Free Republic

When oligarchs attack: Moment Russian media mogul Lebvedev 'neutralised' fellow billionaire on TV By Ted Thornhill Last updated at 1:30 AM on 19th September 2011 Alexander Lebedev, who owns The Independent and Evening Standard, unleashed a flurry of punches on another businessman taking part in a TV debate on the global economic crisis. In front of an astonished studio audience, the Russian billionaire landed a series of blows on oligarch Sergei Polonsky's head, knocking him off his chair. Afterwards Lebedev claimed that he’d had to ‘neutralise’ Polonsky because he feared he was going to be hit first. The incredible scene...

London paper ‘sold its editorial independence,’ Open Democracy claims.The London Evening Standard is facing accusations it sold “favorable news coverage” to six major companies, including Uber and Google, in a £3 million deal. Open Democracy, a political U.K.-based website, accused the paper of offering positive news coverage to the likes of Uber and Google in exchange for corporate partnerships worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, as part of an upcoming campaign called London 2020. According to the report published Wednesday, the Evening Standard told corporate partners they would not just get the usual, clearly labeled “advertorial” content, but also news...

GEORGE Galloway has enjoyed considerable success in the courts during his political career, winning an estimated total of £250,000 in libel damages. In some cases, the disputes have been settled before they reach the courts, but the Labour MP has proved time and again he will call on expensive lawyers when crossed. Mr Galloway’s biggest libel win was against the Daily Mirror and its sister paper in Scotland, the Daily Record, in December 1992. It followed the so-called "Mirrorgate" affair in which a US journalist claimed the Daily Mirror’s then foreign editor, Nick Davies, had been involved in arms dealing...

Feb. 13, 2003 British paper says columnist's attack on Israel 'regrettable' By DOUGLAS DAVIS LONDON - The London Evening Standard has apologized to readers who, it says, were "rightly offended" by a vitriolic attack on Israel contained in the regular column of British author A. N. Wilson. The paper said that Wilson unknowingly quoted "notorious white supremacist and Holocaust denier" Michael Hoffman and said it was "a matter of great regret that Hoffman or any of his propaganda was publicized." Condemning its own columnist, the paper said that it "fundamentally disagrees" with the opinions expressed by Wilson, "but, as with...