Letter from Trinity Mirror plc
Further to your letter dated, 30 November, please
find responses to your questions below:
As you know I am the Managing Director of Trinity
Mirror's Regional Newspaper Division. In this letter all references
to Trinity Mirror are to the Division that I run. I understand
that you have already received oral evidence from Mr Richard Wallace,
the Editor of the Daily Mirror the flagship of our National's
Division.
Does Trinity Mirror have specific guidelines on
editorial freedom?
Yes we do. Editorial freedom is enshrined in
our editorial policy document, which all our editorial staff are
expected to abide by. I have attached a copy.
Are your regional editors free to decide the news
agendas of the titles they edit?
Absolutely. Our editors have sole responsibility
for determining the news agenda of their title.
On what issues, and in what way, would management
be likely to inform an editor of the company's view on a particular
story?
Our editorial policy precludes general management
from offering their views on specific stories, and protects the
editor's right to edit, free from interference. If an editor felt
pressured by local management, the editorial policy spells out
an explicit acceleration process to resolve the issue, leading
ultimately to my desk. It is worthy of note that in my three years
with Trinity Mirror I have never been called upon to intervene
in an issue of this type between editor and management.
Very occasionally, with a particularly sensitive
or complex story, our editors may choose to use their senior managerial
colleagues or the divisional editorial director as a sounding
board. At the end of the day, however, the decision about what
to publish lies squarely with the editor.
As outlined in our editorial policy, editors
are expected to inform their advertising colleagues in advance
if they plan to run a story which could damage our business commercially.
This is not to seek approval to publish, but as a courtesy, so
the commercial team are in an informed position from which to
manage the client.
Has Trinity Mirror management ever pulled or altered
a story based on the commercial interests of the group
I do not believe so. I have never issued such
an instruction and none of the senior and long serving colleagues
that I have contacted are aware of any cases where this has happened.
How much influence over editorial content do local
advertisers have?
Our advertisers do not have influence over editorial
content. On perhaps a handful of occasions each year, our titles
are faced with an advertiser threatening to withdraw their spend,
in an attempt to prevent a story being published. As I hope we
have demonstrated, we would not allow the editor's judgement to
be influenced.
To the extent that the vast majority of our
advertisers are local people, they may well approach our newsroom
with stories about their business, which they believe to be of
local interest. We would consider their stories for publication
based on their news value, in the same way as the rest of our
content.
If I can be of any further assistance, please
do not hesitate to contact me.
13 December 2007
TRINITY MIRROR REGIONALS
EDITORIAL POLICYUPDATED
18/08/06
1. Our editors must ensure that they and
their journalists work within the parameters of the Editors' Code
of Practice.
2. Our products—newspapers and web
sites—are intended to have wide appeal, to people from a
range of ages, beliefs and backgrounds. Content should be inclusive
and should broadly reflect the composition and interests of the
communities and market segments we serve.
3. In general, our products are intended
to be read by whole families, and their editorial content, tone
and style should reflect this.
4. Our journalists, and in particular our
reporting staffs, are ambassadors for our businesses. We expect
them to pursue stories vigorously, without fear or favour, while
behaving at all times in a professional, courteous manner.
5. All editorial staff must strive at all
times to produce content that is fair, accurate and balanced.
Errors must be corrected promptly.
6. Editors carry ultimate responsibility
for providing appropriate content in their newspapers and web
sites, and they must be free to edit without intereference from
general management. Therefore, while managing directors and senior
executives are entitled to express an opinion, they should not
seek to influence the editor's decisions on the selection or projection
of specific items of content. If an issue of this nature arises,
and it cannot be resolved locally between the managing director
and editor, it should be referred to the divisional editorial
director. If the matter remains unresolved, it should be referred
to the managing direct of Trinity Mirror Regionals.
7. Editors are expected to make managing
director and senior commercial managers aware, in advance of publication,
of any content they believe may have an adverse commercial impact
on the business. This is in the interests of good internal communications
only, and does not over-ride the preceding point on editorial
independence.
8. Editors are responsible for ensuring
that the overall content and style of their products are in tune
with the aims of the current marketing plan. It is the role of
the managing director and the divisional editorial director to
monitor this objective and to raise the matter with editors if
it is not being successfully achieved.
9. Editors and editorial managers have a
duty of care to their staff. On occasions when the pursuit of
a particular story might involve a risk to a journalist's personal
safety, this should be pointed out to the individual and their
agreement to participate obtained, without coercion. If publication
of a particular piece of content could jeopardise the safety of
our journalists or other staff, the matter must be referred to
the senior editorial executive within the operating company and
the managing director of the operating company, prior to publication.
Editors must ensure that, for all business-related
trips abroad by their staff, appropriate health & safety measures
are considered. All relevant risk assessment and, where necessary,
hostile environments documentation must be properly completed,
and the regionals editorial director's sign-off obtained, before
departure.
10. Editors and their staff must avoid political
bias driven by personal preferences. As a general rule, our newspapers
and web sites are expected to follow an issue-led agenda, not
a party-political one. It is recognised that, in the interests
of local democracy, the application of this policy may result
in a title consistently challenging the party in power.
11. The impartiality of our journalists
must be beyond question. Therefore, all journalists are required
to obtain clearance, in writing, from their editor or designated
senior editorial manager before accepting press trips, other significant
hospitality or gifts. Editors are required to obtain clearance,
in writing, from their managing director before accepting press
trips, other significant hospitality or gifts.
12. Our newspapers and web sites should
not mention a competitor unless it is in the context of a genuine
news story or justifiable comment. It is acceptable to carry articles,
supported by statistical data, which assist our marketing effort
by comparing our performance against that of competitors. However,
none of our newspapers should carry copy that attacks a competitor
gratuitously.
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