Fear of the Media

A unique point of view:

Fear ruled Labour's media mindset – not principle

We in Labour were cowed from reforming the media – but the Press Complaints Commission can still work, given teeth

And this goes true for Israel.

More:

...no issue of priority or principle was involved. We simply chose to be cowed because we were too fearful to do otherwise...politicians [need] to ensure that it is not primarily they who are protected from the "feral beast", but the public. This requires not statutory regulation but a robust, independent process to enable individuals to make right the falsehoods that slip through, or slander that sometimes gets pumped out by news rooms in the name of "press freedom".

There is now consensus that the vehicle for self-regulation, the Press Complaints Commission, is not fit for purpose...Let me offer five simple ideas to ensure that the PCC or its successor better reflects the public interest by strengthening its independence and investigatory powers.

First, follow the money...The funding of the PCC needs to be administered by a genuinely independent body...Second, re-write the code...to re-draw and monitor a new, tougher code. Third, readers' editors. If newspapers really believe in self-regulation, they won't have a problem with ensuring that readers' editors are given prominent positions within their organisations and clear powers to correct published stories...

Fourth, pre-publication intervention. When an individual realises that a newspaper is preparing to publish something that is wrong or unjustifiably intrusive, the PCC may currently contact the paper on the individual's behalf. This needs strengthening...

Fifth, digitise the process. Technology has shone a much brighter light on the nooks and crannies of public life. Public bodies should be much more open about media inquiries. Media organisations should be obliged to publish online the extent to which they check stories and the full response they receive...

Great stuff.

^