If truthful reporting risks increasing tension between communities, should it still be published? Do journalists have a social duty to repress certain topics which are unhelpful? These questions tend to separate free societies from those countries where the press is muzzled. In Britain, there has been a tradition: readers decide what is acceptable. But that tradition is under threat, not just from politicians but from the press regulator itself.
You may not have heard of the Independent Press Standards Organisation, but it’s worth knowing about. It regulates this magazine and most British newspapers. When it was set up five years ago, its rules, laid out in the Editors’ Code, were meant to enforce accuracy and basic standards. Writing must be truthful and reporters should protect their sources, not engage in harassment and so on.
.... It won’t end here. If the new Ipso guidance is published, it is likely to be ‘banked’ as a useful concession on the road towards yet further restrictions on media freedom. The next step could be for activist groups to obtain changes to the Editors’ Code, so that it would prohibit discrimination against groups of people — as well as individuals (at present, it rules out only the latter).
Editors and journalists are clear that such a change — giving activists more power to complain ‘on behalf’ of others — would mark a sinister turn in press regulation. It would deeply compromise the free press. But make no mistake. As it stands, that is the direction of travel — and time is running out to change course. [The Spectator] Read more
