Privacy and Injunctions - Evidence - Parliament

Paul Staines, Jamie East, David Allen Green, and Richard Wilson—Oral evidence (QQ 326–
403)
blogging in general, science bloggers have more credibility than generalist science reporters
for broadcasters.
David Allen Green: Absolutely.
Paul Staines: Much as it pains me to say it, I think Dave Allen Green is quite good at
legal reporting, and better than some generalist reporters in the law courts, so it is not
always the case.
David Allen Green: The blogosphere is very similar to how one would imagine the
City to be in the 19th century. A lot of it is based on reputation. It is not an enforceable
reputation; you do not have a right of action to credibility; you cannot go to court and
defend and vindicate your reputation. It can be lost in an instant if you do something
misconceived. But the one thing that bloggers can do routinely, especially legal and science
and, increasingly, policy bloggers, is link to sources. That helps credibility. If you do not
believe what I am telling you about a case, or the CPS guidance, you can link and look at it
for yourselves.
You are right that there is a hierarchy. People feel more comfortable with broadcast
media and then newspaper media, but there are certain bloggers who have a great deal of
credibility, which can be lost in an instant. That credibility is often built up by bloggers doing
things that only they can—namely being transparent about where they get the information
from and allowing the interested reader to follow the links to see that information.
Richard Wilson: I echo that. I think it is about track record. People also trust the
BBC because it has been around for a very long time and has a very impressive track record
to which it can point. I think you will see certain bloggers, perhaps a couple of those sitting
beside me here, building a reputation for credibility through their own efforts over time.
Q340 Mr Bradshaw: Paul Staines talked about the growth of his relationships with
newspapers. Does it also work the other way round? This is a question mainly for Paul and
maybe Jamie East. Are there sometimes stories that papers will not print, and do individual
journalists or papers come to you knowing that you are more likely to put them on your
blogs and get them into the public domain?
Jamie East: Yes, absolutely. It is very much a working relationship, from editors and
showbiz reporters, for my part anyway, down to just newsroom people. It happens less and
less nowadays, but four or five years ago “Holy Moly”, “Popbitch” or similar websites would
be used as the testing ground for a story, which papers would then report on because the
nasty internet people had done it. They were able to write about it because we had written
about it, which worked well for both parties for quite a while.
Paul Staines: Quite often, when journalists have problems with their editors, they
give us half the story to keep it alive from one Sunday to another, or encourage us in some
way to focus on something so they can turn to their editor and say, “Look, the bloggers are
on it.”
Q341 Mr Bradshaw: What is the financial relationship when it is that way round?
Paul Staines: There is no financial relationship. I might buy them a pint.
Jamie East: I won’t even do that.
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