Independent, strong and free; new era of press regulation is launched
A tough new regulator to oversee the press was being launched today with the power to fine newspapers up to £1 million for wrongdoing.
The Independent Press Standards Organisation – IPSO – has been set up by newspaper groups but will not be controlled by them.
It is intended as an alternative to the version proposed by the three main political parties and the pressure group Hacked Off, which would be underpinned by law.
The main difference is that it does not give politicians control over press freedom.
It comes after newspaper publishers have voiced serious concerns over a Royal Charter drawn by politicians and Hacked Off in the wake of the phone hacking scandal.
IPSO will be the toughest form of self-regulation in the history of newspapers.
Is the launch of a tough new press regulator a good thing? Vote in our poll below and have your say in the comments section:
It will require upfront and prominent corrections when stories are wrong and will have the power to investigate evidence of malpractice with fines of up to £1 million for the worst offenders.
It will come at no cost to the public because IPSO will be funded by the newspaper and magazine industry. The new regulator is a response to the recommendations of Lord Justice Leveson, who held a lengthy inquiry into the culture practices and ethics of the press and the relationship of the press with the public, police and politicians.
It was set up in the wake of public revulsion at the hacking of mobile phones by tabloid newspapers such as the News of the World, which was subsequently closed down.
Keith Harrison, editor of the Express & Star, said: "It is vital that we have a free and independent press.The regional press, and the Express & Star, had nothing to do with the phone-hacking scandal. The actions of a small number of journalists on national newspapers were already illegal. Indeed we have seen people arrested for them.
"There are already laws in this country to deal with this. The Royal Charter gives politicians a level of control they have never had before over the press.
"But as it is the press that holds politicians to account every single day, the press must be able to do as it has done for hundreds of years – independent of the state."
The Newspaper Society says the charter is 'state-sponsored regulation' and would be a risk to the long-standing freedom of the press.
