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.
Zimbabwe: Police disrupt newspaper launch
The launch of the first new independent domestic Zimbabwean newspaper in 17 years was disrupted by Harare police on Friday (4 June). Shortly before the first edition of NewsDay was due to be delivered to newstands around Harare, the newspaper’s marketing manager, Linda Msika, was arrested along with distribution staff and vendors. Police officers were allegedly unhappy that NewsDay — given a publishing license by the Zimbabwe Media Commission last week — was to give away Friday’s edition for free. After being detained for several hours, staff members were released without charge, and the distribution of the newspaper was allowed to proceed. NewsDay, owned by the independent Alpha Media Holdings group, is expected to offer a counterpoint to Harare’s two state-owned, pro-government newspapers.