This lecture was our first with Ian Anderson, former News Editor on the BBC
10 O’clock News; so Dan, when you think your job on WINOL is hard, try and
fathom how much of a step up it would be to do that on a national programme
like the 10 O’clock News.
So to start it is important to remember that regulation and codes are not
laws, but often are of the same or higher importance to journalists. With the
shadow of Leveson looming large over the whole industry this is an extremely
important time in regulation; the PCC (Press Complaints Commission) has been
held up in ridicule, journalists are less trusted by the public than ever and
newspapers are closing down faster than you can say News of the World.
Regulation and codes must work in practice because if they don't then the
public does not trust us; if the public doesn't trust us, where do our stories
come from? Why do codes matter though? Well all professionals have codes of
conduct which occupy the space between actual laws and what is right ethically;
so if you break one of your codes of conduct you may not actually be breaking
the law but you can still damage your career or even lose your job. Journalism
is all about having the trust of the public so it's good to have these codes to
guide us in areas like; how far can we go to get a story, what practices are
legitimate and when do circumstances make a difference? The Jimmy Savile case
which is currently playing out across the media has been extremely damaging to
the bond between the BBC and the public. These codes are in place to stop bad
practice in journalism in order to gain and maintain public trust.
There are 3 main codes for journalists to remember plus one other which I'll
mention briefly later. For newspapers and magazines it is the PCC which of course
is in transition at the moment. It's very difficult to define the PCC code at
the moment but essentially it is a regulator which deals (or perhaps dealt?)
with complaints submitted to them where a journalist has perhaps made a mistake
which cannot be rectified by a simple apology in the next edition. Often the
PCC has to be the middle man between the complainant and the newspaper, such as
in this case, now resolved, where Gordon
Brown MP complained to the PCC about something written in The Times about money
given to MPs in addition to their parliamentary salary. Since the PCC is run by
ex-press people pretty much, the question of how it can be fully independent is
ever present. It also has no real power to regulate, offering as it does
apologies and a slap on the wrist. The code and regulator for broadcasters is
Ofcom who are arguably much less ineffectual than their newspaper regulating
cousins. This is mainly because they have real power to regulate in being able
to fine people or pull their programmes off air. Think back to the Russell
Brand and Jonathan Ross saga, Ofcom fined the hell out of them and it
eventually caused the pair to lose their jobs. This was nothing though in
comparison to the breach of trust the incident caused. If you don't keep to the
Ofcom codes though they can and will take you off air; they license people to
broadcast and have no hesitation in giving with one hand and taking away with
the other. In comparison to the timid PCC, Ofcom really can hurt an institution
with its powers which have to be there to enforce impartiality as well as any
legal issues. Impartiality is something which doesn't matter to newspapers,
there is no requirement for them to be impartial, yet broadcasters have to be
impartial or risk the wrath of Ofcom. Finally we have the BBC code of conduct,
available for all to read here and which are, by all accounts,
"a great tool for how to do your job well," as spoken by Ian Anderson
in our lecture. I won't go into detail on the BBC guidelines as they will only
affect you if you get a job with the BBC and since that's a little more niche
than getting a job in journalism in general I'll leave it up to you as to whether
you want to find out more.
There are times however when as a journalist it may be necessary to not
adhere to these ethical rules. In the search for a story, how far is too far?
In investigative journalism it may be necessary to secretly film someone or lie
in order to get the story. This is obviously not ideal and the only real
defence you can have for these sorts of actions is public interest. OK so the
story could be true but if it is not in the public interest you lied and
cheated to get the story and deserve to be reprimanded. If however it is in the
public interest then you should be home and dry. The fake sheik stories in the
long gone News of the World were a great example of investigative journalism
where rather dodgy tactics were employed to break codes for good reasons. At
the moment there is a consultation by the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions)
which is hoping to put a real answer to the question of whether the public
interest served by the conduct investigated outweighs the overall criminality
of the means of acquiring that information. If yes, run that story dammit; if
no, you're going to jail lad.
Finally (oh you thought I meant finally when we were talking about the BBC?
Well this is awkward) let's talk about the NUJ. OK so the National Union of
Journalists hasn't been as strong ever since Murdoch came along but there are
some journalists who still hold its 12 key points sacred. In most other codes
there is a focus on privacy but there's a fair more laissez faire
attitude to that in the NUJ code of conduct; you can read the whole list here but the
one that all journalists should adhere to if they are to be respected and considered
trustworthy is the protection of sources. If you are given sensitive
information which is entirely possible as a journalist then it is your solemn
duty not to reveal the source of this information if you publish the story
which you gained from said information. Really though, as long as you make
every piece of work you do FAST, ACCURATE and FAIR then you shouldn't have any
problems. And how hard can that be?
Until Next Time. Stay Classy Internet.
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