BREAKING NEWS: Police launch plan to control the news
Undercurrents productions spent a year uncovering the co-ordinated plans by the various British police forces to control the news reaching the nations screens and newspapers. As Channel 4 dragged its heels in commissioning the investigation, undercurrents productions took it upon itself to expose the plan.
The video feature “BREAKING NEWS” will be distributed on Britains only alternative news video, undercurrents.
The feature follows the story of one freelance journalist who has been arrested six times in the last two years merely for doing his job, reporting newsworthy events. Television journalist Roddy Mansfield claims that-
” In all the times I have been arrested the police have never respected my press credentials and held me until all my deadlines are passed and then I am always released without charge. In one case the Met.police erased my tape, however they left the microphone on as they erased in the custody suite thus giving us concrete evidence of news management ”
His story is backed up with similar stories of arrests and beatings of journalists, photographers, and Televison workers. One HTV producer received two broken ribs from a truncheon blow while reporting an event in Manchester.
For the first time ever the public will see the video footage and photographs that the police have been intent on supressing over the last year. The investigation also includes exclusive footage of the first journalist being arrested under the new harrassment laws merely for filming Thames Valley police behaviour.
Director of undercurrents productions Paul O’ Connor was quoted as saying
” It seems that news and currents affairs programmes now rely so much on the police for fly on the wall documentaries, that to risk upsetting the police force is seen as not good for buisness. That probaly explains why reports of police management of the news are not getting through to the public. That is why any form of alternative distribution of independent news documentaries is so important ”
Breaking news will be distributed as just one of twelve features on the award winning news video undercurrents 9. With an ever expanding audience of 60,000 in Britain alone,over 100,000 in Australia and cabled into the homes of 7 million homes in the USA an emerging news network is coming up from the grassroots.
Paul O’ Connor
also:
Photo-Jounalist ‘Hassle’ list: http://tash.gn.apc.org/journo_hassle.htm
Difficulties in taking photographs: http://tash.gn.apc.org/photo_difficult.htm
Some of my ‘assorted legal hassles’ : http://tash.gn.apc.org/legal_assortment.htm
On being Watched: http://tash.gn.apc.org/watched1.htm
