By Gabriel Princewill-
The is still no time framework about the investigation being conducted by The Sun, Daily Mail, And ITV with regards serious allegations made about Dan Wooton in allegedly targeting some of its employees and celebrities, and in many cases offering large sums of money to pose nude for photographs.
The above media publications promised to conduct an investigation in relation to the multiple allegations against one of its former prominent journalists, Dan Wooton, but it remains unknown what the time scale for that investigation is.
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Accountability in the press has come under sharp focus again following the sending of explicit images by a BBC presenter in Northern Ireland, Stephen Nolan to a guest.
Today, Nolan apologized unreservedly for a transgression that is becoming all too familiar in the media, and threatens to undermine the integrity of one of the most important professions in society. The BBC NI radio presenter said the images he sent were done outside of work, but little is know whether the conduct was one mutually shared between Nolan and Beer, who is now in prison for sharing a video footage of his former girlfriend without her permission.
The saying that birds of the same feather flock together comes to mind here where the recipient of the indecent images is imprisoned for offences relating to sharing images.
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Unlike the allegations against Wooton, Nolan’s ill judgement appears to be an isolated incident, although one can intuitively make a case that there could be others that never came to light.
The allegations against Wooton, and the single one against well known BBC Huw Edwards and Stephen Nolan, accentuates the scale of the misdemeanor problem in some circles.
Where bosses should draw the line in relation to improper conduct is contentious in many circles, the benchmark is avowedly subjective and akeen to reasonably acceptable standards among right thinking civil members of society.
Issues of accountability are ever lurking where serious improprieties are brought to light.
Last week, a Leeds professor expressed shock at the depths of allegations made against one of the three publication’s most prominent journalists, following multiple disturbing allegations made by different sources about despicable conduct committed by the Newzealand born television presenter.
Wootton, who was closely affiliated with The Sun, the Daily Mail, and ITV, is alleged to have exploited his position of influence and charisma to engage in inappropriate conduct with individuals both within and outside the world of celebrities.
The allegations which present Mr Wooton as one with a predilection for making pornographic material, also portrays a man willing to exploit other people’s vulnerabilities to fulfil objectives of his own.
Some analysts believe the fact Wooton’s alleged conduct were not criminal matters, potentially absolve the publications from responsibility or culpability of any kind, especially as those he was propositioning were all adults and free to make up their own minds.
Others insist that the level of indecency and abuse of power, makes it enough of a troubling issue about which the bosses of the publications in question ought to have acted decisively, rather than not act at all.
What nobody knows for certain is how much the editors of the respective publications knew about the allegations, and what substance various editors may have ascribed to aspects of any allegations they knew.
Yet, the onus still remains on those in the firing line to try and establish what was had transpired regarding various allegations.
There are concerns that money and power appears to be given weighty consideration over proper and ethical conduct among big players in an industry where affiliation and influence trumps that of integrity and accountability.
The British press is one of the best in pursuing stories of accountability, but stands accused of being lax when impropriety manifestly abounds in its midst.
Lack of proper accountability has often been unearthed when it comes to big names with fame and money within the industry.
Criminality has erroneously been presented as the bar for unacceptable conduct, moral standards in the process relegated to the bracket of subjective value judgement.
Even if a legitimate debate exists in relation to the journalists alleged inappropriate sexual overtures to several people, detailed reports of bullying of employees during his time at The Sun has led to the conclusion by several observers that some of the publications may have failed in their duty to protect vulnerable employees from unwanted and abusive conduct.
Accountability
The reported findings of an investigation by the Byline Times raises serious issues of accountability that will force a re-evaluation of the ethics of the mainstream press in the absence of an eventual declaration from serious bosses that they were unaware of the extent of the allegations made against Wooton, as he continued to be a big shot in their publications.
Most pertinent here will be whether bosses were aware of the extent of the allegations against Dan Wooton, and in what cases or circumstances a reasonable duty to act arises.
Also, unknown is whether the publications did in fact act , but were assured by Wooton that the claims lacked veracity or did not warrant editorial intervention. The storm created by the many revelations rival that of Phil Schofield in which the former presenter admitted having a sexual affair with a young man of 20 who was a runner boy for ITV’s This Morning show.
While Schofield was forced to resign from his post, Wooton has kept his job with GB News as one of their prime time television hosts. The MailOnline prudently seized publishing his articles with immediate effect following the allegations.
It is believed GB News is strictly waiting for the outcome of an official investigation on the Wooton allegations, in the absence of which its bosses will pay fidelity to Wooton, who has for years help sustain their growing viewership with his critical style atop an established status. Whether Wooton should have been axed by GB News is a subjective question; for them loyalty and reciprocation of all manner of good will takes precedence over other considerations.
In the meantime, recent revelations by the same Byline Times that GB News bosses were accused of racial discrimination and paid sums of money to shut down those allegations already throws the broadcaster into the casualty bracket of publications in need of urgent reform and improvement.
Multiple Allegations of Misconduct
The revelations in the Byline Times investigation have uncovered additional incidents that go beyond celebrity interactions.
As these revelations come to light, there is an urgent call for accountability within the media industry. The media outlets that employed Wootton must address a number of pressing issues. The Sun and Daily Mail Online are already investigating the matter.
Independent investigations need to be conducted to understand the extent of Wootton’s actions and whether they were enabled or covered up by the organizations he worked for.
Editors and executives within The Sun, the Daily Mail, and ITV will be expected to provide full disclosure of their knowledge regarding those aspects of Wootton’s behavior they we aware of . If any complicity or negligence is uncovered, appropriate action must be taken.
In cases where it is found that high-ranking individuals were aware ofall of Wootton’s actions and failed to take action, resignations may be necessary to uphold the integrity of these media outlets.
Comprehensive reforms to workplace policies need to be be undertaken to ensure that such abuses of power are prevented in the future. There should be clear guidelines on appropriate behavior and avenues for reporting misconduct.
The Sun, Daily Mail, And ITV where contacted for comment.
The Sun said on phone they could not say when their investigation would conclude.
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