APPENDIX 36
Memorandum submitted by the Senior Publicist—The
Bill
I am the Senior Publicist on ITVI's The Bill.
I thought I would write as I have read you are currently looking
into "Privacy and the role of the Press Complaints Commission",
and having had a few dealings with the commission I thought I
would put down my experiences of them.
In my role as Press Officer I handle the publicity
for The Bill as a programme, plus I look after the press interest
of over 30 regular cast members.
The Bill is a high-profile television programme,
so inevitably there is a great deal of media interest in some
our cast members' private lives. And despite us enjoying a good
relationship with the press, occasionally we have found ourselves
handling an extremely sensitive or private matter involving a
member of cast that I have believed is not something that should
be published. On these general occasions I have sought the advice
of the PCC on how best to deal with this in relation to the Code
of Practice.
I have made phone calls to one of their officers,
seeking basic advice or on occasion I have put my reservations
in writing in a more formal manner. On all occasions they have
been able to help and the piece either hasn't run, or if it has
been published, the damaging content has not been included. The
advice the PCC have given has always been practical but realistic
and in my view has equipped me with sufficient information to
argue the case with journalists and editors before publication.
A number of potentially intrusive stories have not appeared as
a result.
We at The Bill have made one "formal complaint"
to the Commission, about the Sunday Sport. The subject
matter was very delicate and I am pleased to say that the complaint
was resolved very quickly, and the process of complaining was
easy.
I realise you are chiefly concerned with ordinary
members of the public, but please do consider that the publication
of intrusive stories often hits the families of cast members more
acutely than the actors themselves, who are by experience better
placed to deal with the media and to understand it. Being able
to prevent such stories from being written therefore does help
the relatives—who are "ordinary people"—in
a very real way.
In my role as a press officer I find my relationship
with the PCC essential. Mainly because like all PR's my rapport
with the cast is built on trust, and having an organisation like
the PCC behind me is very reassuring when offering informed and
practical advice to them over issues relating to their "privacy".
Because of the strength of my feeling, I wanted
the cast to hear first hand about the commission and what they
do. So I invited representatives from the PCC to come down to
our production studios to meet our press team and some of the
cast to explain more about how the Code of Practice can be used
to protect their privacy. This face-to-face meeting was very useful
and I am hoping to set another more detailed meeting with their
representatives in the future.
8 January 2003
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