APPENDIX 26
Memorandum submitted by the President
of the Swiss Press Council
SUPERVISED SELF REGULATION, THE BRITISH PRESS
COMPLAINTS COMMISSION AS A ROLE MODEL
I learnt from my colleagues at the Press Complaints
Commission that you invite submissions on their usefulness and
work.
Your acceptance of the three following comments
would be appreciated:
1. I am a regular reader of the PCC Bulletin
which documents that editors usually accept PCC suggestions regarding
rectification and apology. As an observer from the Continent,
I am at times quite shocked by the extravagance of your more sensational
press. However, I assume that these publications are somewhat
contained by the PCC. That said, I read recently with great interest
Richard Shannon's "A Press Free and Responsible", the
story of media self-regulation in Great Britain (2001). I learnt
a lot in comparing the UK situation described with cases from
Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In German-speaking Europe, media
self-regulation started late. The disadvantage in this late start
is obvious. In the meantime national administrations and parliaments
have produced a deluge of media laws which makes a minefield out
of the job of research journalists, editorialists and cartoonists.
Today, complaints about official over-regulation abound. It never
should have got this far. However, turning the wheels back is
extremely difficult. And lawyers are taking advantage of a situation
which is greatly to their advantage.
2. The almost total absence of media laws
in Great Britain probably can be explained by the strong presence
of the PCC and its predecessors. I hope this situation continues.
Self-regulation is more practical, more informed and more conducive
to media independence than an abundance of laws.
3. In the last three years I have witnessed
the leading role which the British Press Complaints Commission
plays on the international platform. The PCC has sponsored and
strongly supported the Association of Independent Press Councils
of Europe. The Association's annual conferences are an invaluable
source of inspiration. The growing number of fledgling Press Councils
in Eastern Europe and guest attendances from Israel and Japan
document this.
11 February 2003
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