Now I don't know as this is really relevent to a US site, but as you have all read through discussions of evidence and reports, you may as well have what i think about the current state of things as I may need to refer back to it in the next couple of weeks
Since the publication of the Leveson report there has been a large amount of manoeuvring both in the public eye and behind the scenes. Some skilled, some inept and some so poor you would wonder how our leaders ever managed to reach their current positions in their respective parties and places of employment.
Lord Justice Leveson provided a reasonably balanced report, with a few minor problems, but nothing that should have been dealt with with the outrageous wailing and gnashing of teeth that the newspapers responded. It was as if the end of the world or the Black death had suddenly unexpectedly ridden into their midst. If the Leveson proposals were enacted, it would mean the imminent death of all investigative journalism. This was quite obviously completely untrue. Hillsborough is quoted as something where investigation would now be impossible. After the report of the Independent Panel where one paper was shown to be rampantly dishonest in its reporting, you would think that this would be an example that would have been avoided.
Today you have reporters claiming that newspapers wouldn’t bother to investigate the Huhne case as leveson would make it impossible. This is at best misleading. There appears to be nothing in the Leveson report that would bring about such a situation, however actions outside the report have been presented in such a way as to seem that there is an attack on press freedom, Whether there is, or if it is in fact a sweeping out of the Augean stables of UK policing and public life, is hard to tell, because it is not in the interest of newspapers to report on the occurrences openly and honestly.
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