Media roundup

The Register - BBC blew $375k on bbc.com
"The BBC has defended its decision to blow $375,000 (£212,000) of public money on the bbc.com domain....But following a request under the Freedom of Information Act the broadcaster has finally come clean."

Guardian - As the US lowers the nuclear threshold, debate is stifled
"The MoD was asked to release studies it has made assessing the threats that might be deterred by a Trident replacement. It replied that though there was a "strong public interest" in the UK having a "credible nuclear deterrent", "it is felt that releasing information about the potential value of a deterrent capability ... could damage national security, and we do not believe there would be any public interest in doing so".


Guardian - Out in open: notes from war bunker to be released
"Historians seeking an accurate record of how Winston Churchill governed Britain from his Whitehall bunker in the darkest days of the blitz will from next January be able to read the contemporary notes taken by the cabinet secretary at the time, breaking a tradition which has protected these documents for more than 60 years. The decision to release the notebooks follows pressure from Lord Phillips, the new lord chief justice, to publish the notebooks under the Freedom of Information Act."

Guardian - Watchdog blames councils over flood risk
"Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show how councils and developers disagree with the agency's opinion about the risks."

Wales on Sunday - Record teacher payouts
"TEACHERS have received almost £400,000 in compensation in the past three years after being attacked or injured in the classroom."

Mirror - TOXIC GAS TESTED ON NORWICH
"HUNDREDS of lives may be at risk because of secret Cold War chemical trials carried out by the Ministry of Defence.RAF planes released clouds of zinc cadmium sulphide (ZCS) over Norwich in 1963 and 1964 to assess the effects of a biological attack....And thanks to data released under the Freedom of Information Act it is known that ZCS was dispersed over a 26-mile route which began in rural Norfolk and continued across Norwich to the coast."

Newcastle Evening Chronicle - Banned motorists flouting the law
"Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show 5,077 people in the Northumbria Police area have been convicted for driving while disqualified in the last three years."