Memorandum submitted by The Press Standards
Board of Finance Ltd (PressBoF)
PRESSBOF
1.1 PressBoF was established by the newspaper
and magazine publishing industry in 1990 to co-ordinate the industry's
actions on self-regulation following the Government's acceptance
of the report of the Committee on Privacy and Related Matters.
1.2 It is responsible for funding the Press
Complaints Commission, appointing its Chairman and providing a
ready means of liaison between the PCC and the industry.
1.3 The PressBoF directors, of whom there
are ten, are nominated by the industry's trade associations—the
Newspaper Publishers Association, the Newspaper Society, the Periodical
Publishers Association, the Scottish Daily Newspaper Society and
the Scottish Newspaper Publishers Association.
INDEPENDENCE OF
THE PCC
2.1 It is important to underline that although
the industry funds self-regulation (over £24 million since
1991), mainly through a system of circulation based registration
fees, the PCC operates independent of industry influence and at
arm's length.
2.2 The PCC has 17 members, with a clear
majority of lay members (10) over press members (7). With the
exception of the Chairman, its members are appointed by the Appointments
Commission which comprises the PCC Chairman, three independent
members and the PressBoF Chairman. The latter is the only member
connected with the industry.
CODE OF
PRACTICE
3.1 The foundation of self-regulation is
based on industry support at all levels for the Code of Practice.
It is drawn up and maintained by editors serving on the Code Committee
and is then approved by PressBoF following consultation with the
industry through the trade associations before being ratified
by the PCC. It is therefore accepted as the industry's own Code
enforced by an independent PCC. A PressBoF recommendation that
the Code should be written into contracts of employment for editors
and their staff is believed to have been widely implemented.
3.2 The commitment of the industry to the
Code and the efficiency and effectiveness of the PCC in dealing
with reader complaints are generally recognised as having been
major contributors to raising journalistic standards.
3.3 PressBoF and the industry readily understand
that if the public and Parliament are to retain confidence in
self-regulation the Code must be perceived as being effective.
The Code has in fact been updated and clarified on many occasions
since its introduction 16 years ago. It is now reviewed annually
by the Code Committee who invite suggested amendments from the
public and other interested parties. The Code therefore is seen
as a live document constantly evolving in light of circumstances.
PRIVACY
4.1 The Code is explicit on such matters
as privacy and harassment subject only to where a public interest
defence can be demonstrated.
4.2 Instances where an individual, such
as Goodman, consciously engages in activities which not only breach
the Code but contravene the law are unequivocally wrong. However,
it would be unreasonable to suggest that where the criminal law
has failed to deter such misconduct a voluntary code of practice
should be criticised in such circumstances.
4.3 PressBoF fully supports Sir Christopher
Meyer's critical comments regarding the case and the various steps
being taken by the PCC to reassure the public that lessons have
been learned from this episode.
UNAUTHORISED DISCLOSURE
OF PERSONAL
INFORMATION
5.1 While PressBoF readily accepts that
journalists must comply with the Data Protection Act, it would
seriously question the case for greater penalties for breach of
the legislation based on the Information Commissioner's reports
"What price privacy?" and "What price privacy now?"
The circumstantial evidence gathered in 2002 did not necessarily
establish any breach of either the law or the Code, or indeed
consider whether there may have been a public interest defence.
The fear is that custodial sentences would have a chilling effect
on investigative journalism.
5.2 Both the Code Committee and the PCC
have indicated to the Information Commissioner their willingness
to assist in industry wide initiatives—a separate submission
about which you have already received—to raise awareness
of the issues raised in his reports.
REGULATION OF
ONLINE NEWS
6.1 In January PressBoF announced that following
industry-wide consultation it had agreed to extend the remit of
the PCC to include editorial audio-visual material on newspaper
and magazine websites.
The extension was agreed recognising that "on-line
versions" of newspapers and magazines have moved on from
the internet replication of material that already existed in a
printed version of the publication to routinely carrying material
not available in print form.
An accompanying Guidance Note explained that
the PCC's remit should be seen as covering editorial material
on newspaper and magazine titles websites where it meets two key
requirements:
1. that the editor of the newspaper or magazine
is responsible for it and could reasonably have been expected
both to exercise editorial control over it and apply the terms
of the Code; and
2. that it was not pre-edited to conform
to the on-line or off-line standards of another media regulatory
body.
At the time of the announcement, Tim Bowdler,
Chairman of PressBoF, commented "It is extremely important
that self-regulation should evolve in a carefully considered manner
to take account of the developing ways in which our publications,
in print and on-line, communicate with readers".
Sir Christopher Meyer added: "The range
and quality of digital editorial material offered by newspapers
and magazines have expanded at a dizzying pace over the last couple
of years. These developments will only accelerate. What the industry
has done in announcing this extension of the PCC's remit is to
underline its confidence in the system of common-sense regulation
that we operate, and to demonstrate to the public that editorial
information in the digital age—regardless of the format
in which it is delivered—will be subject to high professional
standards overseen by the Commission".
GENERAL COMMENT
7.1 PressBoF recognises that the independence
and effectiveness of the PCC in addressing the complaints and
concerns of the public are paramount in maintaining confidence
in self-regulation. It is a measure of its success that through
raising awareness of its role and actively seeking more public
involvement with and scrutiny of its work, the Commission is widely
seen to be achieving its objectives. While it is PressBoF's belief
that self-regulation is a successful model enjoying wide support,
it fully realizes that there is no room for complacency and that
we need to work ever harder to maintain and improve the public's
confidence in self-regulation.
February 2007
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