Cliff Richard High Court Case

100% agree. The press have often abused their "freedom" over the years and I've never been comfortable with innocent people having their names dragged through the press and suffering trial by media but this verdict, along with the general political landscape at the moment, feels like it is paving the way for the police and the state to go unchecked by the media and operate completely in secret.

As much as the coverage Cliff had to endure caused personal suffering it arguably also protected him in the case too.

Broadcasters should be aware of Criminal/ Civil/ Corporate law PLUS broadcast regulations laid down by ofcom - if in doubt checks with senior staff and lawyers should be made. It may be advice was sought but as always it can and has been argued in court.

Apparently it is the biggest compensation package the BBC have ever paid. Hard to see when you see that fact that a big resignation/s wont occur as a result.
If the BBC have to pay his legal costs as well that could go into millions.

The PM sort of backs the BBC/Press argument in the case and rules out any 'Cliff's Law' as do prominent journalists working for the Sun and The Times.
This means the BBC probably do have enough backing within the press to go for an appeal but the costs issue might what leads the BBC to decide not to and hope a newspaper faces a similar case and does the whole appeal to the supreme court routine.

The coverage simply showed the police raid in progress -- something that would have occurred without the BBC. The BBC was reporting on something that was indisputably taking place; it wasn't claiming anything else.

The court's decision is essentially telling the BBC that they should withhold *accurate* information in certain cases -- and that's a dangerous precedent for anyone concerned about press freedom. (When balancing privacy and press freedom, I'd always prefer to err in favor of the latter.)

But the BBC probably dont have the public support to do an appeal even if they have the press and political support.
Saw comments from non Journalistic people claiming to be BBC staff who are implying the rest of the BBC doesn't want any more appeals because it only damages the BBC further.
My guess is that the BBC will pull the appeal and hope that a similar case comes against a newspaper who are the most likely to be willing to appeal all the way on a point of principle.

But surely legal appeals shouldn't be judged on their public popularity?

They shouldn't but the BBC is a publically funded body and will have to decide if they can justify spending the money when majority will see it as waste and offensive to Sir Cliff.
Remember the Police settled out of court so it was a major surprise that the BBC did not as well because the coverage is always less for an out of court settlement.

tough - there's more at stake than whether a popular figure of yesteryear's sensibilities are offended.

But that is what the BBC will be considering over the next few days - balancing up the benefits of the appeal for Journalistic reasons vs the drawbacks regarding the costs and the aftermath should it fail.

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I wouldn't know the ins and outs from a legal perspective but the coverage in itself was concerning and raises a lot of questions.
The tone was very 'gotcha' and sensationalist and tacky and the use of the helicopter a waste of licence fee funds and completely unjustifiable.

I'm more concerned by that than if the BBC gets some nasty headlines tomorrow - the tabloids would be rught for once to criticise the Beeb (though the old saying of those in glass houses springs to mind). It says a lot when even Guardian readers and Twitter users who are normally pretty pro-Beeb think the BBC are in the wrong here

I'd like to think too that the judge in charge of the case may be more knowledgable on the case, the precedent and implications than TV Forum members.

That is why going for an appeal is more likely or not going to be the end of their employment at the BBC - it doesn't have public support and the tabloids will run with that argument if even many of their staff (Publicly or privately ) want the BBC to appeal and to succeed.