PRESS REGULATION

This topic is the second half of your exam essay on media regulation.

We discuss how and why was IPSO and IMPRESS were formed to regulate the press, and why they replaced the PCC (Press Complaints Commission).

You start by finding out about IPSO. Explore IPSO's website to learn what kinds of newspaper titles IPSO regulates. Look at 'rulings' to see what kinds of issues IPSO has ruled on - are these serious issues related to harrassment, invasion of privacy, libel...or smaller breaches of the code of ethics related to accuracy? What kinds of action ('outcome') or sanctions were imposed? IPSO presents a picture of an organisation that regulates the press effectively and fairly. Not everyone agrees. For example, Hacked Off has describes IPSO as 'toothless'.

Hacked Off describes itself as a campaign for a free and accountable press and their main .

 

To explore Hacked Off's concerns, open its 'campaigns' tab (below).

Hacked Off has also published a downloadable booklet detailing press injustices that IPSO has not addressed: Thrown To The Wolves

To start your essay, you will show understanding of what caused the Leveson Enquiry.

In class, you read The Guardian newspaper's account entitled Leveson Inquiry: the essential guide about the phone hacking scandal surrounding The News Of The World.

Lord Justice Leveson's inquiry 'into the culture, practices and ethics of the press' heard from 184 witnesses and accepted 42 written submissions in more than six months of hearings.

Wednesday 28 November 2012 07.00 GMT

Lord Justice Leveson speaks at the conclusion of the witness testimony phase of the Leveson inquiry at the high court in London Photograph: Reuters

1. The issue at a glance
2. Why is it being talked about now?
3. A brief history of press regulation
4. How is the press regulated now?
5. What does Leveson have to do?
6. The options and key arguments
7. What about the internet?
8. What happens next?

What is meant by the term 'free Press'? Does it mean that the Press are free to print anything?

What is meant by the assertion that the Press has an important role in democracy and that 'it holds power to account'? 

The press is sometimes called The Fourth Estate: this term ‘Fourth Estate’ makes implicit reference to the earlier historical division of the Three Estates of the Realm: the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners. 

Do you know of any investigations by the Press that have exposed wrongdoing - 'shone a light' - and held power to account? 

Movies about press investigations / reporting:

The Post (dir. Stephen Spielberg 2017) about the Pentagon Papers - trailer here

The Killing Fields (dir. Roland Joffe 1984) - trailer here

All The President's Men (dir. Alan Pakula 1976) - trailer here

Frost / Nixon (dir. Ron Howard 2008) - trailer here

Network (dir. Peter Finch 1976) trailer here

Spotlight (dir. Tom McCarthy 2015) - trailer here 

The Social Network (dir. David Fincher 2010) - trailer here 

Nightcrawler (dir. Dan Gilroy 2014) - trailer here