His crime was essentially trying to gag the media.

They HATE this; it happened during my trial - the judge decided to split up all the false allegations and, as a result, put a contempt of court order on the media to allow the claims to be split into several trials. This resulted in media silence until the second trial result - NOT GUILTY ON ALL CHARGES (reported nowhere - to this day - and causing all the other false allegations to be abandoned) - and stopping the media having weeks of goggling and gasping at the gory details.

Fuming, they only got one day (and made the most of that, naturally).

One day soon a scandal will come up about the media that will be covered throughout the internet and it will lead to a collapse of many tabloids and quite a few immoral broadsheets and serious outlets (who love a good story as much as the next hack).

It was very nearly the News of the World royals phone tap scandal.

When someone writes a piece about how many rapists, killers, child molesters, porn lovers and perverts work in the media (virtually essential qualities), and names names - WOW, what a story!

Ah but, JK, people usually only name names to get high payments from the media. If their whistle blowing is going to bring down the media, then they won't be getting any such payments. For this reason, the media might feel safe.

It's quite obvious by their content that some porn lovers work in parts of the media, and several could probably be branded perverts. I'd be surprised if there many known rapists, killers and child molester among them, but I guess anything is possible.

I do believe it's a race to control the net before it blows the media apart..which would be a good thing (blowing the media apart I mean)

Yes-I think if the general public knew jusy how amoral those who work on their tabloids were they would never believe another word they read.

but it's all collapsing in on itself...another 10 years and the published media is kaput.

Emma Bee wrote:

It's quite obvious by their content that some porn lovers work in parts of the media, and several could probably be branded perverts. I'd be surprised if there many known rapists, killers and child molester among them

Any idea who these people might be Emma?

Believe me Emma, the list of employees of the big publishers sitting on secret convictions is astonishing...

I'm reliably informed that one of the key journalists involved in the Terry story may have this old cutting buried away in his closet...

One of the country's most high profile sports writers, Rob Shepherd of the Daily Express, has today been sentenced to 14 months in prison for attacking a man in a wine bar.

Express football editor Shepherd, 41, was sentenced at Croydon crown court in south London this afternoon and ordered to pay a total of £5,000 in costs and compensation.

He was taken straight to prison from the courtroom and is expected to serve at least half of the sentence in custody. He was ordered to pay £2,500 in compensation and £2,500 in total for his own costs and those of the prosecution.

He was found guilty of grievous bodily harm on December 8 after biting a man in La Rascasse wine bar in Beckenham High Street on July 5.

The journalist had been arguing with his wife in the bar because he did not approve of her showing off some lingerie she had just bought, Shepherd told the judge in December.

But another drinker in the bar, David McMenigall, told the court that as Shepherd was leaving, he placed his hands on Mr McMenigall's shoulders and bit him in the face after a disagreement over a mobile phone.

Shepherd said he acted in self-defence as he thought he was going to be attacked by Mr McMenigall or his friends.

He was not remanded in custody at the hearing in December because Judge Kenneth Macrae said it would be unfair to his two children just before Christmas.

But he banned Shepherd from pubs and ordered probation officers to investigate the sports writer's drinking habits and deferred sentencing until today.

The Express was not prepared to comment on Shepherd's imprisonment.

Shepherd was among 25 Express staffers to receive a £40,000 windfall from Lord Hollick when he sold the paper to Richard Desmond in 2000.

And in Sunday's Morality Lesson section of the News of the World...

30/01/2010

OUR big-name reporters have their say on the burning question regarding John Terry - should the Chelsea defender remain as England captain for the World Cup?

ANDY DUNN (Chief Sports Writer) - NO

FABIO CAPELLO hates distractions. He even outlawed an official World Cup song.

This scandal will dog his preparations unless John Terry steps down. He can still be a key element in the group but he can no longer be their leader.

ROB SHEPHERD (Football Editor) - NO

TERRY did not break the law but he committed a cardinal sin of the dressing room.

Team-mates can be a forgiving bunch when it comes to wild antics from booze, brawls and even birds. But not when someone dumps on their own doorstep as spectacularly as Terry has done.

Nibble someone's face? Fine. Screw a bird behind wife's back? Shocking and grounds for dismissal. Hannibal Lecter - where are you when we need you?

Martha wrote:
Emma Bee wrote:

It's quite obvious by their content that some porn lovers work in parts of the media, and several could probably be branded perverts. I'd be surprised if there many known rapists, killers and child molester among them

Any idea who these people might be Emma?




I realise I missed out the word 'are' between the words 'there' and 'many' but I'm questioning a claim rather than making one.

As for the word pervert. It is open to interpretation, a perversion being a deviation from the norm.

>>Nibble someone's face? Fine. Screw a bird behind wife's back? Shocking and grounds for dismissal. Hannibal Lecter - where are you when we need you?<<



I've almost died laughing.

Emma Bee wrote:

It is open to interpretation, a perversion being a deviation from the norm.


But Emma, surely the interpretation is crystal clear in the current context.

Can you name names as JK does?

True,trying to gag the media was a mistake.He'd have make good copy regardless,but now the red rag has been waved at a load of bollocks...sorry bullocks ...
...and after all,most of what they write is a load of bullocks too.

If something is open to interpretation then it is only crystal clear to the person doing the interpretation. I have a 50 yr old male friend who has never had sex and has no desire to do so. He has been branded a pervert because it is deemed to be not normal to be celibate for so long. On the other hand some people are branded perverts because they have too much sex. But it's not always anything to do with sex; for example, some people are just assumed to have a perverted view of life or current events.

To anyone but the mischievous it was fairly obvious that I was making a general comment. The only specific was regarding lovers of porn which, considering the content of page 3 is quite obvious. You could debate whether page 3 amounts to porn, but again that is open to interpretation. I personally believe it does, but others may not.

Here ends that rather pointless exchange, I think.

Martha wrote:

Can you name names as JK does?

Thank you Emma - I'll take that as a 'no' then.

Link to the story mentioned above - Let he who is without sin...

www.guardian.co.uk/media/2004/jan/09/pre...lishing.dailyexpress

And our story is causing big waves - see this week's Popbitch.

And I gather it contributes to the Andy Coulson problem; someone put &pound;100 on that Coulson will no longer be with the Tories by the election. Cameron is already nervous...