In May, Matthew Cain launched a new site, the Press Review Blog, as part of the second stage of the independent press review group’s work on behalf of the Media Standards Trust (MST). He is supporting the press review group in its examination of the effectiveness of press self-regulation, although the blog will not be part of the final review.

The first stage was the report on the current press self-regulatory system, strongly disputed by the PCC. The second stage will make recommendations for UK regulation.

The blog will track the proceedings of the current House of Commons Select Committee (latest update here) into press standards, media law and privacy.

“I’ve started the press review blog in light of the considerable focus on media and regulatory issues, for example Baby P, Alfie Patten, MPs expenses,” Cain told Journalism.co.uk.

“The MST wanted to capture some of those issues and think through what we can learn from debates about reforms to self-regulation in other areas, such as Parliament and the lobbying industry; the debates resulting from the select committee inquiry; and continuing concerns about the impact of libel and privacy cases on the freedom of the press.

“The review group has been following the select committee hearings closely but because the committee’s inquiry is so extensive and might not publish until the autumn, we wanted to ensure that there we still had a public presence to participate in relevant debates.

“The blog isn’t intended to be a formal contribution to the review but a space to log issues, develop our thinking and ensure that our work is as transparent and open as possible.”

Matthew Cain can be contacted via matthew DOT cain AT mediastandardstrust.org or by calling 020 7608 8112.