Cameron bunkered down at News Corp. Imagine if Julia Gillard visited a Fairfax talk-fest under the guise of a “senior cabinet minister” to hide her identity. Well that’s what British Prime Minister David Cameron did last night, according to the The Guardian:

David Cameron visited Rupert Murdoch‘s Wapping headquarters in London on Monday night to address a closed-doors conference, just days before his government is expected to give regulatory approval to the controversial £8bn takeover of BSkyB by the media mogul’s News Corporation.

Cameron gave an early-evening keynote speech to a “CEO summit” organised by the Times — although the event programme published on the newspaper’s website coyly described him as an unnamed “senior cabinet minister”.

The programme indicated Cameron would also be taking questions from those present — a mixture of senior business executives and News Corp and Times staff. But the prime minister did not attend the summit dinner immediately after his talk, avoiding more informal contact with Murdoch and senior executives.

At least prime ministers and government ministers have spoken in public at talk-fests organised by The Australian in the past. But despite that, if it had been Fairfax, or the ABC, the Murdoch media in this country would be all over this story demanding the government say why it favoured a rival media outlet and digging to find out what was said.

There is a small parallel here with the BkyB deal in the UK: News’s 25% controlled Foxtel (News controls the management of the Pay TV giant) wants to takeover regional pay TV group Austar and needs some favourable rulings from the ACCC and the Federal Government. And I bet that Cameron and the Murdochites won’t mention the gorilla in the room: not the BSkyB deal, but the ongoing phone hacking scandal that has ensnared News Of The World staff.

Naturally we won’t here a peep about this in Australia, which is odd because the way Cameron’s government (which was supported by Murdoch’s London papers, led by The Sun) has been reversing itself on policy (changing its complex plans for reforming the National Health Service, abandoning the sale of state-owned forests and dropping plans to try and reduce Britain’s rapidly rising jail population), he’s making the Gillard government look an unlikely model of stability. — Glenn Dyer

Study shows the perils of being a journalist

“At least 67 journalists worldwide were forced into exile during the past year under threats of imprisonment, violence and ongoing harassment, a press freedom watchdog has found. The Committee to Protect Journalists said today that Iran and Cuba were the worst offenders in driving journalists from their borders between June 2010 and May 2011, with each country found to have caused the exile of eighteen journalists” — Media Spy

John Allan to head The Australian’s future paywall

“John Allan has been appointed chief operating officer of The Australian, in another sign of the masthead’s focus on the digital side of media. The Australian‘s digital strategy is significant because it will become the first News Limited publication to put some of its content behind a paywall in October. The Australian will adopt a mix of free and paid content on its website, similar to The Wall Street Journal‘s web presence, in move that will be closely watched by mastheads at News Ltd and Fairfax.” — The Australian

Difficulties facing journalists reporting on China’s state grid

“Quality journalism is not exactly encouraged in China but nor is it completely crushed. For every quality journalist who is intimidated, sacked or even jailed, there seems to be a dozen prepared to take their place. They have lost battles, but not the war.” — The Sydney Morning Herald

Has the way plagiarism is handled in the media changed?

“When the Chicago Sun-Times fired Paige Wiser for fabricating earlier this month, readers shared mixed reactions about whether the punishment was too harsh. Wiser, who had been at the paper for 17 years, was let go after writing a ‘Glee Live!’ concert review that included details about a song that was never performed and a song that she didn’t stay at the concert long enough to hear. After her column ran, Wiser admitted that she left the concert early because one of her kids, who was at the concert with her, started to get sick. The responses and reader comments renew attention to how news organizations handle plagiarism and fabrication cases — and whether the standards have changed in recent years.” — Poynter

BBC correspondent’s release continues to be denied

“The BBC World Service has issued a further statement expressing concern about the detention of their correspondent in Tajikistan,Urunboy Usmonov. He was arrested a week ago by the Tajik security services and a BBC statement registered its alarm about his safety. He has been denied regular and confidential access to his lawyer, and has not been allowed to see his family or colleagues. Urunboy is said to be suffering from a serious heart condition and has requested further medical attention.” — The Guardian