Do
you know NightJack? He's not a popular movie or pop star, not a famous
or infamous public figure, nor is he anybody you and I and most other
people ought to know. Likely the only ground we share with him is that
he is also a blogger. One with 60,000 readers!. Not only that, the
number was each day on the increase, with the possibility of reaching
the figure of 500,000 judging by the trend it was going.
We know he's someone hidden under his chosen nickname 'NightJack'. We also know now what happened to him recently. The well known British newspaper, The Times, who at other periods represented the best value of journalism, has managed to close up his Blogs.
NightJack began writing Blogs in February of 2008, (closed up just 18 months later) concealing his true identity and presented himself as a member of the police force. There are many Blogs by the police in Britain, usually anonymous. (Can be viewed at www.200weeks.police999.com). NightJack, however, distinguished himself very rapidly. His writing was agile, clear and vivid, permitting the reader to follow the day to day workings of a police detective. but careful not to hinder legal prosecuting procedures with some details that might reveal the cases he was working on.
His enormous success was recognised in April of 2009, as the best Blogs, winning the Premium Orwell price, which was destined to a charitable institution.
Up to that point, all was good & well. But, 'The Times' decided to investigate who this NightJack was, who had almost the same number of readers as the Daily. They succeeded. The author of the popular Blogs went to the justice court in the effort of defending his anonymity but the judge decided, that his identity did not deserve any protection. They published his real name, Richard Horton, detective of the Lancashire Police. Horton's anonymity ended, so ended his Blogs.
The readers of 'The Times', many are also readers of NightJack's Blogs, were furious, livid with the Newspaper. 'The Times' argument being: "He could be a fraud!". But he wasn't. Did The Times act on the interests of the readers? No. Much more likely to the contrary. They have forced the closure of NightJack's Blogs, informative, useful, up to the
minute and interesting. They have also created a dangerous jurisprudence: no British bloggers now have the legal right to be anonymous. All these, for what??
Well, my view is, for selling more papers. Such cases almost always to do with one thing, Money.
Current Mood: 
Annoyed
Annoyed
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