³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

So if you happened to have a piece of footage that might determine my innocence, I would have to go through the courts to obtain it - always assuming I could afford such a step.
When journalists trot out the cry of independence, it is usually a pseudonym for self-interest.

TSBradshaw - If the footage was of yourself, then that would be a freedom of information request, and not a fishing trip by the police and I sure it would be handled differently.

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ journalists must fight to maintain their "independence" - you are having a laugh aren't you? ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ journalism lost all credibility years ago. Any story that promotes Cultural Marxism is given full coverage. Anything that does not fit with the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ mantra is quietly ignored. Imagine the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ NOT fulfilling a request for footage from the Police if it featured the BNP, EDL or NF?

I was going to comment, but then I was told that I was a few hundred over the character count. How, can we encourage serious argument and debate, when it seems that all that counts is the word count?

This can lead to debates that never properly deal with the issues, and are therefore a waste of time.

This is a serious issue, it needs space for serious comment.

I think the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ does well at maintaining their independence.

The fact that they are accused from all sides of being biased is evidence of that fact.

I wonder how much protection the police will give to the media the next time something like this happens again. If you are in with the protesters filming what happens you are going to be a target.

DMaple - I doubt you could make a freedom of information request to the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ or any other news organisation. FoI requests are made to public bodies and the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ is unlikely to be classed as a public body, even given its unique funding method, and neither will any of the other news organisations.

Darran - Maybe DMaple wouldn't be able to use the FoI but could use the Data Protection Act if the information is about their self.

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ and the the other parties, including sky, are to be congratulated on fighting to protect the rapidly vanishing freedom our media need. Thanks.

Well done !

It's about time excessive police powers were brought under control.

Question: If a piece of film footage were to contain evidence of criminal behaviour, would witholding it not amount to perverting the course of justice? Or does the "independence" of journalists give them exemption from that charge? If an application requires to be supported by "proper evidence" what if that evidence is contained within the footage?

Smartie, the point here is that the police were not requesting specific footage while investigating a specific crime. They just wanted to look at it all to see if they could find evidence of anything. If you allowed them to do that, then by the same reasoning they could look at any footage or photographs that anyone holds to check for any crime. Which, I'm sure you'd agree, is a bit invasive.

ONCE AGAIN THE POWER-TRIPPING POLICE HAVE SHOWN THEMSELVES TO BE A DISGRACE AND COMPLETELY UNFIT FOR OUR GREAT COUNTRY IN SUCH A BLATANT BREACH OF CIVIL LIBERTIES.

THANK YOU ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ FOR STANDING UP FOR THE BASIC RIGHTS AND FREEDOM OF OUR CITIZENS. TO SAY YOU GUYS REPRESENT THE BEST OF BRITAIN IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT. WE ALL OWE A HUGE DEBT TO THE ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ, NEVER WAS SO MUCH OWED BY SO MANY TO SO FEW.

Complaints that if there was evidence of either a crime or something that will prove innocence are silly. If you knew there was footage it would be easy to have any news org compelled by a court to produce it.

This case is the police trawling through video looking for things they maybe didn't know about rather than related specific incidents.

i truly pity the british populace. they disarmed you, now they abuse you. never in the USA, and from my cold dead hands.

Less we forget....The heavy handed and 'over-the-top' coverage of this media circus by, primarily, the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ, contributed significantly to the violence by encouraging 'playing to the camera'. It is a disgrace....

It is vital that the media can operate independently, a free press is the cornerstone of democracy.

Unfortunately the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ takes a biased approach to most subjects and chooses which side is correct and which is wrong.

By choosing to edit its news along biased lines it fails to be a free independent news media.

The threat isn’t the police, it is the biased attitude of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ.

So here we have the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ patting itself on the back yet again when it really should be doing something about its extraordinary lefty bias in its "reporting" on any subject under the sun.

The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ is in dire need of introspection and self-analysis.

5. At 21:44 17th May 2012, Konran - evidence of that fact.'

It's an interesting argument, all the more so to see trotted out on this template still.

On analogies CSI, fact and evidence, it equates to the team taking a temperature reading from the torso of a very dead corpse lying with head in the oven and feet in the freezer, and pronouncing it alive and well.

4. At 20:53 17th May 2012, VeniVediVocali - space for serious comment.

Indeed. They have 'improved' this risible system to make it near useless. Were the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ not so unique they'd pay the consequences of such deliberate cynical manipulation.

11:09 19th May 2012, JunkkMale,

The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ has Twitterised and Facebookated much of its output. It has embraced those sites with great enthusiam. That's a pity because it has led to a trivialising of debate.

'journalists must.. not be seen as evidence gatherers'

Given some tweets between activists and 'reporters', the line between telling any story and incitement can be 'interesting'.

If those doing the filming are complicit in what is being filmed, what then?

Well done beeb , all about rights and nothing about responsibilities.
Perhaps you could do a poll of your financial contributors and see what they think!