Electricity giant Npower has obtained an injunction to stop protests and filming at the site of a proposed ash dump.
NPower have recently been working at Radley Lakes in Oxfordshire, cutting down trees and performing other acts of ecological vandalism. They are eventually going to fill the lakes with coal ash from the nearby Didcot power station.
Understandably, NPower's work has met with a great deal of peaceful protest from local people. NUJ-affiliated photographer Adrian Arbib, who has previously worked in Rwanda and Sudan for a number of national newspapers and magazines, visited Radley Lakes to cover the protests and the work NPower are doing.
NPower then obtained an injunction from the High Court, which prevents Adrian from photographing any "protected persons" - that is, NPower workers - at Radley Lakes. In effect, this means he has been prevented from covering the work NPower are doing. So much for the free press we are supposed to enjoy in this country.
Fortunately, Channel 4 News picked up on the NPower injunction. View the video of their report here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdOFRaDXd2g
This story went out on Tuesday 20th March. Interestingly, it was originally supposed to air on Friday 16th March, but apparantley NPower made it very clear to Channel 4 that this would not be acceptable. 16th March was Red Nose Day. As part of the corporate-celebrity back-slap-athon, NPower were giving £5 to Comic Relief for everyone who switched their electric supply to NPower. Probably cheaper than cold calling people, or knocking on their doors - and it generates a lot of good will. Unless, of course, another TV channel decides to show the true character of NPower on the same day.
Eventually the story didn't go out on Red Nose Day. To summarise: a corporation used the law to prevent the media from airing a story about a corporation using the law to prevent a freelance journalist from covering a story. Ain't it great to live in the free world?
Understandably, NPower's work has met with a great deal of peaceful protest from local people. NUJ-affiliated photographer Adrian Arbib, who has previously worked in Rwanda and Sudan for a number of national newspapers and magazines, visited Radley Lakes to cover the protests and the work NPower are doing.
NPower then obtained an injunction from the High Court, which prevents Adrian from photographing any "protected persons" - that is, NPower workers - at Radley Lakes. In effect, this means he has been prevented from covering the work NPower are doing. So much for the free press we are supposed to enjoy in this country.
Fortunately, Channel 4 News picked up on the NPower injunction. View the video of their report here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdOFRaDXd2g This story went out on Tuesday 20th March. Interestingly, it was originally supposed to air on Friday 16th March, but apparantley NPower made it very clear to Channel 4 that this would not be acceptable. 16th March was Red Nose Day. As part of the corporate-celebrity back-slap-athon, NPower were giving £5 to Comic Relief for everyone who switched their electric supply to NPower. Probably cheaper than cold calling people, or knocking on their doors - and it generates a lot of good will. Unless, of course, another TV channel decides to show the true character of NPower on the same day.
Eventually the story didn't go out on Red Nose Day. To summarise: a corporation used the law to prevent the media from airing a story about a corporation using the law to prevent a freelance journalist from covering a story. Ain't it great to live in the free world?
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