This Week in the Media
October 29 - 8 November

Each week McSpotlight will be updated on how the world's press has covered McLibel, McDonald's and multinationals in general.

Hearing Becomes The Biggest Mac Of All
A Tale of Two Court Cases: McLibel Breaks Record on 292nd Day

    by Patricia Wynn Davies
    Legal Affairs Editor; The Independent; 2 November 1996; UK

    [Long piece on the record breaking case]


McDonald's libel case is England's longest trial


    By Patricia Reaney
    Fri, Nov 1,1996

    [Another piece on the record breaking nature of the trial - this time on the 'wire']


McLibel
TIME magazine
11th November 1996 ;Worldwide
England, Mclibel Trial: 2 years into a civil suit against 2 eco-activists McDonald's may wish it hadn't picked this fight. The defendants, who distributed leaflets in the 1980's criticising the chain's environmental ethics and nutritional claims, have set up a web site (www.mcspotlight.org) detailing their beef with the burger chain.

European Business News
Thursady 7th Novmeber, Europe
[Business programme broadcast throughout Europe, carried a short interview with Helen and Dave outside of the Court - broadcast on BSkyB in the UK]

London News Radio
1st November 1996, UK

[Short piece on the record breaking trial]

BBC Newsroom SouthEast
1st November 1996, UK

[Details of the trial repeated throughout the day]

London Today / Tonight (ITV)
1sr November 1996, UK

[Details of the trial repeated throughout the day]

McSpotlight Awarded Four Grenades! TWICE!!
DisInformation

Dear Web Publisher,

Congratulations on the acceptance of "Mc Spotlight" into DisInformation's subculture search engine. The materials that you have published at http://www.McSpotlight.org/ have been deemed as being within the top 1% of all documents on the WWW for quality and political/cultural importance by our staff of reviewers! It has been given our highest awards rating of Four Grenades!

Four Grenade Award of Excellence

As I am sure that you are aware, there is a war going on, an all out, total information war that is being waged right now against every man, woman and child on the planet. We are subject to disinformation campaigns at every turn, from every pollster, statistician, pundit, talking head expert, you name it... we are being lied to so the rich can get richer at the expense of Mother Nature and the very futures of our children and grandchildren.

For the first time in the history of Western Civilization is the average person able to publish their documents to the world without intervening censors. This is an excellent opportunity to upset the information power paradigm that currently holds the reins of information to serve the political and cultural interests of the powers that be.

If there are enough informed people, armed with the significant intellectual ammunition necessary to combat the distortion, innuendo, and cunning semantic subterfuge of the popular media, a paradigm shift can occur in this culture and we may be able to pull back from the brink of political and environmental catastrophe, before it is too late.

I am sure that you yourself can see how the internet is being fashioned into the next corporate marketing tool. We think that we can take back the Internet as a medium of free information exchange. The majority of users do not go on-line to see ATT's home page, but to find information that would be hidden from them otherwise.

Since we do not support the "Corporate World View" of our colleagues, we face corporate censorship at every turn. We do, therefore, ask your assistance in building this network of culturally alternative web sites and documents. We humbly offer you the use of our search engine (in which your materials are indexed) for use on your web-pages. It is only by providing a high level of information service to sites like yours that we can hope to be an integral part of this critical aspect of the internet community.

Thank you in advance for helping to build a more informed tomorrow.



Award No. Two

Dear Web Publisher,

Congratulations on the acceptance of "McSpotlight on the Baby Milk Industry" into DisInformation's subculture search engine. The materials that you have published at http://www.mcspotlight.org/beyond/nestle.html have been deemed as being within the top 1% of all documents on the WWW for quality and political/cultural importance by our staff of reviewers! It has been given our highest awards rating of Four Grenades!

Nearly Over: McJudgement Day In Sight
Morning Star; October 1996

Enviromental campaigners Dave Morris and Helen Steel at the Royal Courts of Justice in London yesterday, as they prepared to deliver the closing speeches in their long running libel case brought against them by the transnational McDonald's Corporation. The MCLibel case, as it is has become known, is already in the Guiness Book of Records as the longest running civil trial in British history.

Last Week in the Media

18 October - 28 October - USA Today Special McLibel Case Nears End.
10 October - 17 October - Squall details McDonald's nefarious links with Police intelligence units.
3 October - 9 October - Viz and McDonald's; McMunchies and McLibel trial becomes the longest civil case in British history - Guiness Book of Records
26 September - 2 October - How we met, Helen Steel and Dave Morris, in the Independent.
19 September - 25 September - Big Mac Chews Out Little Mrs Munchie.
12 Septmeber - 18 September - Adopt-A-Store and SLAPPS.
22 August - 11 September - Mark Thomas' regular site to hang out: McSpotlight.
7 August - 21August - Big Mac in big trouble over late openings.
18 July - 6 August - Last year, 96% of Americans ate at McDonald's; more than half the American population lives within a three-minute drive of a McDonald's...
4 July - 17 July - How corporations are "flame-broiled" on the Net.
27 June - 3 July - The second anniversary of the McLibel Trial is celebrated in style.
20 June - 26 June - Squall reveals how McDonald's is "gobbling the rainforests".
13 June - 19 June - The New Statesman runs a very positive article on McSpotlight
30 May - 12 June - McDonald's 'used police sources' in McLibel case, reports the Independent
23 May - 29 May -
Red Pepper exposes Japanese racist myths about 'healthy' McDonald's food
16 May - 22 May -
A quiet week: 'An American Cowboy in London' profiles McLibel witness Howard Lyman
9 May - 15 May -
'McMyths about McJobs': Strange Spectator article defends low-paid work for young people
2 May - 8 May -
Busy week, with McLibel featured on satirical TV show and analysis of McDonald's stranglehold over the UK
24 April - 1 May -
Highlight of the week: George Monbiot's Guardian on the absurdities of Britain's libel laws
16 April - 23 April -
Howard Lyman causes a storm on the Oprah Winfrey Show when Oprah pledges to give up burgers
5 April - 15 April -
A quiet week, but with interesting legal analysis from Legal Action
16 March - 4 April -
The BSE in beef crisis explodes, the media is saturated with McDonald's decision to ban British beef
9 March - 15 March -
Sensational five-page colour feature in the UK's Guardian Weekend on the McLibel Trial and McSpotlight
2 March - 8 March -
The world's press takes an interest in McSpotlight - articles in USA Today, Observer and Legal Action
24 February - 1 March -
Lots of mentions for McLibel. McSpotlight makes 'Global Hero' for March 1996
17 - 23 February -
Great headlines, media people: 'Big Mac's Critics Connect On Line', 'Burger Giant Under McSpotlight'...
11 - 16 February -
Our first week - not much press. Little did they know...

Other This Weeks

This Week in Court

This Week's Campaigning

This Week at McDonald's

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