Will inquiries find PCC a chocolate teapot, or a serious ‘mediator’?

The Press Complaints Commission enjoyed mainstream coverage this week, as newspaper titles lapped up the comments of the body’s chair, Lady Peta Buscombe, at the Society of Editors’ conference: she not only called for greater press support, but cited evidence allegedly showing that 6,000 attempted phone hackings were ‘wrongly quoted’ by solicitor Mark Lewis in the House of Commons.

Funnily enough, the papers who were so eager to report Buscombe’s words, didn’t then – save the Guardian it would seem – pick up Mark Lewis’ call for Buscombe’s resignation as PCC chair. You can read Lewis’ letter, sent to Buscombe, the select committee and copied to the Press Association, in full at this link.

Lewis has since told Journalism.co.uk:

“As I said in my [House of Commons] evidence, given immediately after that of Mr Yates [Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner], it wasn’t that I had access to documents that the police did not have, I got the documents from the police. Didn’t they read them? Didn’t they understand them?”

“The PCC has shown its true colours. If there is to be non-court regulation then it has to be from an independent tribunal that is not constituted by the press. Oddly, it would work in the press’ interest if there was a body that was willing to challenge and censor the press. As I said on Monday, we need an ‘honest and free press not just a free press’.

“My next step will be to carry on in the pursuit of honesty in reporting. If you are in any doubt, look at how many newspapers chose not to run a story that there had been a demand for Lady Buscombe to resign. The newspapers reported Lady Buscombe’s speech but not my response to it.”

Then, just as QC Geoffrey Robertson had hoped when he encouraged editors to abandon the body, news broke of Alan Rusbridger’s resignation from the PCC Code Committee.

“I have enjoyed being on the Code Committee, which does very useful work. I look forward to the results of the review of the PCC which Baroness Buscombe has announced.  The PCC is a valuable mediator. It needs to ask itself whether, as presently constructed and funded, it is a very effective regulator,” was all that the Guardian editor had to say afterwards.

His comments last week, following the PCC’s less than critical findings about phone tapping activities at News of the World, were somewhat stronger:  speaking on BBC Radio 4, the Guardian editor described the PCC’s report as ‘worse than pointless’. “If you have a self-regulation system that’s finding nothing out and has no teeth, and all the work is being done by external people, it’s dangerous for self-regulation,” he said.

The PCC has not yet responded to Journalism.co.uk’s request for comment over Rusbridger’s departure, but Buscombe today appeared on Radio 4 Media Show [as noted by Jon Slattery at this link]. Rusbridger is right, she said. “We don’t have serious powers of investigation. We are not a police force. Even Ofcom doesn’t have it. A state regulator doesn’t have it. We cannot and we must not tread on the toes of the criminal justice system. We act in many ways more as a mediator, so that we actually stop and prevent harm and therefore have a very strong role in terms of pre-publication, for example,” she said.

So what’s the point of the body at all? MP Tom Watson, who sat on the House of Commons culture and media select committee for the phone hacking inquiry, thinks not much. Running the PCC like a clan has led to Rusbridger’s resignation, he said on Tuesday. “It could spell the end of self-regulation. How silly of the new chair,” he tweeted. While in favour of self-regulation, the PCC simply isn’t doing it, he later clarified in another tweet: “[I] believe in self-regulation. And I’d like to see the PCC try it some time.”

A toothless chocolate teapot as alleged by some, or is there a realistic future for the PCC? Investigations of the self-regulation body, such as the one launched by the International Federation of Journalists; the select committee’s inquiry; and the PCC’s own review (led by a former commission member) are anticipated with interest…

• Update: More from the Media Standards Trust director, Martin Moore, at this link…

NB: This post was later updated with a corrected transcript from the Radio 4 Media Show (19.11.09).

Similar posts:

• MediaGuardian: Alan Rusbridger resigns from PCC code committee
• PCC chair should resign over phone hacking evidence denial, says lawyer
• A new blog for the MST’s independent press review group
• Comment is Free: Phone hacking – select committee must move quickly, says Paul Farrelly
• BBC Two Daily Politics – Greenslade and Meyer on regulation

MediaGuardian: Alan Rusbridger resigns from PCC code committee

Guardian editor, Alan Rusbridger, has resigned from the Press Complaint Commission’s code committee, MediaGuardian reports.

His decision follows the PCC’s criticism of the way the Guardian had handled new allegations about past phone hacking at News of the World.

The PCC last week said it had found no new evidence further to its 2007 enquiry, a report which the Guardian, reporter Nick Davies and the Media Standards Trust strongly challenged.

On Sunday, the self-regulatory body’s chair Lady Peta Buscombe, cited police lawyers’ claims that a Metropolitan Police detective inspector had been ‘wrongly quoted’ in phone hacking evidence given to the House of Commons.

In response, the lawyer who gave the oral evidence, Mark Lewis, called for Buscombe’s resignation.

Full story at this link…

Similar posts:

• Will inquiries find PCC a chocolate teapot, or a serious ‘mediator’?
• PCC chair should resign over phone hacking evidence denial, says lawyer
• Guardian.co.uk: Committee to hear police evidence for NOTW phone hacking inquiry
• Who will the PCC question at NOTW if it re-opens investigation into phone hacking?
• EPUK: NUJ to complain to Data Commissioner over journalists surveillance

Sir Christopher Meyer’s reading habits

What does the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) former chair (with a new book to plug) like to read? MediaGuardian today features Sir Christopher Meyer’s top selections. His favoured newspapers, for example:

“Coming through the letterbox each morning are the Times and the Daily Mail. On Sundays it’s the Sunday Times and the Mail on Sunday. The Times is a good all-round newspaper, they are going through a good patch, with an excellent website. And I always want to know what the Mail is campaigning for, because the politicians pick up on it. I especially like the Mail’s football coverage too.”

And he reads News of the World, a hangover from the PCC job:

“[I] read the News of the World online. When I was chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, I got hooked on it for professional reasons: so often we would receive complaints on a Monday, so I liked to get ahead of the curve by reading it on the Sunday.”

Full story at this link…

Similar posts:

• Press Gazette: Express editor Hill leaves PCC after McCann libel payout
• Pulse: Press Complaints Commission to investigate Daily Mail over GP pay claims
• 21,000 complaints made to PCC over Jan Moir article; highest number in Commission’s history
• #soe09: Baroness Buscombe’s Society of Editors speech in full
• MediaGuardian: OK! defends Jade Goody issue despite PCC complaints

#soe09: Baroness Buscombe’s Society of Editors speech in full

The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) does not need to come under statutory control, Baroness Peta Buscombe said in a speech to the annual Society of Editors conference tonight.

Read Journalism.co.uk’s full report or read her speech below:

Similar posts:

• Buscombe continued: ‘We have a dysfunctional democracy’
• Will inquiries find PCC a chocolate teapot, or a serious ‘mediator’?
• Poll: Is Paul Dacre right to criticise Justice Eady’s use of the privacy law?
• #soe09: Following the Society of Editors conference 2009
• PCC chair should resign over phone hacking evidence denial, says lawyer

PCC calls for submissions to governance review

The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) has opened the doors to its governance review, announced in August.

The review, which will be conducted by an independent panel, will look at the commission’s:

• Board structure
• Appointments commission
• Accountability
• Transparency
• Constitution

The closing date for submissions, which can be made in writing to governancereview [at] pcc.org.uk, is 25 January 2010.

The PCC has been heavily criticised this week for its conclusions in its inquiry into phone hacking allegations at News Group Newspapers. Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger said the commission after its report, which said there was no evidence to support allegations of ongoing phone hacking at the News of the World despite last summer’s Guardian reports, was ‘worse than pointless’; while Geoffrey Robertson QC suggested that editors ‘with any integrity’ would withdraw from the code committee.

Similar posts:

• MediaGuardian: Alan Rusbridger resigns from PCC code committee
• Phone hacking liveblog: Coulson and Kuttner’s evidence
• Comment is Free: Phone hacking – select committee must move quickly, says Paul Farrelly
• MediaGuardian: Max Clifford plans legal action over NOTW phone hacking
• Nick Davies told Commons committee in April that PCC phone hacking inquiry flawed

What does PCC Iain Dale ruling bode for Jan Moir case?

As noted a short while ago, the Press Complaints Commission ruled that it had found a Daily Mail diary piece about potential Conservative candidate Iain Dale not to be in breach of the PCC code. “I still think it was a clear breach of Section 12 [discrimination] of the PCC code.  I quite agree with what they say about the right to offend, but this was gratuitous and it was the second time it had happened,” Iain Dale told Journalism.co.uk.

“I have no idea if it affected my chances in Bracknell [constituency where Dale was competing for the Conservative candidacy], but it certainly wouldn’t have helped. It seems clear to me now that the PCC will reach the same judgment in the Jan Moir case.”

Meanwhile, Guardian blogger Roy Greenslade, who agrees with the PCC ruling on this occasion, ‘imagine[s] that the commission will take the same view about Jan Moir’s column, which was far more offensive than Ephraim’s remarks about Dale’.

Similar posts:

• PCC rules Daily Mail not in breach of code over Iain Dale diary piece
• 21,000 complaints made to PCC over Jan Moir article; highest number in Commission’s history
• PCC and the third party issue
• Mail Online confirms withdrawal of ads on Moir article; defends free speech
• Political blogger Iain Dale launches TotalPolitics.com

PCC rules Daily Mail not in breach of code over Iain Dale diary piece

The Press Complaints Commission has ruled that the Daily Mail was not in breach of clause 12 (discrimination) with a diary piece that described blogger and aspiring Conservative candidate Iain Dale ‘overtly gay’.  Commenting on Dale’s bid for the parliamentary constituency of Bracknell, the piece said it was ‘charming how homosexuals rally like-minded chaps to their cause’.  Dale lodged a complaint, claiming that the references were pejorative and the article homophobic, the PCC noted.

Today the PCC reported:

“The Commission could understand why the complainant found the comments to be snide and objectionable.  However, it did not rule that there had been a breach of Clause 12 (Discrimination) of the Code.  It noted that the item had used no pejorative term for the complainant, nor had it ‘outed’ him.  In the Commission’s view, the piece was uncharitable, but – in the context of a diary column, known to poke fun at public figures – was not an arbitrary attack on him on the basis of his sexuality.

“The Commission said that: ‘where it is debatable – as in this case – about whether remarks can be regarded solely as pejorative and gratuitous, the Commission should be slow to restrict the right to express an opinion, however snippy it might be.  While people may occasionally be insulted or upset by what is said about them in newspapers, the right to freedom of expression that journalists enjoy also includes the right – within the law – to give offence.’”

In the wake of the Jan Moir episode at the end of last month, a petition to Gordon Brown was launched, questioning the impartiality of the PCC and calling for its replacement by a public body. The PCC’s deputy director (and soon-to-be director) Stephen Abell subsequently defended the position of Daily Mail editor, Paul Dacre, as head of its code committee.

Similar posts:

• What does PCC Iain Dale ruling bode for Jan Moir case?
• NUJ Release: Union urges MPs to help journalists refuse unethical work
• 21,000 complaints made to PCC over Jan Moir article; highest number in Commission’s history
• PCC and the third party issue
• Pulse: Press Complaints Commission to investigate Daily Mail over GP pay claims

Jan Moir tries to explain herself (again) in new column

The Daily Mail’s Jan Moir, who should need little introduction, has used her weekly column in a bid to explain herself again (first attempt here), in the face of over 25,000 complaints to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC).

In her latest piece, at this link, she claims she has had thousands of supportive emails from readers. An extract:

“To say it was a hysterical overreaction would be putting it mildly, though clearly much of it was an orchestrated campaign by pressure groups and those with agendas of their own.

“However, I accept that many people – on Twitter and elsewhere – were merely expressing their own personal and heartfelt opinions or grievances. This said, I can’t help wondering: is there a compulsion today to see bigotry and social intolerance where none exists by people who are determined to be outraged? Or was it a failure of communication on my part?

“Certainly, something terrible went wrong as my column ricocheted through cyberspace, unread by many who complained, yet somehow generally and gleefully accepted into folklore as a homophobic rant.

“It lit a spark, then a flame and turned into a roaring ball of hate fire, blazing unchecked and unmediated across the internet.

“Yet as the torrent of abuse continued, most of it anonymous, I also had thousands of supportive emails from readers and well-wishers, many of whom described themselves as ‘the silent majority’. The outcry was not as one-sided as many imagine.”

Full post at this link…

Related on Journalism.co.uk:

• Comment: ‘Why Jan Moir and the Daily Mail will escape disciplinary action’
• Coverage on the Jan Moir controversy at this link.
• Comment: The rise of ’smart’ or ‘not so smart’ internet mobs and their pressure on the media

Similar posts:

• 21,000 complaints made to PCC over Jan Moir article; highest number in Commission’s history
• Currybet.net: Lessons on handling an internet brand crisis from Jan Moir
• Jan Moir denies column is homophobic; criticises ‘mischievous’ and ‘heavily orchestrated internet campaign’
• Mail Online confirms withdrawal of ads on Moir article; defends free speech
• Comment: The rise of ’smart’ or ‘not so smart’ internet mobs and their pressure on the media

PCC and the third party issue

On Friday, it was suggested by some online commenters and Twitterers that the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) would not deal with third party complaints over the Jan Moir case.

This would seem logical, given the the self-regulatory body’s rules, which state:

“The PCC does not generally accept complaints from third parties about cases involving named individuals without the signed authorisation of the person concerned.”

However, there is an exception: it can investigate complaints from any party about matters of general fact under Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the PCC Code, the PCC has confirmed.

A response issued by the PCC to an individual third party complainant, Nikki Bayley (@nikkib on Twitter), reproduced in full here on MetroDeco, seemed to indicate a third party complaint would not be addressed in relation to Moir:

“On this occasion, it may be a matter for the family of Mr Gately to raise a complaint about how his death has been treated by the Daily Mail.  I can inform you that we have made ourselves available to the family and Mr Gately’s bandmates, in order that they can use our services if they wish. We require the direct involvement of affected parties because the PCC process can have a public outcome and it would be discourteous for the Commission to publish information relating to individuals without their knowledge or consent.  Indeed, doing so might unwittingly add to any intrusion.  Additionally, one of the PCC’s roles is dispute resolution, and we would need contact with the affected party in order to determine what would be an acceptable means of settling a complaint. On initial examination, it would appear that you are, therefore, a third party to the complaint, and we will not be able to pursue your concerns further.  However, if you feel that your complaint touches on claims that do not relate directly to Mr Gately or his family, please let us know, making clear how they raise a breach of the Code of Practice. If you feel that the Commission should waive its third party rules, please make clear why you believe this.

So perhaps she could raise a complaint over accuracy, if she feels Moir made false or misleading statements.

In the PCC’s statement today, reporting the largest number of complaints for a single article in the body’s history (21,000), there was hint of some third party consideration.

While it was contacting affected parties who would ‘naturally be given precedence by the Commission, in line with its normal procedures’ it would also put ‘more general complaints’ to the Daily Mail:

“If, for whatever reason, those individuals [affected parties] do not wish to make a complaint, the PCC will in any case write to the Daily Mail for its response to the more general complaints from the public before considering whether there are any issues under the Code to pursue.”

Of course that doesn’t mean it will pursue an investigation, but at least it is acknowledging the significance of such large-scale complaint. Martin Belam, who blogged about the third party issue earlier this year in regards to another Daily Mail story, is less hopeful:

“The PCC’s initial response on Jan Moir has been pretty weasel-worded, and, unless Stephen Gately’s family do complain directly, I’m extremely doubtful that we’ll see any kind of ruling against the paper. Other approaches may yet prove more fruitful,” Belam writes.

• Coverage of the Jan Moir story at this link

On another third party issue, Journalism.co.uk asked the PCC about complaints received over cervical cancer vaccine reports.

In a recent Guardian article, also published on his Bad Science blog, Ben Goldacre highlighted the case of a scientist featured in a Sunday Express article about the dangers of the cervical cancer vaccine, titled ‘Jab ‘as deadly as the cancer”.

The Sunday Express quoted Professor Diane Harper in its front page story on October 4 2009:

“Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Express, Dr Diane Harper, who was involved in the clinical trials of the controversial drug Cervarix, said the jab was being ‘over-marketed’ and parents should be properly warned about the potential side effects.”

Harper, however, was not happy with the treatment of her information:

“I did not say that Cervarix was as deadly as cervical cancer,” Harper told Goldacre. “I did not say that Cervarix could be riskier or more deadly than cervical cancer. I did not say that Cervarix was controversial, I stated that Cervarix is not a ‘controversial drug’. I did not ‘hit out’ – I was contacted by the press for facts. And this was not an exclusive interview.”

Goldacre reported:

“The article has now disappeared from the Express website, and Professor Harper has complained to the PCC. “I fully support the HPV vaccines,”” she says. “I believe that in general they are safe in most women. I told the Express all of this.”"

Journalism.co.uk asked the PCC about the complaint and whether it would handle any third party concerns about cervical cancer scaremongering. A spokesperson said:

“We have received a complaint from Professor Harper, which we are currently investigating.

“The Commission can actually investigate complaints from any party about matters of general fact under Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Code.

“On this occasion, we received seven other complaints from readers about this article. We do not keep figures about the general reporting of the subject, but anecdotally I do not believe that there are many more.”

So it would seem third party concerns regarding this story would be addressed, if more were made.

Similar posts:

• 21,000 complaints made to PCC over Jan Moir article; highest number in Commission’s history
• PCC rules Daily Mail not in breach of code over Iain Dale diary piece
• Pulse: Press Complaints Commission to investigate Daily Mail over GP pay claims
• Press Gazette: Express editor Hill leaves PCC after McCann libel payout
• What does PCC Iain Dale ruling bode for Jan Moir case?

21,000 complaints made to PCC over Jan Moir article; highest number in Commission’s history

The Press Complaints Commission is to consider complaints made about Jan Moir’s column about Stephen Gately’s death in the Daily Mail on Friday.

Over the weekend, the PCC received more than 21,000 complaints about the column by Jan Moir published in the Daily Mail on Friday October 16, the industry’s self-regulation body has reported.

“These complaints follow widespread discussion of the subject on social networking sites – especially Twitter – and represent by far the highest number of complaints ever received about a single article in the history of the Commission,” the statement said.

Third-party complaints recognised, but priority given to ‘affected parties’

“The PCC generally requires the involvement of directly-affected parties  in its investigations, and it has pro-actively been in touch with representatives of Boyzone  – who are in contact with Stephen Gately’s family – since shortly after his death.  Any complaint from the affected parties will naturally be given precedence by the Commission, in line with its normal procedures,” it said, on the issue of whether third-party complaints would be investigated.

“If, for whatever reason, those individuals do not wish to make a complaint, the PCC will in any case write to the Daily Mail for its response to the more general complaints from the public before considering whether there are any issues under the Code to pursue.

“As the PCC will not be in a position to engage in direct correspondence with every complainant, it is issuing this statement to make clear what action it will be taking.  It will make a further public statement when it has considered the matter.”

• Coverage on the Jan Moir controversy at this link.

• Comment: The rise of ’smart’ or ‘not so smart’ internet mobs and their pressure on the media

Similar posts:

• PCC and the third party issue
• Jan Moir denies column is homophobic; criticises ‘mischievous’ and ‘heavily orchestrated internet campaign’
• Mail Online confirms withdrawal of ads on Moir article; defends free speech
• Pulse: Press Complaints Commission to investigate Daily Mail over GP pay claims
• PCC rules Daily Mail not in breach of code over Iain Dale diary piece