Press Chief to Explain Controversial Reform Plan to Bristol Audience
NUJ Bristol Branch | 12.03.2012 16:55 | Other Press | Policing | Workers' Movements
Lord Hunt, the chair of the Press Complaints Commission who believes the body need not be abolished and can be reformed, appears on a panel debating press regulation in Bristol next Friday.
Among the other panelists at the Benn Debate 2012 at the Arnolfini gallery in Bristol on Friday March 16th will be Christopher Jefferies, the landlord of murdered Bristol landscape architect Jo Yeates.
As well as hearing from Mr Jefferies about his appalling experience at the hands of the Press, the event will be one of the first opportunities for Lord Hunt to explain his controversial plan for retaining the PCC.
The Press Complaints Commission is seen by many as discredited for its failure to act over the phone hacking scandal. The Leveson Inquiry had been expected to recommend its abolition.
But Lord Hunt now says the PCC can be reformed without any change in the law so that it becomes a regulator able to investigate press abuses and levy major fines on serious offenders.
He was asked on the BBC Today programme on Friday March 9th how he would ensure that a voluntary regulator could enforce its rulings on newspapers, some of which – such as the Express group – do not belong to the PCC.
Lord Hunt said he needed to persuade media proprietors to sign up and pay for a new regulator. He said: "I decided early on that the problem really was that the PCC was being criticised for not exercising powers it never had in the first place, so I recommended we start again with a new body with a Press regulator with teeth."
He said the PCC would continue to deal with readers' complaints while the new body was created and said panel members of the PCC backed his plan.
"What the PCC has done is to accept my advice that we should now in principle move forward into a new body, transferring the existing assets and liabilities.
"But the most important thing of all is to do something that will restore the public trust and confidence in the Press."
The Bristol debate, entitled Hacked to Bits: Rebuilding Public Trust in Journalism, is organised by the Bristol branch of the National Union of Journalists in conjunction with Bristol Festival of Ideas, the Bristol-based media charity MediaWise and European media project MediaAct.
Retired teacher Mr Jefferies successfully sued no fewer than eight newspapers for libel after they made false insinuations about his involvement in the killing in December 2010.
Mike Norton, editor of the Bristol Evening Post, believes that the more responsible attitude taken by the majority of journalists is in danger of being overlooked.
He said: "I believe that self-regulation works for responsible, objective local newspapers whose journalists are rooted in the communities they serve. I am concerned that the alleged criminality of a small number of journalists has allowed politicians to lose perspective on press regulation. And I fear that the local press has been under-represented in the national debate on press standards."
Donnacha DeLong, the President of the NUJ and chair of next week's debate, said: "Self-regulation by the media bosses has failed and failed miserably.
"We need a new way to regulate the media to ensure that ethical behaviour is maintained, while also avoiding damaging state interference.
"This is why the NUJ has looked over the Irish sea to a model the union was involved in creating - the Irish Press Council - which gives a voice not just to the bosses, but to working journalists and civil society. The NUJ will continue to work with the Leveson Inquiry to try to establish the best and most open form of regulation for the UK."
FULL DETAILS OF THE EVENT – PLUS AN EXCLUSIVE FILM SHOWING:
BRISTOL HOSTS MAJOR DEBATE ON THE FUTURE OF THE MEDIA ON MARCH 16th – PLUS EXCLUSIVE FILM SHOWING
NATIONAL FIGURES ON THE PANEL INCLUDE
Lord Hunt – Chairman, Press Complaints Commission
Christopher Jefferies – Libelled by several newspapers over the Jo Yeates murder
HARD PRESSED: Two events on the future of the media, March 16th, 2012
By Bristol NUJ and Bristol Festival of Ideas, supported by MediaAct and Mediawise
Hacked to bits: Restoring public trust in journalism The 2012 Benn Debate, 7.30pm Friday March 16th, Arnolfini, Bristol. Tickets £6.50 and £5.00 concessions and NUJ members
The reputation of journalism is in tatters after revelations about phone hacking, still being unravelled by the Leveson Inquiry and several police investigations.
Soon the focus will shift onto how the press – and the online media – can be regulated in a rapidly-changing landscape.
No-one wants a repetition of the abuses unveiled recently. But many are fearful that more effective regulation will mean politicians can dictate how the media is run.
Bristol NUJ has brought together a remarkable panel of nationally-known figures to debate these vital issues.
Lord Hunt – chairman of the Press Complaints Commission and former Conservative Cabinet minister
Christopher Jefferies – a happily retired school teacher until he was libelled by several newspapers over the Jo Yeates murder
Prof Epp Lauk – chair of the Estonian Press Council and an academic expert on press regulation and the culture of the press across Europe, with a particular focus on emerging democracies
Thais Portilho-Shrimpton – co-ordinator of the Hacked Off campaign against phone hacking, she has kept a close vigil on the Leveson Inquiry and knows many of the key figures who have given evidence
Richard Peppiatt – a former Daily Star reporter, he has spoken out about how he felt obliged to make up stories and how he felt the Star had an anti-Muslim agenda
Mike Norton – editor of the Bristol Evening Post
PLUS PAGE ONE – Inside the New York Times: 5.30pm Friday March 16th, Arnolfini, Bristol. Tickets £6.50 and £5.00 concessions and NUJ members
First showing in Bristol of this remarkable fly-on-the-wall film about one of the world's great newspapers as it faces up to the challenges of a revolution in the needs of media consumers.
ATTEND BOTH EVENTS FOR £11.50 or £8.50 concessions and NUJ members Arnolfini, 16 Narrow Quay Bristol, Avon BS1 4QA; 0117 917 2300
www.bristolnuj.org.uk
The Benn Lectures
Every year since 2005 the annual Bristol NUJ Benn Lectures have brought together the public, the Bristol media community and a guest speaker of national distinction, in a chance to debate the most pressing journalistic and political issues of our times.
Past Benn Lecturers include Bristol politician, writer and NUJ honorary member Tony Benn; Journalist of the Year 2008 Andrew Gilligan; Independent columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown; and Nick Davies, the Guardian investigative journalist who revealed the phone hacking scandal, and is also a Bristol Festival of Ideas book prize winner for his bestseller Flat Earth News.
For 2012 we have decided to mark a momentous year for journalism with a debate featuring leading figures from across the journalistic world.
Bristol NUJ
Bristol NUJ is the local branch of the National Union of Journalists, representing hundreds of members working in editorial media in the city – more than any other regional organisation. As well as representing and defending members, the branch sees its role as standing up for high-quality, independent journalism, and acting as the city's prime forum for discussing journalism.
http://www.bristolnuj.org.uk
Bristol Festival of Ideas
The Bristol Festival of Ideas aims to stimulate people’s minds and passions with an inspiring programme of discussion and debate, featuring figures of national distinction. It seeks to provide an annual festival of debate and discussion in May with special events through the year. Overall, it is keen to link arts and sciences. It does not shy away from controversial issues and speakers and seeks to engage widely in the city.
http://www.ideasfestival.co.uk
MediaAct MediaAcT is a comparative research project on media accountability systems across EU member states and the Arab world, using these as indicators of media pluralism. The UK part of the project is based at the University of the West of England with MediaWise.
http://www.mediaact.eu
MediaWise
MediaWise (formerly PressWise) is an independent journalism ethics charity based at UWE. Set up in 1993 by victims of media abuse, it operates on the principle that press freedom is a responsibility exercised by journalists on behalf of the public, and that the public have a right to know when the media publish inaccurate information.
http://www.mediawise.org.uk
Related Link: http://www.arnolfini.org.uk/whatson/events/details/1297
Among the other panelists at the Benn Debate 2012 at the Arnolfini gallery in Bristol on Friday March 16th will be Christopher Jefferies, the landlord of murdered Bristol landscape architect Jo Yeates.
As well as hearing from Mr Jefferies about his appalling experience at the hands of the Press, the event will be one of the first opportunities for Lord Hunt to explain his controversial plan for retaining the PCC.
The Press Complaints Commission is seen by many as discredited for its failure to act over the phone hacking scandal. The Leveson Inquiry had been expected to recommend its abolition.
But Lord Hunt now says the PCC can be reformed without any change in the law so that it becomes a regulator able to investigate press abuses and levy major fines on serious offenders.
He was asked on the BBC Today programme on Friday March 9th how he would ensure that a voluntary regulator could enforce its rulings on newspapers, some of which – such as the Express group – do not belong to the PCC.
Lord Hunt said he needed to persuade media proprietors to sign up and pay for a new regulator. He said: "I decided early on that the problem really was that the PCC was being criticised for not exercising powers it never had in the first place, so I recommended we start again with a new body with a Press regulator with teeth."
He said the PCC would continue to deal with readers' complaints while the new body was created and said panel members of the PCC backed his plan.
"What the PCC has done is to accept my advice that we should now in principle move forward into a new body, transferring the existing assets and liabilities.
"But the most important thing of all is to do something that will restore the public trust and confidence in the Press."
The Bristol debate, entitled Hacked to Bits: Rebuilding Public Trust in Journalism, is organised by the Bristol branch of the National Union of Journalists in conjunction with Bristol Festival of Ideas, the Bristol-based media charity MediaWise and European media project MediaAct.
Retired teacher Mr Jefferies successfully sued no fewer than eight newspapers for libel after they made false insinuations about his involvement in the killing in December 2010.
Mike Norton, editor of the Bristol Evening Post, believes that the more responsible attitude taken by the majority of journalists is in danger of being overlooked.
He said: "I believe that self-regulation works for responsible, objective local newspapers whose journalists are rooted in the communities they serve. I am concerned that the alleged criminality of a small number of journalists has allowed politicians to lose perspective on press regulation. And I fear that the local press has been under-represented in the national debate on press standards."
Donnacha DeLong, the President of the NUJ and chair of next week's debate, said: "Self-regulation by the media bosses has failed and failed miserably.
"We need a new way to regulate the media to ensure that ethical behaviour is maintained, while also avoiding damaging state interference.
"This is why the NUJ has looked over the Irish sea to a model the union was involved in creating - the Irish Press Council - which gives a voice not just to the bosses, but to working journalists and civil society. The NUJ will continue to work with the Leveson Inquiry to try to establish the best and most open form of regulation for the UK."
FULL DETAILS OF THE EVENT – PLUS AN EXCLUSIVE FILM SHOWING:
BRISTOL HOSTS MAJOR DEBATE ON THE FUTURE OF THE MEDIA ON MARCH 16th – PLUS EXCLUSIVE FILM SHOWING
NATIONAL FIGURES ON THE PANEL INCLUDE
Lord Hunt – Chairman, Press Complaints Commission
Christopher Jefferies – Libelled by several newspapers over the Jo Yeates murder
HARD PRESSED: Two events on the future of the media, March 16th, 2012
By Bristol NUJ and Bristol Festival of Ideas, supported by MediaAct and Mediawise
Hacked to bits: Restoring public trust in journalism The 2012 Benn Debate, 7.30pm Friday March 16th, Arnolfini, Bristol. Tickets £6.50 and £5.00 concessions and NUJ members
The reputation of journalism is in tatters after revelations about phone hacking, still being unravelled by the Leveson Inquiry and several police investigations.
Soon the focus will shift onto how the press – and the online media – can be regulated in a rapidly-changing landscape.
No-one wants a repetition of the abuses unveiled recently. But many are fearful that more effective regulation will mean politicians can dictate how the media is run.
Bristol NUJ has brought together a remarkable panel of nationally-known figures to debate these vital issues.
Lord Hunt – chairman of the Press Complaints Commission and former Conservative Cabinet minister
Christopher Jefferies – a happily retired school teacher until he was libelled by several newspapers over the Jo Yeates murder
Prof Epp Lauk – chair of the Estonian Press Council and an academic expert on press regulation and the culture of the press across Europe, with a particular focus on emerging democracies
Thais Portilho-Shrimpton – co-ordinator of the Hacked Off campaign against phone hacking, she has kept a close vigil on the Leveson Inquiry and knows many of the key figures who have given evidence
Richard Peppiatt – a former Daily Star reporter, he has spoken out about how he felt obliged to make up stories and how he felt the Star had an anti-Muslim agenda
Mike Norton – editor of the Bristol Evening Post
PLUS PAGE ONE – Inside the New York Times: 5.30pm Friday March 16th, Arnolfini, Bristol. Tickets £6.50 and £5.00 concessions and NUJ members
First showing in Bristol of this remarkable fly-on-the-wall film about one of the world's great newspapers as it faces up to the challenges of a revolution in the needs of media consumers.
ATTEND BOTH EVENTS FOR £11.50 or £8.50 concessions and NUJ members Arnolfini, 16 Narrow Quay Bristol, Avon BS1 4QA; 0117 917 2300
www.bristolnuj.org.uk
The Benn Lectures
Every year since 2005 the annual Bristol NUJ Benn Lectures have brought together the public, the Bristol media community and a guest speaker of national distinction, in a chance to debate the most pressing journalistic and political issues of our times.
Past Benn Lecturers include Bristol politician, writer and NUJ honorary member Tony Benn; Journalist of the Year 2008 Andrew Gilligan; Independent columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown; and Nick Davies, the Guardian investigative journalist who revealed the phone hacking scandal, and is also a Bristol Festival of Ideas book prize winner for his bestseller Flat Earth News.
For 2012 we have decided to mark a momentous year for journalism with a debate featuring leading figures from across the journalistic world.
Bristol NUJ
Bristol NUJ is the local branch of the National Union of Journalists, representing hundreds of members working in editorial media in the city – more than any other regional organisation. As well as representing and defending members, the branch sees its role as standing up for high-quality, independent journalism, and acting as the city's prime forum for discussing journalism.
http://www.bristolnuj.org.uk Bristol Festival of Ideas
The Bristol Festival of Ideas aims to stimulate people’s minds and passions with an inspiring programme of discussion and debate, featuring figures of national distinction. It seeks to provide an annual festival of debate and discussion in May with special events through the year. Overall, it is keen to link arts and sciences. It does not shy away from controversial issues and speakers and seeks to engage widely in the city.
http://www.ideasfestival.co.uk MediaAct MediaAcT is a comparative research project on media accountability systems across EU member states and the Arab world, using these as indicators of media pluralism. The UK part of the project is based at the University of the West of England with MediaWise.
http://www.mediaact.eu MediaWise
MediaWise (formerly PressWise) is an independent journalism ethics charity based at UWE. Set up in 1993 by victims of media abuse, it operates on the principle that press freedom is a responsibility exercised by journalists on behalf of the public, and that the public have a right to know when the media publish inaccurate information.
http://www.mediawise.org.uk Related Link:
http://www.arnolfini.org.uk/whatson/events/details/1297
NUJ Bristol Branch
Original article on IMC Bristol:
http://bristol.indymedia.org/article/707940