Guilty pleasures
By NewsPress Now
BBC shocked at ‘abhorrent’ conduct of former news presenter
LONDON | The BBC said it is shocked at the “abhorrent” behavior of its former top news presenter Huw Edwards, who admitted Wednesday to accessing indecent images of children sent to him by a man via the WhatsApp messaging service.
During a 26-minute hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in central London, the 62-year-old Edwards — for decades the trusted front man of BBC News — pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children.
He was released on bail until a pre-sentencing hearing on Sept. 16 and could face up to 10 years in prison, though the prosecution conceded that a suspended sentence may be appropriate.
The court was told that 377 sexual images were sent to Edwards on WhatsApp between December 2020 and August 2021. Of them, 41 were indecent images of children, including seven classified as “category A,” which were the most indecent, with the estimated age of most of the children between 13 and 15. One child was aged between 7 and 9.
“The BBC is shocked to hear the details which have emerged in court today,” the public broadcaster said in a statement. “There can be no place for such abhorrent behavior and our thoughts are with all those affected.”
Edwards’ admission of guilt marks a dramatic fall from grace. After starting at BBC Wales 40 years ago, Edwards was the lead anchor on the BBC’s nighttime news for two decades and led the public broadcaster’s coverage of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 as well as election specials.
One of the BBC’s top earners, he was suspended in July 2023 for separate claims made last year, and subsequently resigned in April on health grounds. No charges were brought in relation to those claims.
The BBC revealed that it was made aware in November “in confidence” that Edwards had been arrested on suspicion of serious offenses and released on bail while police continued their investigation. It added that it would have dismissed him if he had been charged.
It was revealed earlier this week that he had been charged in late June — at which point he “was no longer an employee of the BBC,” the broadcaster said.
Sophie Raworth, who was presenting the early evening news on Wednesday, stressed that the BBC news department is independent from the broadcaster’s hierarchy. She said it only learned that Edwards had been charged on Monday along with everyone else when the Metropolitan Police revealed he was due in court Wednesday.
Following Edwards’ admission of guilt, police identified the man who sent the images to him as Alex Williams, 25. He was sentenced to a suspended 12-month sentence at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court in Wales in March, after pleading guilty to possessing and distributing indecent images as well as possessing prohibited images of children.
An investigation into Edwards began after a seized phone revealed his participation in a WhatsApp conversation, police said.
“Accessing indecent images of underage people perpetuates the sexual exploitation of children, which has deep, long-lasting trauma on these victims,” said Claire Brinton of the Crown Prosecution Service, which decides whether a case should go to court.
Speaking in Edwards’ defense, lawyer Philip Evans said there is “no suggestion” that his client had “in the traditional sense of the word, created any image of any sort.”
Edwards, he added, “did not keep any images, did not send any to anyone else, and did not and has not sought similar images from anywhere else.” He added that Edwards had “both mental and physical” health issues and that he is “not just of good character, but of exceptional character.”
Prosecutor Ian Hope told the court that Edwards’ “genuine remorse” was one reason why a suspended sentence might be considered. Setting out the potential penalties under the law, he said that where there is the prospect of rehabilitation, a community order and sexual offender treatment program could be considered as alternatives to prison.
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children said in a statement that there should be “no doubt” about the seriousness of Edwards’ crimes.
“It can be extremely traumatic for young people to know sexual images of themselves have been shared online,” it said. “We also need to see online platforms do much more to identify and disrupt child abuse in private messaging services in order to safeguard young people.”
Washington, D.C., sues StubHub for inflating ticket prices
WASHINGTON | The attorney general for Washington, D.C., sued StubHub on Wednesday, accusing the ticket resale platform of advertising deceptively low prices and then ramping up prices with extra fees.
The practice known as “drip pricing” violates consumer protection laws in the nation’s capital, Attorney General Brian Schwalb said.
“StubHub intentionally hides the true price to boost profits at its customers’ expense,” he said in a statement.
The company said it is disappointed to be targeted, maintaining its practices are consistent with the law and competing companies as well as broader industry norms. “We strongly support federal and state solutions that enhance existing laws to empower consumers, such as requiring all-in pricing uniformly across platforms,” the company said in a statement.
The lawsuit, meanwhile, says StubHub hides mandatory “fulfillment and service” fees until the end of a lengthy online purchasing process that often requires more than a dozen pages to complete as a countdown timer creates a sense of urgency.
That makes it “nearly impossible” for buyers to know the true cost of a ticket and compare to find the best price, he said. Fees vary widely and can total more than 40% of the advertised ticket price, the lawsuit alleges.
StubHub, which is based in New York, is one of the world’s largest resale platforms for tickets to sports, concerts, and other live events.
Sally Greenberg, CEO of the nonprofit advocacy group National Consumers League, applauded the lawsuit. “Hidden fees in the ticketing industry have truly gotten out of control. The price that is advertised is the price that we should pay — full stop,” she said. Ticket fees were also part of a sweeping antitrust lawsuit the Justice Department filed against Ticketmaster and its parent company in May.
StubHub used to advertise the “all-in” cost of a ticket about a decade ago, but changed after finding that people are more likely to buy tickets at higher prices with the “drip pricing” model, he said.
Washington residents’ per-capita spending on live entertainment outpaces that of many other major U.S. cities and since 2015, StubHub has sold nearly 5 million tickets in Washington and reaped about $118 million in fees, the suit states.
The lawsuit seeks damages and to block the pricing practices. Schwalb settled another lawsuit last year with the Washington Commanders over fans’ season ticket deposit money.
Anna Netrebko to sing in first U.S. appearance since 2019
Soprano Anna Netrebko is scheduled to give a recital at the Palm Beach Opera for its gala on Feb. 3 in what would be her first U.S. appearance in six years.
Considered the world’s top soprano, Netrebko was dropped by the Metropolitan Opera in 2022 after she refused a demand by Met general manager Peter Gelb that she repudiate Russia President Vladimir Putin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She has sued the Met, alleging defamation and breach of contract in a case that is pending.
“Arts organizations should not be involved in politics,” Palm Beach Opera general director James Barbato said in a telephone interview Wednesday. “In our opinion our mission is to connect people to explore what’s universal in our humanity and Anna Netrebko has clearly and unequivocally spoken out in opposition to the war in Ukraine and distanced herself from the Russian government at great personal cost.”
Netrebko has appeared in the past two years at major houses including the Vienna State Opera, Paris Opéra, Milan’s Teatro alla Scala and Berlin’s Staatsoper unter den Linden but had not been engaged in the U.S. or by The Royal Opera in London. She last appeared at the Met in 2019 in Verdi’s “Macbeth” and a New Year’s Eve gala.
Netrebko will perform with pianist Ángel Rodríguez at the The Breakers hotel.
“I am honored to be lending my voice to the Palm Beach Opera’s annual gala,” Netrebko said in a statement Wednesday sent to The Associated Press.
Barbato said he began discussions with Netrebko’s manager in January.
“It was, a rare opportunity to present, an electrifying performer with one of the most beautiful voices of our lifetimes,” he said.
Palm Beach Opera’s season includes three performances each of Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette” in January, Verdi’s “La Traviata” in February and Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” in April. Casts have not been announced.
Past Palm Beach Opera galas featured Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Renée Fleming and Bryn Terfel, with Isabel Leonard (2024), Piotr Beczala (2023) and Nadine Sierra (2022) appearing in recent years.
“It means a lot to me to be joining the remarkable list of illustrious singers that have participated in this celebration over the last decades,” Netrebko said.
‘Swiftkirchen’ for Taylor Swift concerts gets 1,400 bids for the signs
BERLIN | The German city of Gelsenkirchen, which temporarily renamed itself “Swiftkirchen” before Taylor Swift played three concerts there in mid-July, said Wednesday it received about 1,400 bids from Germany and abroad for signs it put up with the name.
The new name was one of a flurry of fan attractions around the concerts on July 17, 18 and 19. The city then held an auction for 20 original “Swiftkirchen” signs.
The highest offer was $3,245, and the 20 highest bidders will be informed by email, the city said in a statement, adding that a total sum for the auction will be announced once all payments have been received. It said one of the winning bids came from outside Germany, but didn’t specify where.
The proceeds will go to a center for girls, a food bank for children and a shelter for women in Gelsenkirchen.
Another “Swiftkirchen” sign is now on display at Germany’s museum of post-World War II history in Bonn, the Haus der Geschichte, the city said.
A former coal mining city, Gelsenkirchen is one of Germany’s poorest. It’s known for the soccer team Schalke, a traditional heavyweight currently in the second division, and its stadium, which sometimes attracts international entertainers like Swift.
—From AP reports
