Thursday 29 September 2011

Leveson Inquiry urged to include regional experts


The Newspaper Society has added its voice to the calls that the panel of assessors appointed to the Leveson Inquiry into the media should have wider newspaper expertise, including experience of the regional press.

The current inquiry assessors are: Sir David Bell, former chairman of the FT and until recently chairman of the Media Standards Trust; Shami Chakrabarti of Liberty; Lord Currie, former chairman of Ofcom; Elinor Goodman, former political editor for Channel 4 News; George Jones, former political editor of the Daily Telegraph; and Sir Paul Scott-Lee, former chief constable of West Midlands Police.

At a hearing yesterday, Associated Newspapers asked Lord Justice Leveson to clarify the role of the assessors and consider appointing more of them to provide wider newspaper expertise, covering the mid-market, red tops and regional press. The concerns were shared by Guardian News & Media, Trinity Mirror, the Newspaper Publishers Association as well as the Newspaper Society.

Lord Leveson said he would reserve judgment on whether to appoint additional assessors.

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