Tabloid will not be closed despite pressure
Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte said it would be “nonsense” to close the paper over its publication of topless pictures of Kate Middleton, claiming such a move would be “completely disproportionate”.
Mr Desmond’s UK-based company Northern and Shell &is joint shareholder in the Irish Daily Star with Independent News and Media, and industry insiders believe there are question marks over whether N&S has the power to close the title.
As of yesterday, there had been no moves to follow up on the &threat to close the paper, and it is understood INM would contest any effort to do so. Even if Mr Desmond walked away, there are indications that it could continue to operate, either fully owned by INM or with a new shareholder.
Up to 120 jobs, provided directly and indirectly, would be at risk were the newspaper to close.
Yesterday Justice Minister Alan Shatter signalled that he would look at shoring up privacy laws in light of the Irish Daily Star’s decision to publish the pictures.
“It is my intention to revisit the provisions of the Privacy Bill 2006 which was reinstated to the Seanad order paper following the formation of the Government, to consider what changes should be made to it in the context of developments that have taken place since its first publication and to then progress its enactment,” said Mr Shatter in a statement.
He said “perceived financial gain as opposed to any principled freedom of expression” appeared to be the “dominant value” in some instances, and that “some sections of the print media are either unable or unwilling in their reportage to distinguish between ‘prurient interest’ and ‘the public interest’.”
While INM strongly criticised the decision to publish the photographs on Saturday, it said on Sunday that any attempt to close the paper would be disproportionate, a view echoed by the National Union of Journalists.
Mr Rabbitte said he felt that any plans to close the paper would be a “completely disproportionate response” over what he described as “a lapse in taste”,
Speaking on RTÉ radio, Mr Rabbitte said: “I wouldn’t make a lot of the decisions the Star makes, [but] I would still defend its right to continue to publish its newspaper.
“The Star has a following in Ireland. It has a readership in Ireland. There are, I understand, 70 to 80 people employed there. So let’s keep things in perspective.”
Mr Rabbitte also said it was “hypocrisy” for Richard Desmond to threaten the paper’s future when he had made money in the past through publishing adult magazines.
When contacted yesterday, a spokesperson for N&S said: “We do not have anything more to say.”
INM did not add to its Sunday statement. It is understood any effort to cease publication of the Irish Daily Star would first require an application to the courts.
There have been suggestions that the relationship between the two shareholders is sometimes strained, and it is understood INM does not want to do anything to antagonise N&S. At the same time, INM is hoping that a sense of perspective will take hold, allowing any threat to the paper to pass.
INM is investigating how the photographs came to feature in the paper, a process which may yet have ramifications for the senior editorial personnel who made the decision to publish them.
However, while the British royal family has taken steps to sue the French magazine, Closer, which first published the pictures of Ms Middleton topless, there has been no indication that it would sue the Star or other publications that have featured the photographs.
Irish Daily Star editor Michael O’Kane, who was suspended last night, told RTÉ on Saturday that he had not paid for the pictures and had instead reproduced pages that were already on the internet.
On Friday he signalled his intention to publish the pictures on Saturday, subject to legal advice.
The newspaper signed up to the Press Council of Ireland’s code of practice in 2008, which states that taking photographs of individuals in private without their consent was not acceptable unless justified by public interest.
