The Leverson Report has just come out and there is hoo-ha on both sides with regards to the regulation of the British press. The Government wants to bring in tougher regulations and governing bodies, the press say that this will limit freedom of speech and prevent them from investigating people such as the Government.
As always, R.C. has the perfect, sensible solution for everything -
The Press must pay a yearly stipend into a 'Libel Fund', this fund will cover the legal and court costs of the individuals they have wronged. Free legal services will be given to those wronged in the Press and judges will be under orders to hand out new maximum fines (£1 Million+) if the Press have proven to be libellous.
So if you appear on the front page of a newspaper with the banner headline 'Mr. Wotsit is a Paedo', you'll get free legal counsel and costs to take the newspaper to court. The total cost of the trial - judges, lawyers, etc. will be covered by the 'Libel Fund' and if the newspaper is proven to have wrongly labelled Mr. Wotsit as a Paedo, they'll have to pay him over a million squids.
Five or six court cases like that in the space of few months and the shareholders will demand higher journalistic standards or threaten to pull investment.
