Iran’s satellite silence
Irena Maryniak talks to Sadeq Saba, head of BBC Persian service, about the channel’s future, signal jamming and impartiality
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Looking for America
Talk radio is the right-wing’s battleground for the soul of the USA, but Joe Queenan isn’t listening
Michael Jackson libel case costs Channel 4 £1.7m
Michael Jackson’s former bodyguard, Matthew Fiddes, discontinued his libel case against Channel 4 yesterday (21 June). Fiddes, had been arguing that Cutting Edge documentary The Jackson’s Are Coming, which followed Tito and Katherine Jackson moving to Devon, had been dishonestly edited to portray him exploiting the Jacksons and betraying their trust. However, appearing before Justice Tugendhat, Fiddes’s solicitors withdrew his case, admitting publicly that the programme was “not faked”. The total expenses incurred in the action are estimated to be in excess of £3m. Fiddes himself was not present in court, with his lawyer citing heavy traffic for his absence.
Detained Armenian journalist freed
A pro-opposition journalist arrested and detained on 2 June has been released. Ani Gevorgian was covering a sit-in for the daily national newspaper Haykakan Zhanamak when police clashed with protesters and arrested 17 people. Police allege she struck a police officer. However, other journalists maintain that Gevorgian’s reports on local police had angered authorities. A video of the protests appears to show Gevorgian photographing arrests, before being detained herself. Gevorgian face charges of assaulting law-enforcement personnel and hooliganism.