British Newspaper Industry Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

British Newspaper Industry - Case Study Example The result was the Press Complaints Commission (PCC), which was established in 1991 to strengthen and magnify the self-regulatory functions of the Press Council, which was the industry's regulatory body for nearly 40 years. In scope and coverage, the old Press Council was limited since its membership was confined to newspaper publishers. For a change, the PCC was constituted in such a way that its membership would be shared equally between representatives of the newspaper industry and those coming from the cross-section of British society. At present, the PCC consists of 16 members, eight of whom are publishers, editors and practicing journalists and the eight others are laymen. This lends the council an image of independence, free from possible influence of both the newspaper industry and government. For the same reason, the council left out government as possible source of its operational budget and instead relied on the largesse of newspaper companies whose funding contribution is arranged on a pro-rata basis. Publishers contribute a levy to PCC based on their companies' market share, with the Press Standards Board of Finance, an entirely separate body, collecting the money. In essence, the PCC receives and resolves complaints from members of the general public about the editorial content of newspapers, magazines and other periodicals. The report in question may be false and inaccurate as to put someone in a bad light. It could be misleading or intrudes into a person's right to privacy. Whatever the complaint brought to the attention of PCC, it tries to settle the case within 25 working days without any charges from the complaining public. So far, its service has been described as quick and efficient (PCC handbook). Once the PCC receives a complaint, which could be by regular mail, telephone, fax or e-mail, it starts by assessing if there is a valid cause for action. If there is, the council then refers the complaint to the concerned newspaper, which is obliged to run it in full without any embellishment that might distort the meaning of the complaint. In 2005, PCC received 3,654 complaints, of which 2 out of 3 involved inaccurate reporting and 1 out of 5 alleged intrusion into privacy. Of the complaints that don't involve breach of journalistic ethics, 9 out of 10 are resolved without the slightest delay (PCC). Pinkerton, R. (2002) observes that 97 percent of all the complaints PCC handles from year to year are resolved in favor of the complainants. Only 3 percent is tossed to the regular courts for adjudication because an apology would not suffice in these cases, or the editors cited in the complaints are convinced they have done no wrong and believe the courts will vindicate them. PCC ensures that it is accessible to all by operating Helpline, a 24-hour Advice Line, an Internet site and a Textphone service. Helpline assists everyone in lodging a complaint, while the Advice Line handles urgent complaints round the clock. The Textphone service provides assistance to people with hearing defects and the website makes relevant information available. The PCC also runs regular public service ads on how to make a complaint against erring newspapers in various minority languages