'PCC must cajole newspapers to change'

The Media Standards Trust said today that the Press Complaints Commission must work "to cajole and command" the newspaper industry to change.

It was responding to the publication of the culture, media and sport select committee' s report into press standards, privacy and libel.

Trust director Martin Moore said: "The select committee's report sets out two important principles: that the press must be free to be wrong but accountable when it makes mistakes. The committee heard stark warnings of threats to press freedom but also the cost to individuals of when that freedom was abused.

“The hard work begins now. This committee's report contains many important recommendations for the Press Complaints Commission. In particular, it establishes that acting as a complaints mediator is insufficient for safeguarding public trust. As opinion research commissioned by the Media Standards Trust in January 2010 reveals, the public expects a press self-regulator to be proactive in monitoring breaches of the code and have responsibility for reporting on press standards.
"This important work must be taken forward by the PCC's governance review which must work across the industry, on behalf of the public, to cajole and command the newspaper industry to change. The press demands transparency and accountability of others. Now it must show that it too can be transparent and accountable."
You can read the committee's report here.