Should this be allowed

[Footballfans]

Norman baker said this (today?)
“And actually when I was working—I shouldn't give the name of the paper—but I was doing a piece for one of the nationals, writing a piece, and because I'm quite critical of the monarchy in many ways I was told I could say what I want about Harry and Meghan but I had to lay off William and Kate.

"That was the instruction from the editor. So I think there was an element of truth in what he says."

how can newspapers give such instructions? Doesn’t this violate fair press norms or ethics?
And which paper is this, does anyone know?

Who's Norman Baker?

Isn’t he a Lib Dem MP?

not sure, apparently a minister. He says he is critical of the monarchy and so when he was writing on the subject he was told by the editor to lay off W&K but could say anything instead about H&M

here is the clip

www.independent.co.uk/tv/lifestyle/harry-meghan-william-kate-mp-b2245017.html?amp

Isn't he the one who wrote the book about royal finances?

He used to write articles mainly for the sun news papers. So again a non story 😂

muckrack.com/norman-baker/articles

Why is it a nonstory?

Don't believe a word he says. Not surprised he'd jump on the bandwagon. Anything to bash them, even if it's untrue

if your intrested in what the Sun`s Editors are saying then I worry about the sources of news your concerned about.

It's the invisible contract. Kate eats avocados cos it's good for the foetus but dear Meghan eats it cos she's environmentally irresponsible. Her beauty simply angers them.

Anything goes with the gutter press in this country. They absolutely pile on people in the most disgusting way. Look at the way they used to write about Diana, the constant negative press, the endless front pages because they knew it would sell. Then when she died and it was like she was a saint.

Whether you like Harry and Meghan or not the coverage over the last few years has been akin to a witch hunt.

Apparently he has written for the Sun, Daily Mail, Daily Mirror, Guardian, Independent (?) and some Aussie newspapers.

so which editor told him that...and back to the question of fair press. Can an editor actually say that?!

I mean, if anything there should be more scrutiny of people closer to being HoS rather than those further away.

Oh the ex MP Doesn't he hate the RF and want them done away with? I didn't know he was a journalist.

@MarshaMelrose thats what he says in the clip. He said he is critical of the monarchy and was told to lay of W&K but could say anything about H&M

Like most of these accusations, it is easy to make these claims. Give the relevant info - who said it, when, where etc and allow the person/people to confirm or deny the story, challenge any inaccuracies etc

It's like the 'someone at some point said something racist' - then give the details, and allow your account to be scrutinised.

Well you can see what articles he wrote about harry and megan, they are the sun and the daily mail. Go read the articles in question and come back with some facts on what you dont like.

www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/10705284/prince-harry-meghan-markle-royal-cash-cow-millions/

www.thesun.co.uk/news/10786607/prince-charles-harry-meghan-duchy-of-cornwall-money-norman-baker/

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8349283/Have-Harry-Meghan-cost-44million.html

but it is a serious claim that he is making on TV. He would hardly make it up, I would think.

A new name, OP?

An editor or owner can ask the writer to give whatever angle they like to a story, newspapers are privately owned. The BBC is supposed to be free from bias, as a publicly owned broadcaster, but there are no other publicly owned media in this country.

Were you really under the impression that journalists write what they want and papers just publish it? All newspapers have an editorial line. And people buy the paper that confirms their worldview. Publish articles too far off the editorial line, and your readers abandon you in disgust.

And of course the financiers influence the editorial line, or pay for a new paper if necessary.

I don’t read the Sun or DM, so I’ll give the articles a pass.

I have no issues with anyone writing about H&M.

my issue is that he was told to lay off critical articles on W&K...

given that they are heir to the throne, we should expect more critical scrutiny. Not being told that’s it is out of bounds and just focus on H&M.

what happened to fair and balanced press?! I know we don’t have it, but I didn’t think it was allowed to be that blatantly and openly biased at the editor level.

Ah missed a whole bunch of comments. Yes, I guess I was just being naive

I read his book and thought it was well researched and as someone who has been a member of the privy council, he knows what he is talking about. If he is saying this I would guess he has documentation to back this up in case he gets sued.

Unless he names the publication it's impossible to tell if he's being genuine or just stirring. It's on a par with Harry and Meghan saying a member of the RF was racist and throwing shade on all members of the RF by not saying who.

Do we know whether Mr Baker abided by the instructions, in which case he's a bit craven, or defied them, in which case where's the story.

He does seem to have a bit of a bee in his bunnet.

But he's not just critical. He wants done with the monarchy so agreeing with the statement plays into destabilising the institution. However, if its true, he's a very unprincipled character who does not write the truth. Therefore how can you believe what he says?

There's no way that papers would hide a juicy story about William if they could print it. Anyone who lived through the 80s and 90s knows that.

I agree. It seems that there should be some regulation, but apparently only the BBC is required to be un-biased according to a previous poster.

and why would any younger sibling of the heir stay on in the Monarchy if they are going to absorb all the negative coverage? Seems a mad approach.