Media Law: Courts: Reporting and structure

The court system in England is divided into two parts: civil and crown (or state court). Both have a pyramid hierarchy that tries defendents on the severity of their offences.

Criminal courts deal with cases of a defendent against the Crown. Crown courts only try defendents for indictable offences meaning they can go to prison for 5 years or more. Mainly cases like murder, rape etc.

The civil side of the law deals with minor offences such as disputes over who owns a tree that overhangs two gardens for example. The civil umbrella covers all disputes both personal and corporate. From magistrates to county court, they deal with summary offences like public drunkenness.

Each-way offences are cases that can be heard in either a Crown Court or a Magistrates Court.

Laws can come from a number of sources. Mainly common and statute law and of course acts of Parliament. However in recent years, EU law has had a profound effect on law in this country.

REPORTING THE COURTS

The main pitfalls for journalists when it comes to reporting the courts are contempt and prejudice.

Contempt of court occurs when something is published that breaches the rules of court reporting by potentially causing prejudice. In 2002, Leeds United footballers Jonathan Woodgate and Lee Bowyer were accused of assualting another individual but were eventually aquitted after a newspaper printed an article with a relative of the alleged victim. This could have prejudiced the jury and therefore the pair would not have had a fair trial.

Prejudice is the other side of this legal coin and occurs when an article jeopardises the right of an individual to a fair trial.

When it comes to reporting the courts there are strict guidelines to avoid being hit by the legal sledgehammer.

In the immediate aftermath of a crime there are no restrictions in place on reporting. Every detail can be printed.

As soon as police make an arrest the case becomes LEGALLY ACTIVE. This now puts restrictions on what you can and cannot report and any material that COULD potentially prejudice a jury must be removed or not reported.

As soon as Police lay charges and a trial becomes the next step then only UNCONTESTED FACTS may be reported.

When it comes to reporting the trial there are 7 key steps from which a journalist cannot stray.

You may report:

- The name, age, occupation and of the defendent.

- The names of the magistrates

- Names of solicitors/barristers

- Date and place of adjournment

- Whether legal aid was granted

- Whether bail was applied for ONLY - not whether it was granted or not and arrangments

- Charges faced

In Crown Courts a journalist may ONLY report when a jury is present.

There are measures to prevent minors from being identified in court. Section 49 affords anonymity to under-18s in youth courts and Section 39 affords them anonymity in adult courts. Journalists simply cannot report the names of minors in court.

Following on from this, journalists must be careful not to fall into the trap of jigsaw identification. If a minor's name is not reported then by reporting details like how old they are and what school they go to may allow people to piece together these bits of information and identify a minor.

Media Law: Codes and Practises

Codes of conduct are, quite literally the rules and regulations that journalists must abide by. The main regulatory bodies and their codes of conduct are the Press Complaints Commission (PCC), OFCOM and the BBC's own guidelines.


The PCC code is important because it ensures that the industry has a degree of self-regulation.

Despite it's advantages, the code is fairly toothless when it comes to clamping down on journalists. The same can be said of the BBC guidelines.

Ofcom is perhaps the most effective of all the regulating bodies and regularly dishes out fines to media corporations for breaches of the rules. It is the only body that has statutory power and can therefore impose fines and even remove licences. Under OFCOM guidelines it is imperative that a journalist be both impartial and accurate.

In recent years, the BBC has been the most high profile casualty of OFCOM strict rules. Among other things, the body slapped a heavy fine on the BBC for fabricating telephone calls on the popular children's television programme Blue Peter.

On a personal note, I was working at a local BBC radio station at the time all of this came to light and received the blanket e-mail to all staff. From that moment on we had to ensure that every competition was above board and as a broadcast assitant had to log every call and hand in my sheet at the end of my shift - utter madness!

Media Law: Defamation, Libel and Privilege

If the journalism industry was mapped out like a World War One battlefield, with the journalists one one side and the story/news on the other and no-mans land containing a mass of legal snares. Mines marked "defamation" would probably be laid in large clumps ensuring that, should a journalist step on one it would quite simply be the end of him (or her, for those of you mindful of political correctness). Describing this experience was perhaps not as eloquently put as Captain Edmund Blackadder but nevertheless it serves as a reminder to all journalists how dangerous defamation is.


In simple terms, defamation occurs when someone produces a permanent (written or broadcasted) statment that affects an individual's reputation. Specifically if:

- it lowers them in the estimation of right thinking people

- causes them to be shunned and avoided

- if it affects them in the their trade profession or industry. Slander is the non-permanent sister of defamation.

- exposes them to hatred ridicule or contempt

When a libel writ is brought against a journalist for a defamatory statement then there are four defences.

Justification - I can prove that the statement (although defamatory) is true.

Fair and honest comment - The statement is comment based on fact and is an honest and fair opinion. Must also be in the public interest

Qualified Privilege - The statement is protected by qualified privilege

The Reynolds Defence - If defamatory material is in the public interest AND adheres to the Nicholls List. Must also be a product of RESPONSIBLE JOURNALISM


Libel laws in the UK are perhaps the worst in the world. Many celebrities bring a libel writ to UK courts because they know that they will win. A good example of this sort of action was when a famous boxer had defamatory statements written about him in a boxing magazine. Although not protected under US law, his lawyer proved that the magazine could be downloaded in the UK and therefore fell within UK court jurisdiction.

Journalists must also be aware of inference and innuendo. Television journalists must also be aware of 'wallpaper pictures' to ensure that no-one is postitively identified.

PRIVILEGE

Privilege is something that is afforded to journalists that allows them to report without fear of legal reprimand providing they stick to an agreed reporting formula.

Qualified privilege is a cast-iron defence against defamation providing the material is:

FAST/CONTEMPORANEOUS
ACCURATE
FAIR

Finally, it was interesting to hear a recent discussion that took place on Radio 5Live on the subject of super-injunctions. Victoria Derbyshire's show centred on a debate with Max Mosely about how super-injunctions should be lifted. One of the arguments from a caller was that a company who had take out a super-injunction in order to stop the world from finding out that they had dumped nuclear waste in Africa should not have been allowed to do so simply from a humanitarian point of view. Interesting to note that people are now wanting to apply common sense to super injunctions.

Time To Put Up And Shut Up

As yet more student protests over the tuition fee rises take place, is it now time to stop protesting and accept that the coalition government will not change its mind? Messrs Clegg and Cable have been reassuring students that this is the right way to go and it is hard not to agree with them.

Firstly, hats off to the Liberal Democrats who have proved how far one can go with an appealing election strategy. In fact their entire election manifesto seemed to read like a school council manifesto. It took me back to a time just over ten years ago when I started secondary school as a bright-eyed, enthusiastic young pupil. Presented with the opportunity to run for class president and thus secure election to the school council, I jumped at the chance. My aims were plain and simple. The opposition however, chose to make lavish promises like a longer breaktime among other things. Naturally they were elected, consigning my fledgeling political career to the history books.

Quite simply, this macrocosm can be applied to the bigger microcosm of modern Britain. Students were duped into thinking that by signing a pledge drawn up by the NUS, the Lib Dems were going to make students their niche voting strategy. Did anyone not stop and think for a second that this was not a legally binding document? Clearly not and this says to me that elections are now more about the electorate than the politicians themselves.

Perhaps students should look at this in a different way. If fewer people can afford to go to university then surely that drags up the value of a degree. Maybe universities themselves will now do away with so-called "mickey mouse" degrees and pump that reserve funding into other courses or improving research facilities. From a student's point of view, instead of protesting that it will be too expensive to go to a third-rate university to study, why not explore options abroad? Why not study in places like the USA or somewhere in Europe and gain a little life experience.

The Prime Minister's catchphrase when the cuts were announced was "we're all in this together" and some departments will have to sacrifice their funding. Higher education is vital to this country's continuing development but you could put your house on the general public taking to the streets in protest had the NHS been faced with such cuts. Unfortunately it is students who have to suffer this time around. Deal with it.

For an insider view on what went on in London at the first planned protest, here is WINOL news' stunning documentary:




(Picture: Jason Curtis)

Media Law: Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act, passed by Tony Blair's government has been described as one of the greatest levellers between journalists and the government in recent times. The act covers 130,000 public bodies. Mainly government QUANGOS but any organisation that is funded by public money is bound by the act.

The impact it has had on both journalism and government in the UK has been massive. Tony Blair, in an interview with Andrew Marr described it as one of the aspects he regrets the most about his time in office. Directly or indirectly, it had some affect on the shift towards 'sofa government', a style very much associated with the latter years of the Blair government.

It's purpose was to allow the public a more transparent view of what went on government. Any person can request any information. As long as it is submitted in writing, the organisation must respond 'promptly' with the accepted time limit falling within 20 days. However, if there is an indication that the information may be deemed to be in the public interest, the authority may delay providing the requested information for a further 40 days, up to a total of 60 days.



There are, as one would expect, certain exceptions to the rule. Absolute exemption covers areas such as issues of national security such as state secrets or court records. Interestingly, The Church of England is also covered in this bracket. Qualified exemption concerns issues from ministerial communications to commercial confidentiality. However, unlike absolute exemption, qualified exemption is voided if the balance of public interest favours disclosure of the information.

Of the approximated 100,000 FOI requests submitted per year, only an estimated 12% are from journalists. There are some who believe that journalists make requests as members of the public and do not disclose their profession. Journalists or otherwise, the cost of these requests amounts to around £34 million. As a result, many journalists have cottoned on to the power the act gives them, with some carving out an entire career from picking stories from the information gleaned from a request. Many see the current epoch under the coalition government as a high water-mark for FOI requests.

Money Burns A Hole In My Pocket. Thank God It's Not The Euro..

The accouncement this week that the Irish government had rejected it was in talks with the EU over the possibility of a 'Greek-style' bailout has highlighted the problems of the current economic climate.

It is rather worrying that the EU President Herman Van Rompuy has admitted that if the Euro fails then so will the EU. When the major nations of Europe ditched their respective currencies just under a decade ago, it was hailed as a new dawn for the continent. However, I remember even back then hearing my father, uncle and great uncle discussing the merits of a unified currency and how, in their opinion Europe would lose its financial clout as a result. How right they have been proved.

Many financial commentators predicted the move away from Europe and east to the developing economic powerhouses of China, Korea and Japan and with the decline of the Euro it appears that the smaller economies like Ireland and Portugal will be hit hardest. The Irish insist they don't need a bailout: their plan to make £13bn of savings by 2014 appears to have smoothed over the cracks. There is a danger though that the European Central Bank could withdraw their financial support and leave Ireland in the financial wilderness.

Sitting pretty in the UK with the happy sound of pounds sterling jangling in my pocket, is this now the perfect example of why Britain should never join the Euro...

(Picture: http://www.etftrends.com/)

Media Law: Privacy and Confidentiality

As with most aspects of media law, privacy and confidentiality laws are derived from wide-ranging acts and laws. Specifically from Section Eight of the Human Rights Act. This specific section affords any individual the right to a private life.

The only way around privacy laws is with consent, of which there are two types: Explicit and Implicit. Explicit consent comes in the form of a consent form or some type of document that states in black and white that (for example) a photographer can take a picture. Implied consent is a on slightly shakier legal ground but still holds sway. If for example, the European Cup Final is held at Wembley and Prince William is the official who hands over the trophy to the winning team then consent is implicit. The Prince knows that he is at a public event and that there are thousands in the stadium and millions of other people watching world-wide so therefore he cannot claim an invasion of privacy.

Confidentiality is the other face of this double-headed legal coin and is there to protect two specific types of secret. The bigger of the two fish in the frying pan is the protection of state secrets. Under the Official Secrets Act 1911, it is considered an act of treason to give away state secrets to an enemy (Spooks is also educational as well as thoroughly entertaining!). The other side of confidentiality relates to Common Law secrets. This ranges from business or trade/commercial secrets right down to family secrets.

Often in the commercial world, employers put gagging clauses in employees' contracts in order to legally prevent them from giving away secrets or "whistleblowing". Whistleblowers were in fact the reason behind many employers gagging employees. One of the most famous cases is the Graham Pink case. His 'whistleblowing' alerted people to the poor state of an NHS hospital. From a journalists' point of view, whistleblowers are vital in helping to fulfill the role of the 'fourth estate' and many helplines and websites have been set up to help whistleblowers confidentially tell journalists of problems particularly in public organisations like the NHS.

Finally, confidence is breached if: it carries the necessary quality of confidence. An official state secret carries a higher quality of confidence compared to letting people know that your girlfriend is a closet Star Trek fan for example. However, under the right circumstances something as ridiculous as your girlfriend being a closet Star Trek fan could amount to breach of confidence IF she has not given you permission to broach the subject and if it has caused ACTUAL detriment. If she returns to work and is shunned and avoided she can claim that confidence has been breached. Unlike libel laws where an individual can prove that information COULD cause detriment, confidence is only breached when it has actually caused damage to a person's reputation.

Media Law: Copyright

Ever since the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988, intellectual property has been protected from being used without permission. Over twenty years on, there is little material in the public domain that is not protected somehow by copyright.

Everything from books to films and from music to photographs that is original work has a copyright logo slapped on it somewhere. From a journalist's point of view, copyright gives them their license to write without danger of a story being stolen. On the other hand, it means that in order to do certain types of stories, copyright royalties can prove to be a right royal pain in the backside. Any music or footage owned and copyrighted by someone else must be legally bought and paid for, leaving the rightful owners with cartoon-like pound signs over their eyes as they imagine the money rolling in.

The value of a product rises due to its exclusivity. For example, the shots of Jonny Wilkinson's winning drop-goal against Australia in the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final is worth an awful lot of money purely because ITV had the exclusive rights to the tournament therefore affording them exclusive rights to footage of one of the most iconic images in English sport in the early part of the 21st Century.

Sports coverage is in fact one of the main danger areas of copyright, along with material from the internet and sites like YouTube. This is simply a nightmare for journalists: although classed as 'in the public domain' there are still strict copyright laws surrounding these areas making them a legal minefield. Photographs and film archive are also dangerous for journalists.

Despite the doom and gloom surrounding copyright, the issue of 'Fair Dealing' allows journalists to effectively 'lift' material from their rivals. This is only classed as fair dealing if a)the story is in the public interest, b)it is attributed and c)most importantly, it is 'fair'. As long as the main thrust of the story and quotes are accurate then a journalist can get away with fair dealing.

Crucially, this allows the wider reporting of news. Finally, it is acceptable to use footage/audio for criticism or review purposes providing someone talks over the top of it and if a famous celebrity dies, then it is also acceptable to use well-known clips from their career.

Award-Winning WINOL Still Lacking Journalistic Flair

Four weeks into the production of WINOL and it's about time I blogged on my thoughts on proceedings thus far.

All things considered the programme is now looking a lot more like a professional, well-rounded news and sport production. My role on the production team (and part-time presenter) has been a valuable experience and I have encountered many 'toils and snares' to quote a famous song lyric, all of which have furthered my education as a journalist.

The first week was always going to be riddled with cliches concerning rustiness and general lack of practise. To the team's credit, already by week two we were producing a bulletin that mirrored the standard that the third years reached at the end of last year. Similar standards were reached in weeks three and four, an effort praised by visiting guest editors from well-knows news corporations.

There are, however, a few minor issues to solve. Editorally, there appear to be few hard-hitting news stories with strong angles and pictures. Admittedly, Winchester is quite a sleepy town news-wise with only the odd parking issue rearing its ugly head now and again. On a positive note, it's good to see reporters working sequences into their packages and starting to eliminate the jarring GVs that smack of rushed filming and a general lack of pictures.

The sport team will always have the advantage of forward planning and has now reached the point where it can be creative and produce more entertaining news packages. It is easy for them to slip into a state of dependency on highlights rather than belt-and-braces news stories concerning sport. It would be nice to see a real sports news story rather than a procession of highlight reels.

The structure of WINOL is now easing the workload on the various departments. Consequently, the website now looks far more professional and eye-catching. The fact that content is pouring into the system is fantastic and, coupled with the drive to include more visual content (pictures and video), the website is now like a living, breathing organism compared to the asthmatic, forgotten runt of the litter it appeared to resemble a year ago. As a member of the production team, it's great to be able to come up with clever, pun-laden headlines when subbing a story.

Let's hope that by Christmas we can pull our socks up even further still and challenge for some serious student media awards. In my opinion, they can start engraving the trophy now. Here is the latest bulletin exclusively for your viewing pleasure.

Cameron Reveals Velvet Glove To Cover Iron Fist

Prime Minister David Cameron's announcement of the government's promise to push economic growth appears to have kicked the "spending cuts" political football into touch. With taxpayers set to bear the brunt of the Chancellor's axe, the promotion of something positive appears on the face of it, to be a handy distraction from the doom and gloom in the wake of last Wednesday's PMQs.

Mr Cameron's speech to the CBI promised an increase in funding for new businesses to work in tandem with the cuts, in a bid to balance the books in five years time. Has no-one else spotted the gaping hole in the Prime Minister's plan? Where is all this money going to come from?

The liquidation of several QUANGOS combined with the cutting of nearly half a million public sector jobs will free up a certain amount of money but to announce a brand new business initiative along with a proposed £30bn transport project smacks of a want to create a lasting legacy.

The plan to cut public sector jobs and recreate them in the private sector is surely going to have a detrimental effect on economics. It could potentially start another vicious circle of borrowing that plunged this country into its current economic woe.

On the other hand, the Prime Minister's transport plan is something that has been a long time in coming. Rising train fares and the drive to get more people using public transport (among other things) is something that desperately needs addressing. However, Mr Cameron was keen to stress that timing was vital in ensuring economic stability and perhaps his timing in announcing a multi-million pound investment in transport needs to come after the proverbial green shoots of recovery have begun to bloom.

I may be wrong. Hitler dragged Nazi Germany out of economic strife by creating jobs that updated and modernised infrastructure. Here's hoping the comparisons with the current UK administration end there...

(Picture: www.bbc.co.uk)

Borough Council Yet To Feel The Pinch

Nationally, the Coalition Government is announcing cut-backs in nearly every sector including their self-styled 'Bonfire of Quangos'. Yet, looking at the manifestos for my local government by-elections, it seems as if the tight purse-strings haven't quite reached the West Country yet.

While Mr Cameron's minions announce yet more funding cuts and job losses, it seems that party policy of all three heavyweights in Swindon is intent on investment rather than cutting back. The Conservative-led council has developed a reputation for doubling back on election promises (perhaps we should have seen this coming with child benefits). Over the last 18 months or so, promises to make the town a leading ambassador of the new green economy and plans to introduce a free wi-fi internet connection for all to name but two, have slowly slipped under the radar.

What will change under a new council? Everything, according to Labour and the Liberals but in reality, they will slide into obscurity and decide to blow the whole budget installing state-of-the-art traffic lights on a roundabout or something equally as pointless.

On a national scale, oh how these Liberal types have made me laugh over the last few days. Students in particular, the great champions of the liberal cause during the election, have angrily renounced their support for Mr Clegg and co after they appear to be sat twiddling their thumbs in the corner following Lord Browne's recommendation to increase student tuition fees. Well they did promise change didn't they? Just not quite what we were expecting...

(Picture: www.swindonclimate.org.uk)

Who Needs The National Lottery When You've Got Libel Laws

Defamation and subsequent libel cases are a constant pain for journalists. From my own experiences writing stories or scripts, I have realised how vital it is for a journalist to have their legal head screwed on at all times.

It was shocking to see an article in Monday's Guardian, revealing a 10-year high for libel cases in the UK. According to a leading law company, the 'weaker' defamation laws set the bar so low that defamation writs to the high court have increased by 15% in the past year alone and over the past 3 years, have nearly doubled.


These are frightening statistics and highlight precisely how easy it is to manipulate the libel laws in the UK. Is this however, just a sign of the world that we live in? Jason Lewis, a partner of the law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain says that libel action has increased because of the digital age and the huge data resource of the internet. Defamatory material can now be read or watched all over the world.

The Coalition Government announced in July that it will oversee a major overhaul of the libel laws in this country. The libel culture has become such an easy way to make money let's hope the powers that be don't renege on another of their promises...

(Article from The Guardian -http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jul/09/libel-law-review)

Time To Hand Football Back To The Fans

This week a potential landmark court case will be heard over the issue of sports broadcasting rights. The issue surrounds a Portsmouth landlady who, in a bid to tackle rising costs, removed Sky Sports from her pub and replaced it with a European-based viewing card. As this is in breach of broadcasting rights, she has taken her 'freedom of trade' argument all the way to the European Court of Justice in a bid to secure fairer rights for all.

Sky paid £1.8 billion for exclusive broadcasting rights to the Premier League and it's understandable that these costs are now being passed onto the consumer. In a typical large-ish pub, the owner would expect up to 200+ customers on the afternoon of a big game. Compared to a typical household of 4 people then there is a significant increase in viewers from one source.

Sky's massive investment since the start of the Premier League in 1992 has pushed English football into a different era. For a long time they have monopolised the English market whereas their foreign counterparts don't. European broadcasters have no issues with their cards being used outside of a certain territory and this creates problems for Sky in particular.

However, it is about time someone stood up for the football fan in this country. Fans of other top flight teams around Europe can watch their team either on terrestrial or accessible satellite television but if they choose to attend games then they don't pay half their mortgage for a match-day ticket.

As a fan of a lower-league football club, I have never really been affected by multi-million pound contracts stopping me from watching my team. For a supporter of a Premiership side this could be the start of a whole new phenomenon. Let's hope for the sake of football in this country that we can start to watch world-class football at an acceptable, affordable price. Actually scratch that - why can't we go back to the 1960s when (in football terms certainly) everything was well with the world: World Champions, an open First Division championship and a world in which a defender could make a proper sliding tackle...

For more sports stories like this visit my sports blog at http://sportingtommytrebski.blogspot.com/

Top-Heavy Economics: Clegg's Cat's-Cradle

The last few months can't have been easy for Nick Clegg and his 'put-it-right' Liberal Party. After entering a coalition with the Conservatives many commentators and passing observers have eagerly pointed out who is 'wearing the trousers' in their seemingly uneasy relationship. While the press sharpen their knives for the slightest hint of division, it's hardly surprising that the Liberal party conference has highlighted a number of troublesome issues.

It's fair to say that both sides have baulked on political ideals for the sake of the coalition and the Liberals' decision to make immediate spending cuts have not evoked a positive reaction in the commons and further afield. While the Deputy Prime Minister talks of a positively Soviet 5-Year Plan for economic recovery, he has back-tracked on his election rhetoric which included not making cutbacks as a knee-jerk reaction to the recent economic crisis.

Cutting through the spin in his recent interview with the BBC's Nick Robinson, Mr Clegg spoke of ensuring that the timing of the defecit reduction be governed by economics. All well and good nailing your colours to that particular mast in times of manageable recession. Lord Turner today added further fuel to this raging bonfire by claiming that bank bonuses alone were not responsible for the banking crisis and that ill-designed policy had done more harm than individual greed. Is there not something strange about this announcement? It sounds like Lord Turner has told the stable hand to shut the gate after the horse has bolted. Then to add insult to injury, to suggest that the UK 'move on' from demonising overpaid traders is quite frankly an insult.

Earlier this week it was announced that thousands of high-ranking government officials and senior civil servants earning over £100,000 a year, with over 1,000 earning twice as much. Is it any wonder that this country is in such financial ruin. Surely there must be a way to curb these ridiculous salaries and bonuses. Otherwise what will have changed? The fat cats still pocket their millions while the coalition becomes the new scapegoat. Yes Mr Clegg, inject funding where it is so desperately needed but taxing the public just to give it back to them is not the way to go.

As public sector borrowing hits a record high, let's hope for the sake of economic parity that Mr Clegg can deliver on his promises of stability. Otherwise certain quarters will be calling Gerry Anderson to make the deputy PM the 6th Tracy brother...

The Return of the Sleeping Giant

Newcastle United's start to the new season has highlighted a seemingly forgotten about jewel in the crown of English football.

The status of the iconic 'number 9' shirt has fallen by the wayside over the last decade or so with the introduction of squad numbers. Perhaps more importantly, the gradual extinction of the type of player that wore the number nine has also contributed to the erosion of its status. People of a certain age will remember the fictional "Roy of the Rovers" that charted the adventures of Melchester Rovers and their talismanic centre forward Roy Race, a perfect exponent of what the 'number 9' was all about. A big, no-nonsense striker who combined height, strength and skill to score and create goals. More recently, Alan Smith (of Arsenal), Les Ferdinand, Ian Rush and Andy Gray have been strikers who had success in the role of the 'number nine'.

The folklore of the 'number 9' is perhaps most fondly remembered on Tyneside with a host of famous players wearing the iconic shirt. Jackie Milburn, Malcolm MacDonald and Alan Shearer are Toon legends, all with proud goalscoring records.

Andy Carroll was handed the number nine shirt at the start of the season and has re-kindled my love affair with this neglected protocol of traditional English football. Four goals as Newcastle's brand new centre forward have rubber stamped him as a potential England striker of the future. Far from being the finished article, Carroll appears to possess the necessary attributes to be a traditional centre forward: his height enables him to win the ball in the air and act as a targetman. He's proved himself to be adept at scoring with both feet and has the strength to hold up the ball and bring others in to play as well as causing havoc in an opposition's back line.

A new, sleeker and more powerful breed of 'number nine' is emerging, exemplified by the effervescent Didier Drogba. Not since Alan Shearer has the English game had an iconic target man. The likes of Peter Crouch and Emile Heskey have never managed to carve themselves a niche as a classic centre forward but could Carroll step into the shoes of his hero and add his name to the long list of England number nines?

FOR MORE SPORTS VIEWS AND REVIEWS, VISIT MY SPORTS BLOG VIA THE LINK ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE

Tom Wolfe and the New Journalism

Tom Wolfe is someone to whom I owe a lot. Had he not effectively invented the concept of gonzo journalism then Pete Davies would never have written "All Played Out" and I would never have been inspired by its content.

On a strictly personal level I can see why this mimetic style of journalism is so appealing. The story told in this book (for many people in my generation) is a huge eye-opener as to what goes on behind the scenes at such a high-profile tournament.

The only story we know is the one shown time and time again on television: Gazza's tears and Stuart Pearce's penalty miss are so cliche that they almost now represent the entire tournament! (Even thought Chris Waddle also missed one)


The behind-the-scenes aspect of the book is reflective of psychoanalytical techniques associated with the "Me Generation". Looking behind the image of Gascoigne and his tears and the story behind it; the time spent by the squad and the experience they shared in such a short space of time. Fascinating stuff to read.

As for the penalties....well, the less said about them the better!

Existentialism - Why bother?

Existentialism is, rather ironically, pretty pointless as a theory. Popularised by Jean-Paul Satre, just after the second world war, It strikes me as a theory adopted by people who, quite frankly, have too much time on their hands.

Albert Camus's "L'Etranger" is perhaps his most famous novel and is often seen as a work of existentialism and it's hard to argue with that conclusion. A seemingly irrational killing of an Arab reminds me of one thing in particular.

The game "Grand Theft Auto" has an element of this. Not quite on the same level but I get the feeling that an existentialist philosopher would have tremendous fun playing a Grand Theft Auto game.

Existentialists - Get A Job!!

Watch out for another series of blogs on The New Journalism and the sexual revolution.

Gonzo Journalism Piece - Election night through the eyes of a journalist

"Why are you all dressed up for?" Angus Scott broke off from his lecture with the first years to look at the usually scruffy individual, now stood before him resplendent in a sharp, tailored suit. "I'm presenting today", I replied.

Angus rolled his eyes before returning to his preaching. The man who I'd modelled my presenting outfit on was casting aspersions on my fashion sense? Not the start I needed to what turned out to be a long day. The previous night's early bedtime was abruptly ended by my noisy housemates returning from what sounded like a pretty good night on the tiles.


I sat at one of the computers in the newsroom and logged on wondering what on earth the people in the mock interview were going to ask me. I had only come in early to attend the damn thing otherwise I would most probably have still been in bed! "Oh my god I love your braces!". I whirled round to see two of my colleagues admiring my braces before finding myself having to explain my need for wearing them.


After a while I glanced at my watch to find it was nearly time for my mock interview. I strode into the studio to find only two other people from my class stood there. Nightmare. I'm dressed up to the nines for this and no-one else could be bothered to turn up. What made it worse was the final summing up of my performance in what had appeared to be a very relaxed interview: "your answers were a bit long..."

Around three o'clock I was met by the familiar figure of Brian Thornton. "We've had a bit of a think and have decided we need a wider picture on the election as a whole", he said, running his hand through his hair before bringing it to rest behind his head. He went on to explain his plan about my role before I was to present. "Yeah, sounds pretty good." I told him and began scouring the newspapers before the first rehearsal.

I was hooked up and ready to go to a static talkback system that gave me the movement radius of a whale in a bathtub. The rehearsal started and It wasn't too long before I made my first appearance on camera. "Go Tom" I heard in my ear before coming out with a string of nonsense in order to fill the time. Wow. Felt a bit like being on Sky Sports News. It's unbelievable Jeff...

I could hear people behind me in the newsroom laughing and cracked a smile. A moment later, the main anchor Graham Bell came storming through the newsroom door. "That was brilliant mate! We need to get you on camera more. It's so boring otherwise." I nodded my approval and turned to Brian who's smile confirmed my new role in the grand WINOL election coverage.

It was not until well into the first hour that I made my first appearance. My pre-broadcast bathroom break had disastrous consequences: I'd forgotten to turn my microphone back on. "And now let's cross over to Tom Otrebski who's in our newsroom this evening. Tom how's it looking over there?" came the voice over the talkback. Silence. Goldfishing. Absolute humiliation. "Well we're experiencing a few sound problems there we'll be back over to Tom shortly....".

"F**k! Forgot to turn my mike back on!". I cursed my lack of awareness to the rafters. "Don't swear" came the voice of Chris Horrie over my shoulder. All that time going over the handover in my head beforehand: "Yes thanks Graham, I can tell you one thing for sure. David Cameron is not YET Prime Minister. Gordon Brown is not calling the removal men just yet.". Brilliant stuff. All lost to the sands of time because of a silly mistake with the microphone.

As time wore on I grew more accustomed to my new role and began searching for any nuggets of information I could share with our surprisingly large audience. Queues at polling stations. People being turned away and not allowed to vote. Dynamite stuff! I began waving frantically at the camera to try and attract attention. "Tom's got something to share with us. Do we go over to Tom?" came the director's voice. Excellent. Here we go. To my horror, Graham is describing word-for-word what I was going to say. What am I going to say now? "Thanks Graham....well.....um...just to confirm that people have been turned away from polling stations across the country....".

Before too long the counts began slowly seeping through which thankfully gave me something to talk about. Quick cross-overs, breaking news, crashing into packages - this is more like it. Brown holds onto Kirkcaldy. Before long Cameron holds Witney. Another update was scheduled so I adjusted my earpiece and checked my tie in the window to my left. "Ok guys quiet I'm just about to go back on air" I said to the handful of people in the newsroom. Chris came over with a fistful of papers in his hand. "Right. Ok. Say that Cameron has said..." In my ear I can hear the director telling presenter Claire to cross back over to me. "Um, Chris..maybe in the next update" I interrupted. He nodded and shuffled away managing to hide whether he was disappointed or not.

Later I heard him say "I want to hear from somewhere tonight that the Tories are like a boxer landing blows but not making any knockout blows." I quickly scribbled a note on my muddle of papers and made sure to remember to use it. Sure enough they were back in the newsroom and the cameras were on me yet again. "Well from the counts coming in so far, the Conservatives are like a heavyweight boxer making his long-awaited comback into the ring. They're landing punches left, they're landing punches right but they can't find that knockout blow Graham!"

Cue roars of laughter behind me. I turned my head to find Chris doubled over as he chuckled with a broad smile on his face. He knocked it up and I smashed it back down the line for the winner.

In all the excitement, I seemed to have forgotten that it was nearly four in the morning. I looked at the clock and in one smooth movement my eyes clamped shut. After earlier pouring three cans of Red Bull down my throat I felt like penning an angry letter to the manufacturers there and then. Talk about a baptism of fire. The news that the Winchester count was delayed didn't help things. The declaration was now due around 5am.

Luckily as packages ran out, the more the studio crossed to me which helped keep my mind focused; in some small way, I was glad that outside broadcasts were dropping out on a more regular basis. As a result, the two-ways became much more conversational. During one link I remarked that Swindon South was my home constituency at which point Graham moved the conversation around to ice-hockey and Swindon's least known professional sports team.

As the whole team held their breath for the Winchester seat declaration, I poked my head out of the open window and was met with the dawn chorus. A lovely sound but a stark reminder of how long I had actually been on campus for. I perched on the edge of a seat and realised for the first time how much my feet were aching. Like a poorly made car from the 1970s I seemed to be slowly falling apart piece by piece.

Despite it now being light outside, the way Stuart Appleby described the Winchester declaration was something that will go down in WINOL folklore. "He's won! Brine's won!" came the cry as the massively pixellated image of something that resembled Stuart with a microphone moved around the screen.

The feeling of elation when we finally went off air was indescribable. At last I could start to think about my nice comfortable bed again. After over seven hours of live coverage we had achieved something truly groundbreaking for a student broadcaster. For all the aching and fatigue would I do it again? You bet I would.

Swindon Humiliated On Derby Day

It was a day to forget for Swindon Town and their supporters as they were thumped 4-0 at home by local rivals Bristol Rovers.

3-0 down at half-time, it was always going to be a tall order for the Town to recover from such an awful start.

Read my latest match report on the club's OFFICIAL website

http://www.swindontownfc.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10341~49243,00.html

Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Eric Cantona....?

Friedrich Nietzsche is certainly a fascinating character to study particularly his concept of Ubermensch, an "overman" or perfect human race: almost the next stage of evolution for humanity.

The "Great Man of History" is a concept very much in the bowels of Nietzsche's thinking and can apply to almost every dictator, king or leader throughout history. In fact, it was Thomas Carlyle, the 19th Century commentator and historian who said that history is merely the biography of great men.

The Ubermensch strike me as having very similar traits to those who belonged to the Spartan society of Ancient Greece. Women were only alive to give birth to these overmen and would be judged in a relationship by their ability to create Ubermensch much like Spartan women.

Although quoting the film 300 may not be ideal seeing as the diaglogue is fictional, a quote from Leonidis' wife struck me when thinking of the Ubermensch women when she declares that Spartan women are strong because they give birth to Spartan men. Although largely liked by feminists because of his "be who you can be" thinking, it's easy to see why the man is also criticised for his mysogenistic ideology.

I came across this forum where the modern implications of Nietzsche's Ubermensch are being debated http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=96828

One of the issues raised was one that may or may not have tickled Nietzsche's fancy. The issue of genetic modification has always been a prickly subject not least because of the risk involved but also due to religious beliefs providing a barrier to further research.

Given the opportunity to ask the man himself just one question on modern society it would be this one. Is genetic modification the way forward in order to achieve Nietzsche's goal of an Ubermensch 'utopia' or should the process be a natural one?

Latest Match Report

Read my latest match report and my thoughts on the game in my latest blog post. To read the report visit

http://www.swindontownfc.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10341~47958,00.html


To read my blog on all matters sporting follow http://sportingtommytrebski.blogspot.com

Video Blog take two

Unfortunately the link to my video blog below doesn't seem to want to work. Let's hope this link via YouTube works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vGUpzx4i88

***NEW BLOG***

In an attempt to increase traffic to this blog, I have created a brand, spanking new blog dedicated exclusively to all matter sporting.

If you fancy a read please do:

http://sportingtommytrebski.blogspot.com/

Enjoy

Orwellian wonderland?

The task to blog on the topic of something typically and 'everyday' Orwellian opened up a web of intrigue that I had the most fun exploring over the past couple of weeks. Having not really been acutely aware of some of the more obvious examples of newspeak in today's modern society, it was a real learning curve for me to discover how far political correctness has gone in this day and age.

Here is my video blog on Orwellian Newspeak - please comment with your thoughts!

Swindon Town 3-1 Gillingham

Here is my latest match report from Saturday's League One match between Swindon Town and Gillingham.







Charlie Austin (pictured in red) was in sparkling form as Town advanced their promotion credentials with a convinving win over Gillingham

www.swindontownfc.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10341~48146,00.html


Elsewhere, as I write, it seems my early predictions of glory for Manchester City seem to be crumbling before my very eyes as they trail 2-0 at half time at Everton.

Craig Burley's analysis of the first half on ESPN was damning: "people are starting to come down from cloud cuckoo land". The likes of me, hoping for another addition to the list of title challengers, need to take heed!

A Bridge Too Far

Rafa Benitez cut a lonely figure at Anfield on Wednesday night having watched his Liverpool side unceremoniously dumped out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle.

The latest in the long list of disappointments this season, the Reds capitulated in front of their own supporters, extinguishing their last hope of collecting any domestic silverware this campaign.

The only crumb of comfort coming from the failure of fierce rivals Manchester United to avoid falling foul of the lower league curse; the first time in 50 years that both teams had exited at the first stage. Quite a comedown I imagine considering that Benitez's men pushed United all the way in last season's race to the Premiership crown.

Pre-match, many pundits and journalists were rolling out the cliches and platidudes looking at the potential 'cupset' omens facing Rafa's men. The last time Liverpool were knocked out by a Championship side was in 2008 when they came a cropper against Barnsley at Anfield. The man who stunned the Kop that day, Brian Howard, was back in the colours of Reading, his team-mates hoping that lightening dared to strike twice.

In fact, the Royals didn't need him. For a team struggling at the wrong end of their division and still reeling from the disastrous tenure of Brendan Rogers, the visitors played like a team deserving of a place in the fourth round. Fate seemed to be on their side: Fernando Torres, the man who could have sealed a Liverpool win in the initial tie at the Madejski Stadium was taken off in the first half as a precautionary measure. Skipper Steven Gerrard soon followed. After creating the opening goal for the home side, Gerrard never re-emerged for the second 45.

The home fans may have felt agrieved at the award of the penalty from which Reading equalised but there was no doubting they deserved to be level: Grzegorz Rasiak and Simon Church both had chances before Jobi McAnuff almost wrote his name into FA Cup folklore with a breathtaking solo run. The less said about his finish the better.

Benitez must have looked on wondering where his side's spark was going to come from. Roberto Aquilani may have been a highly anticipated signing but whenever he has pulled on the red of Liverpool, there is no doubting his struggle to adapt to the pace and physicality of the English game. Accompanied by the epic failure that is David N'Gog, the words "barn door" and "banjo" came to mind.

For all the prestige and clout that comes with the Liverpool brand, it's beyond me how Benitez has not managed to attrack more big name players to Merseyside. With the exception of Fernando Torres, there is a very long list of expensive flops to go alongside him. This defeat not only proves how they cannot function without Gerrard or Torres but also shows how far they have yet to go before they can end their well-documented title drought.

In his post-match interview Benitez was asked "was that a disappointing result for your team?" to which he replied "that depends on your point of view". Well from my point of view Rafa, you are a dead man walking.

(Photograph courtesy of www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football)

Emile Zola - socialist or closet anarchist?

Emile Zola's Germinal has intrigued me over the last few months. Not only as a social study dealing with issues such as anarchism and socialism but in its form as a social commentary. Zola was not afraid to create a macrocosm in which he could launch a scathing attack on the gulf between the haves and the have-nots. Perhaps he is most known for his iconic "J'accuse" headline in an open letter to Felix Faure, the leader of the Republic, in support of the jailed Alfred Dreyfus. Not only iconic, it almost divided France in the years shortly afterwards. Can you imagine something so controversial happening these days? Is that a pig I see up there...

That is what I admire most about Zola. After Germinal, most of his works were all commentaries on different aspects of life. L' Argent explored the widening world of the stock exchange whilst L'Oeuvre provides an insight into Parisian literary and artistic life. The latter in fact, also delved into contemporary thinking based on the ideas of many of Zola's "high-art" friends. He paid the price however after the famous impressionist Cezanne reacted badly to his representation in the novel and ended their friendship.

In today's apparently "Orwellian" society, why is there no-one out there who is prepared to write a brutal portrayal of society's ills? With America now the de-facto leader of the world, championing democracy, it's almost as if people have accepted the current state of affairs as the purest form of society.

Of course with the current state of political correctness gone mad, how is RIGHT that an individual cannot attack an intruder for fear of being prosecuted? That's not as it should be - that's almost anarchism turned inside out. What would Zola make of that? In fact what would George Orwell make of it?

The way I see it, social ideology has somewhat stagnated over the past 50 or 60 years. As my narrow mind can only deal with all things sporting, the best way I can describe this is by using a footballing analogy.

Tactically, football has developed little since the 1970's. Since Mario Zagallo's 4-2-4 that so brilliantly won Brazil the 1970 World Cup and Johan Cruyff's/Rinus Michel's conception of Total Football that should have seen Holland win both the 1974 and 1978 World Cups , there has been hardly any tactical upheaval (save for Arrigo Sacchi's brilliant AC Milan side of the late 1980's that was more experimental than groundbreaking). At the moment football tactics have retreated to either a standard 4-4-2 or 5-3-2 or 4-5-1 depending on whether a manager is intent on attacking or defending.

It's my humble opinion that football needs something to wake it from its slumber and return it to its attacking roots. Much like the famous Hungarian team of Ferenc Puskas that so brilliantly humbled England at Wembley in 1953 (a side that I would have loved to have seen live).

It's a similar situation in society at the moment. The Sun newspaper ran a campaign named "Broken Britain" underlining the increasing 'hoody' culture and the general decline of society and its morals/standards. Does society in this country need someone that can put it back together again or come up with a new social structure?

Controversial? Please comment with your thoughts.

Mancini Miracle Worker?

In an earlier blog post I expressed my concerns over the appointment of Roberto Mancini as manager of Manchester City.

However after watching the Blues record three wins on the spin, I can't help but be taken in by this charismatic Italian who seems to have swept into Eastlands and breathed new life into a team of so called upstarts.

(picture courtesy of www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football)

Ah but what about the quality of opposition I hear you cry. The likes of Wolves and Stoke may not be the cream of the Premier League crop but there was something about the way they performed against Blackburn Rovers on Monday night that has turned me over to the "dark side".

In plain and simple terms: the man seems to know what he is doing. In all three league games in charge, he has not been afraid to change the system to make it work for his team and he has not been afraid to leave out big names like Robinho. What stands out for me though is the manner in which he goes about his business not only on the touchline but away from the football field.

He doesn't appear to want to speak out against referees or the opposition in the same way that other managers do. Granted, he's only been there five minutes but I get the feeling that he is a very smooth operator. Patrick Vieira became his first signing a few days ago and who's to say that he won't get the former Arsenal captain back to somewhere near his best. With all the will in the world, Mark Hughes was never going to be the "shop window" type manager that the owners wanted. The Italian, although not proven in the Premiership, has a certain pedigree and charisma that dovetails in nicely with the ambitions of City's new owners.

Much was made of Sir Alex Ferguson labelling City as his "noisy neighbours". Maybe under Hughes they seemed like an annoying gang of teenagers. However, with Mancini in charge, a whole transfer window with complimentary war chest ahead of him and Carlos Tevez in unstoppable form, it's quite possible that the blue half of Manchester may pose more of a threat than everyone first expected

Happy New Year!

A thousand apologies for my neglect of this blog over the Christmas and New Year period - it seems that the O2 broadband staff didn't deem it necessary enough to process someone's internet changeover BEFORE Christmas...

Still enough of that. Where on earth do we start in terms of news? We've had controversy, murders, takeover talk - and that's just in football!

As our country seems to edge closer to the brink of collapse, the news item that stood out for me was the attempted "coup" of Gordon Brown's government. I must stress not the event itself but the way in which the protagonists came to the conclusion that they wanted Brown out: whilst dining in a curry house in London.

When out for a curry with friends and as the poppadoms and jalfrezi's have been devoured and washed down with a pint of lager or four, how many of us can claim to have put the world to rights in such an environment. I for one can testify to that but one has to laugh at the image of a slightly worse for wear Geoff Hoon prising a finger away from the tightly wrapped coil around his pint glass in order to punctuate his point with some accusatory finger-pointing.

If we had sofa government under Blair are we in for a spell of restaurant government?