The Editor of the County Press, Alan Marriott, declared on page 29 of last Friday’s paper that it is “getting behind” the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), the body proposed by the newspaper industry, in opposition to the Government’s Royal Charter approach.
IPSO to replace Press Complaints Commission
IPSO has been assembled by the newspaper industry, claiming to deliver key Leveson recommendations. It’s the industry’s proposed successor body to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC).
The PCC had previously been criticised as being a body run by the industry, for the industry, with many members of the public not feeling that they’ve had redress when wronged in members’ papers.
Regional papers industry body behind it
The Newspaper Society, the body for 1,100 local newspapers in the UK, of which the County Press are members, is supportive of IPSO, as are many other well-known National papers.
Not all newspaper groups are happy with IPSO. The editors of The Independent and Financial Times have show little enthusiasm for it. The Guardian went further saying it wouldn’t join, claiming it “will be controlled by Telegraph, Mail and News UK“.
What will membership mean?
The Newspaper Society laid out in July what the main points of IPSO would be to “deliver all the key Leveson recommendations”:
- A majority of independent members at every level, and no industry veto on appointments (Articles of Association 22,26,27).
- The power to impose £1m fines for serious or systemic wrong-doing (Regulations 64, 65; Financial Sanctions Guidance 2).
- Upfront corrections and adjudications – whether editors like it or not. (Regulations 18-22).
- A standards and compliance arm with investigative powers to call editors to account. (Regulations 45-68).
- An Arbitration Service to offer a speedy and inexpensive alternative to the libel courts, subject to the successful conclusion of a pilot scheme (Scheme Membership Agreement 5.4).
- A whistleblowers’ hotline (Articles of Association 8.1.8, Scheme Membership Agreement 3.6).
- A warning service to alert the press, and other media such as broadcasters, when members of the public make it clear that they do not wish to be the subject of media attention.
Contract
We’ve embedded the Contract that newspaper publishers have to sign to become part of the scheme.
Link: IPSO Website
