We think so. Today is probably more of an historical moment that many realise. Up until now the online media has been a free for all and no-one was just to sure where the boundaries were. So we, as bloggers, all tested them from time to time - some more than others and no-one more than Whaleoil. His personal crusade on name suppression has crossed the media channel divide between online and mainstream.
Every journalist worth their salt, while not agreeing sometimes with the way that Whale ran his campaign, believes in the principals behind it. If they don't then frankly they should go find a job writing slogans for greeting cards.
Whale has today been found guilty of breaching name suppression. And faced some hefty fines to boot. If the mainstream media had any conscience at all they would be chipping in to pay his fines.
We need laws in this country that are fair, just without a nod to race or status. But the support for Whales dogged campaign and the growing unease in the way that suppression was being granted showed that the law was indeed not being applied even handedly. Justice was peeking under her blindfold and depending on what she saw, she made a biased call on when veil of secrecy was applied.
Whale has done his bit. He showed courage when the mainstream media did not.
He should be applauded and supported for that.
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1 comment:
Well said, Busted.
The legal process was always going to enforce its will on this one. But what can't be denied is that Whale has exposed judicial inconsistencies in application of name suppression, privileged treatment of certain professional and "celebrity" types, and a tendency to protect defendants (and even convicted criminals in some cases) rather than unsuspecting members of the public.
Whale has my admiration for a gutsy campaign that I hope will start to right the wrongs of this sordid little blight on open justice.
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