An attempt to prevent the Marquess of Blandford’s dangerous driving case being reported in the press was rejected by Oxford magistrates court after written representations by the Oxford Mail and the Press Association.
The defendant’s legal team wanted either an order banning any reporting of the case until the completion of other proceedings involving the Marquess, or for the continuation of an interim order made by magistrates at Banbury the previous week. They argued that reports of the case could prejudice the other proceedings.
But District Judge Brian Loosley said: “The Banbury case is subject to committal proceedings and, under the relevant legislation, all the press can publish is the defendant’s name, address and brief details of the charge. If the press do as they should and merely publish those brief details, I can’t see how those details can be said to form a substantial rise of prejudice to the administration of justice.”

Newspaper editors world-wide are optimistic about the future of their newspapers, according to a new global survey that provides an insider’s view to newsroom attitudes and strategies.
The “Newsroom Barometer” conducted by Zogby International for the Paris-based World Editors Forum and Reuters, found that 85 percent of editors are “very optimistic” or “somewhat optimistic” about the future of their newspapers.

Croydon Advertiser reporter Josh Layton has broken his arm.
He has become the latest victim of the Advertiser five-a-side football sessions, where content editor James Wickham was the last person to succumb to the curse, and had his arm in plaster for weeks afterwards.

UK National Commission for UNESCO and the Press Freedom Network are to host a debate on May 3, to discuss: “World Media Freedom is in Retreat”.
The event is being held in London on World Press Freedom Day, and is free to attend, but places must be booked in advance by visiting the website.
Speakers include former BBC correspondent and author of Sultans of Spin, Nicholas Jones, Tatiana Lokshina, the chairman of the DEMOS Center for Information and Research, and Oleg Panfilov, director of the Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations.

The organisers of the Paul Foot Award for Campaigning Journalism 2007, which is taking place this year in October, are reminding entrants that they should send off their material right away even though the deadline for submissions is September 1. Find out more, here.