Hungary's State Broadcaster Fires Two Journalists Over Protest

Image via WikipediaHungry Hungarian journalists Aranka Szavuly and Balazs Nagy Navarro, engaged in a hunger strike since December 10 in protest against Prime Minister Viktor Orban of the conservative Fidesz party, have been terminated, according to a story in The Irish Times.

The State-owned public broadcaster said the journalists were canned for taking on a political role in conducting an "illegal" strike. Prime Minister Orban, who has drawn fire from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and European Commission Head Jose Manual Barroso, among others, for reforms that purportedly infringe on democratic freedoms, was targeted by the two journalists for allegedly meddling in media operations, the Times reported.

Pol Gets Irish Up After Radio Station Defames Her as 'Alco'

Image by Irish Typepad via FlickrIndependent Irish talk radio program, "Newstalk," got socked with a defamation judgment of 450,000 euros ($647,721), Website stinkyjournalism.org reports, from accounts in The Phoenix and The Journal, after commentator Nell McCafferty said on The Tom Dunne Show last year that former politico Mary Harney was an "alco."

McCafferty was unaware her conversation was picked up on a live mic when she said Harney, a former Minister for Health and Children and Tanaiste, had allegedly received treatment for alcohol addiction. Harney purportedly sued for 1 million euros ($1,439,381). An on-air apology by the station and an attempt by station owner Denis O'Brien to apologize to the plaintiff did not derail Harney's lawsuit.

Rapist Sues Irish Media for Lower Profile

Image via Wikipedia

According to an article in The Irish Times, a convicted serial rapist is seeking a permanent injunction against a handful of newspapers to prevent their continued reporting of his address and publication of his photo.

Michael Murray served 13 years of an 18-year sentence for raping four women and sexually asssaulting two others during a six-day reign of terror in 1995 before his release last July. Since Murray's return to society,  according to his attorney, stories have appeared in The Star and The Star on Sunday, including: "Serial Sex Beast Is Free to Roam the Streets" and  "Monster in Our Midst.," as well as The Evening Herald, which ran a photo under the headline "A Danger to Women," and other stories in News of the World and The Sun that refer to Murray as "this beast." Murray's attorney alleges the onslaught of publicity hinders Murray in his efforts to retain employment and causes him to move frequently.

The high court in Dublin must consider Murray's privacy rights, the news media's freedom of speech, and the public's interest in knowing the whereabouts and identity of dangerous individuals. Case law in the U.S. tends to side with the news media in such privacy cases, provided news stories about crimes and convicted felons are reported accurately. If Murray is camera shy and averse to the limelight, it probably would have behooved him not to rape women and terrorize the community, because such conduct tends to generate media attention.