A colleague cold calls a chief executive on his mobile. Questions needing answers are posed. The CEO doesn’t much care for the call, but plays ball, up to a point.
Later, a flak rings. One of the hysterical American types.
That phone call was an “unauthorised communication!” she screeches. Phones aren’t there just for hacks to casually ring. You need to make appointments! With the correct officials!
At the moment, this sort of stuff is just funny. The coming GDPR rules are of some concern though.
At the moment the deal journalists have with society is this: we’re allowed to go anywhere to ask anyone anything, in the interests of freedom, so long as the information we get wasn’t obtained illegally. Phone-hacking is, erm, frowned upon. But phone-ringing is definitely allowed, indeed expected.
We wonder whether it is going to be possible for flaks and CEOs to complain about phone calls under
