July 21, 2003
The media paying for news stories, especially regarding criminal matters, is one problem that Canada does not appear to have. Unlike the U.S. and Great Britain, Canada is not overrun with the tabloid press.
In Los Angeles, the LAPD and prosecutors are investigating a police officer for selling confidential information from police databases concerning Hollywood celebs. Officer Kelly Chrisman is alleged to have sold information on celebrities such as Sharon Stone, Sean Penn, and Meg Ryan to U.S. tabloids. Information that is contained in the police databases, which were allegedly sold, included specifics of the celebrity’s date of birth, vehicle registrations, unlisted phone numbers, and restraining orders.
The payment for information by the tabloid press is a large problem in the U.K. Recently, 5 men were charged with a plot to kidnap Victoria Beckham, former Spice Girl and wife of football superstar, David Beckham. According to the allegations, Beckham was to be held for a ransom of $5 million. The charges were withdrawn by the Crown when it was revealed that the main informant, without whose testimony there was very little evidence of the plot, was paid $10,000 by News of the World for his story about the planned abduction. The witness had previous fraud related convictions, was in dire financial straights, and it was also learned that he had previously sold a story to the News of the World about a traffic warden dealing drugs.
The withdrawal of the kidnap and extortion charges led to repeated demands that payment by tabloid newspapers for information concerning criminal matters be made illegal.
Following the dismissal of those charges, the News of the World became involved in further controversy when it published a picture of Ian Huntley in his jail cell. Huntley is in jail awaiting trial on charges of having murdered two 10-year-old girls, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, in Soham. According to the paper, the picture of the alleged killer was taken by a reporter who had obtained employment as a trainee prison officer and managed to sneak a camera into the area of Huntley’s cell. The News of the World is defending its actions by arguing that the picture illustrates the "shambolic security" at the prison, and that publication of the picture was therefore "massively in the public interest."
Congratulations to the Toronto Star
In a lengthy article by sports reporter, Allan Ryan, the Star reported on the baseball trade made the day before when the Toronto Blue Jays sent outfielder Shannon Stewart to the Minnesota Twins for outfielder Bobby Kielty. While Ryan seems to be a sports reporter intent on reporting sports, the Star should be commended for not mentioning that the Blue Jays traded a black guy for a white one. It’s hard not to think of Blue Jays players in situations such as this without reference to their racial origin after the Star’s now infamous "The White Jays?" cover story of a couple of weeks ago.