Press Recognition Panel launches its consultation process
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Version 0 of 1. Press regulation’s tortured history since the Leveson report has reached a new phase with the launch of a consultation process by the Press Recognition Panel (PRP). Readers who have forgotten that the royal charter remains in force, despite the formation of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso), may need a reminder here: the PRP, which came into being in November 2014, is the body that will decide whether press regulators meet the recognition criteria recommended in the Leveson report. Ipso, which was set up by some of Britain’s leading newspaper and magazine publishers, has let it be known that it will not seek recognition. But the PRP is forging ahead, as required by the charter. There are major groups that have not signed up to Ipso - including the Guardian, Financial Times and the Independent titles - plus a plethora of smaller publishers. And it emerged at the first of several public consultation sessions, staged at the London School of Economics on Tuesday evening, that a nascent alternative press regulator, Impress, is likely to sign up several of those small publishers. It appears that under the terms of the crime and courts act many hyperlocal outfits would be deemed as “relevant publishers”. So the PRP’s chair, David Wolfe QC, believes they would benefit from joining a recognised regulator in order to protect them from the imposition by courts of exemplary damages and legal costs. To gain charter recognition, a regulator will need to fulfil all 28 criteria and Wolfe explained that his body is currently engaged in trying to define some of those criteria that “lack clarity”. To that end, and in a wider context, he and members of his board have held a series of meetings with a range of interested parties, including one hosted by Ipso and attended by Ipso’s chair, Sir Alan Moses, and its chief executive Matt Tee. During that discussion, which can be seen here on the PRP website, Moses reiterated that Ipso is not contemplating seeking recognition through the PRP but appeared to be fascinated by the parallel charter process. Sitting alongside Wolfe at the LSE meeting was Impress’s director, Jonathan Heawood. But this juxtaposition, as Wolfe stressed, did not suggest some kind of cosy relationship: the PRP was independent and would adjudge Impress’s expected seeking of recognition on the merits of its case as a Leveson-compliant regulator. Heawood has yet to sign up any publisher but made it clear, in referring to “the long tail” of digital media, that some hyperlocal news outlets appear keen to join Impress. What is unclear is whether Impress will seek recognition from the panel before any publisher joins it. Evidently, it will not be a deal-breaker. Now Wolfe and his board are off on a road show across the UK and Northern Ireland to hold similar consultation meetings (list below) before the panel opens for business in September, when it will publish the final criteria for recognition and accompanying guidance for applicants. Comment: Overarching this whole process is the application of the crime and courts act governing exemplary damages, which is due to take effect in November this year. This is the famous stick or carrot that was supposed to “encourage” publishers to join a charter-recognised regulator. How will judges apply it? What will happen should one of the 87 publishers that have joined Ipso be “punished” in a court action? It is assumed that there will be appeals against the imposition of any penalty that a publisher (and even Ipso, possibly) regards as a threat to press freedom. But this is all a matter of speculation. Lawyers seem to be no wiser than the rest of us about what will happen. It could yet prove to be crucial to the future of press regulation. In what I hope is my last pun on his name, the Wolfe is still at the door of every newspaper and magazine editor whether they have joined Ipso or not. Or, to put it another way, Leveson hasn’t gone away, you know... The PRP’s public consultation sessions 10 June: 3.30-5.30pm Queen’s University, Belfast; 11 June: 9.30-11.30am Glasgow Caledonian University; 15 June: 12-1.00pm Webinar session; 18 June: 4-6pm Manchester Conference Centre; 30 June: 6-8pm Abbey Centre, London; 3 July: 2-4pm University of Durham; 8 July: 4.30-6.30pm BBC Birmingham; 14 July: 3-5pm Cardiff University |