Press Regulators

The concept of a free press sits amongst the most basic fundamentals of representative government. So any attempt to regulate the press is always going to stir up a hornet's nest.

Last week the government announced their solution on press regulation. Its aim is to be a compromise between the position adopted by Conservative leader Mr Cameron and the position adopted by Liberal Democrat leader Mr Clegg and Labour leader Mr Miliband (BBC, 2013). Labour and the Lib Dems had sought statutory regulation - the underpinning and describing of a regulatory body in law - that created a legally independent regulator. The Conservatives, however, had opposed statutory regulation.

The compromise proposal offers what essentially amounts to an upgrade to the Press Complaints Commission - made independent of media chiefs and established by royal charter. Its independence will at least be an improvement upon the major press organisations regulating themselves. But is it an effective solution?

There are always more questions than answers when the subject of a free press arises, and those questions provoke more questions.

Is the establishment of an institution, even as an independent body, a positive step? Will that institution offer the most sorely needed response to those accusations brought to light in the Leveson Inquiry: the more effective enforcement of the already existing laws that were broken? And, can it do these things without threatening freedom of speech and freedom of information?

'Statutory legislation is not required and most of the heinous crimes that came up and have made such a splash in front of this inquiry have already been illegal - contempt of court is illegal, phone tapping is illegal... policemen taking money is illegal - all of these things don't need a code, we already have laws for them.' (Hislop, 2012)

Those attempting to make this new regulator a reality will have to tread very carefully. The fact that spectacular errors have already been made - like a draft bill accidentally gathering up small-time blogs and commentators into the nets cast to catch the big media enterprises that break the law to turn a profit - does not inspire confidence.

If we are not sensible to the potential dangers of a regulatory response to this crisis - spawned from bad journalistic practice acting in concert with establishment corruption - then we may well find our ability to hold those in power to account severely diminished.

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References:
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+ BBC's 'Q&A: Press regulation deal'; 18 March 2013.

+ Ian Hislop in BBC's 'Leveson Inquiry: Ian Hislop says new press laws not needed'; 17 January 2012.