Thread:Comments:Scottish Justice Secretary 'acutely aware of unusual publicity' in Kular case/UK & Commonwealth tradition v. US laws/reply (6)

1) There are two big principles of journalism at work here: a) Transparency: Journalism is the watchdog for not only executive and legislative branches but also the legal branch, including law enforcement and the courts. b) Public's right to know: All parts of a government must operate in full view of the public. The US is far from perfect in allowing for journalism to fully exercise these principles, as is on full display in Cablegate and NSF program, but apart from national security disagreements, it works pretty well on a day to day system. Our brothers and sisters in the UK need to claim their rights and fight against overly restrictive contempt and libel laws. The Commonwealth tradition, too. I also support any libel tourism laws that protects US citizens and their basic right to freedom of expression from legal encroachments from abroad.

2) I don't believe some of the assertions I'm seeing above are proven. Namely, that because photos of arrested/charged people are published in the press, people standing trial in the US can't receive a fair trial or that such publication will prejudice a trial. No country in the world has a perfect legal system, and I would be the first to criticize the US courts' racial biases that are borne out in results. However, the US system affords a person a presumption of innocence, which is key, and also with enough protections against self-incrimination, which is not as strongly protected in the UK. Those so-called "media trials" are really journalists reporting information that is publicly on display in the courtroom. And those juries are instructed to ignore any external information. The number of cases that succeed in moving venue because of pre-trial publicity is low. If anybody has evidence that you can't get a fair trial in the US because of journalism, I would love to see it here. That would be news!

3) The principles of transparency and the public's right to know both support public interest. People around the world are starving for information that their systems will now (I meant not) allow. Mexico desperately needs information about drug cartel violence. I personally am grateful for The Guardian (U.K.) for leading on the NSA disclosures in the US. Sometimes we need outsiders to take the lead for us because we can't. If anybody from the UK wants information for a story to be published, I'll be glad to work with them. My main point, in case it was missed, was that Wikinews is global and well-situated to make a contribution in this area.

With all due respect to UK citizens,