Ashley Cole roundup
Posted by
Martin Stabe
on 3 March 2006 at 11:25
Tags: Ethics, Journalism, Libel, News of the World, Online, Privacy, Sport, Star, Sun
Our exclusive report yesterday that Arsenal and England footballer Ashley Cole is suing the News of the World and the Sun (for harassment, libel and “false privacy” over stories about gay footballers in which he was not even named) has been widely picked up by other papers.
The Star tastefully splashes with the story (but strangely not on its web site). It’s also in the Daily Mail, Evening Standard, and Daily Telegraph.
The Times and Independent analyse the potential consequences for media law and what the Guardian calls the “implications for the tabloid press and their Faustian pact with the celebrity world”:
Legal experts view the case as an important step in taking the temperature of libel and privacy law in cases where the aggrieved parties are not named but the public is able to build up a “jigsaw” identification via tabloid hints that spark gossip via email, blogs and chatrooms.
They said the privacy part of the claim was “unique” because it relied on an untested concept known as “false privacy” - even though Cole says he is not gay, he will argue his privacy has been invaded.
Best of all is the Sun’s own front page report. In the intro, we learn that:
SOCCER star Ashley Cole has instructed lawyers to sue two newspapers — claiming he has been wrongly linked to gay sex allegations.
Fast forward to paragraph six:
He instructed lawyers to sue the News of the World — who originally reported that two Premiership stars had been caught romping on camera with a music industry pal.
Oh! That newspaper. Onward to paragraph 10, the last of the story:
Cole’s lawyers have filed writs against the News of the World and The Sun. He is suing for libel, harassment and breach of privacy.
Nice of them to mention that little detail.
Tags: Ethics, Journalism, Libel, News of the World, Online, Privacy, Sport, Star, Sun
