham Advertiser and the Worksop and Dinnington Guardian. It is not a surprise that our letters about this issue do not get printed anymore as the malicious damage has already been done by the perpetrators.
Kevin Hall, editor of Maltby News is not a member of the group covered by the press complaints commission and so there is no course of action that can be taken apart from a civil one, which obviously is beyond the means of the general public. The police are currently investigating, but as per the Chris Read case in Rotherham, no doubt someone will discuss it with their line manager and come to the conclusion that there ‘is no case to answer’.
Kevin Hall, editor of Maltby News is not a member of the group covered by the press complaints commission and so there is no course of action that can be taken apart from a civil one, which obviously is beyond the means of the general public. The police are currently investigating, but as per the Chris Read case in Rotherham, no doubt someone will discuss it with their line manager and come to the conclusion that there ‘is no case to answer’.
It is only by the honesty and openness of everyone, including the media that ordinary folk like me can have the truth told. I'm not a celebrity and don't want to be one. But justice is for everyone, regardless of finances or status.
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