Tales from the sewer
What have Keith Gillespie, Cameron Diaz, Marco Sabba (annoying contestant in last year's Big Brother) and Andy Johnson got in common? They've all recently been victims of libellous claims made by the gutter press.
The News of the World accused Gillespie of raping two girls, the Sun said Diaz "snogged" a married man, Star magazine claimed that Marco Sabba felt up his work colleagues and the Daily Star stated that Andy Johnson had drug and alcohol problems.
Like many other people, I was never the first to feel sympathy for celebrities who were wronged by redtops. After all, these alleged stars feed off the press themselves, right? They also possess the wherewithal to fight off any mendacious reports.
However, the according to the Press Complaints Commission a few years ago, 90% of complaints come from the general public, i.e. those who might not risk bringing a case to court for fear of financial ruin.
This begs the question, how many people have been libelled and their reputations left in tatters? Doesn't bear thinking about. Think of all those ordinary folk who have had their named tarnished by over zealous, circulation-obsessed newspapers.
Published by Colm.
The News of the World accused Gillespie of raping two girls, the Sun said Diaz "snogged" a married man, Star magazine claimed that Marco Sabba felt up his work colleagues and the Daily Star stated that Andy Johnson had drug and alcohol problems.
Like many other people, I was never the first to feel sympathy for celebrities who were wronged by redtops. After all, these alleged stars feed off the press themselves, right? They also possess the wherewithal to fight off any mendacious reports.
However, the according to the Press Complaints Commission a few years ago, 90% of complaints come from the general public, i.e. those who might not risk bringing a case to court for fear of financial ruin.
This begs the question, how many people have been libelled and their reputations left in tatters? Doesn't bear thinking about. Think of all those ordinary folk who have had their named tarnished by over zealous, circulation-obsessed newspapers.
Published by Colm.
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