Fw: LM NEWS: LM editor gives evidence at High Court

Russell Grinker grinker at mweb.co.za
Thu Mar 9 23:05:00 PST 2000



>MICK HUME GIVES EVIDENCE AT HIGH COURT
>
>Mick Hume, editor of LM magazine, gave evidence today (Thursday 9 March) in
the ITN v LM libel case at the High Court in London.
>
>Hume defended his decision to publish Thomas Deichmann's article 'The
picture that fooled the world', which led to ITN issuing a writ for libel, in the February 1997 issue of LM:
>
>'I thought it was a great story, a very very powerful story and a great
piece of investigative journalism that deserved to be published', he told the court.
>
>'Clearly, as with all other publications, LM is more interested in some
stories than others. This was my kind of story, not only because it was in line with my kind of mission statement for the new magazine speaking uncomfortable truths, which I think is an important function. But also issues I felt strongly about to do with journalistic standards and also the use and misuse of the Holocaust.'
>
>Hume said that all too often 'easy and casual' comparisons were made
between the Holocaust and conflicts around the globe: 'I find it worrying because it distorts the present and the past. The present because if you reduce a complex civil war to a rerun of the Second World War, where the Serbs become Nazis, it's an over-simplification where you cease to understand anything. It becomes a simple black and white moral issue; it becomes an excuse for ignorance. It also distorts and degrades our view of the past. The Holocaust is an absolutely unique horror in history, the great crime of the twentieth century, and if we start putting it on a par with civil wars of today you can only diminish its horror and do a disservice to victims of the Holocaust.'
>
>The case continues.
>
>For more transcripts from the court proceedings, go to:
>
>http://www.informinc.co.uk/itn-vs-lm/court/index.html
>



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