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Regional press news - this story published 18 May 2004

Review shows watchdog works for 'ordinary people'

by holdthefrontpage staff

Press watchdog the Press Complaint Commission has put forward evidence to "explode the myth" that it was only the rich and famous that complained about newspapers.

Launching the Commission's 2003 Review, chairman Sir Christopher Meyer quoted statistics that showed that the general public made use of its services.

He said he would be sending copies of the annual review to critics who thought the Commission was unconcerned with protecting ordinary people while running a "Rolls-Royce service" for celebrities.

Copies would also be going to those who thought privacy issues were becoming the preserve of the law instead of the industry watchdog.

He said the report showed:

Just two per cent of complainants were people in the national public eye;

the PCC resolved 20 per cent more complaints than in 2002 on behalf of members of the public;

the proportion of investigated complaints against the national and regional press was the same, at 41 per cent;

it dealt with 600 privacy complaints, making 271 rulings;

half of privacy rulings concerned the regional press in England and Wales, with a further 14 per cent relating to Scottish titles and 28 per cent of such rulings were about the national press.

The review booklet

Chairman Sir Christopher Meyer said: "Privacy issues overwhelmingly concern ordinary members of the public who are caught up in the media spotlight for one reason or another.

"These are the people that we are primarily here to help: people who simply do not have the resources, the time, or the willingness to expose themselves to more publicity to try their chances in the courts."

There was no need to use a lawyer at all to get satisfaction, he said.

"But when people do - and they must be free to do so - our report warns that the process will take up to 50 per cent longer, that it will cost them money for a service that is free, and that it will have no discernible effect on the outcome."

Since Sir Christopher took up his post in March, he has been on a steep learning curve about the Commission's work.

Speaking in Glasgow at the West of Scotland Newspaper Press Fund Annual Lunch, he told his audience: "Let it not be said, for instance, that the Commission is not a 'proactive' body: PCC staff are engaged in countless initiatives aimed at educating people before things go wrong about how the Code of Practice can help them.

"And it is a myth that the Commission has to wait for a complaint before acting in all cases where there may be a breach of the Code.

"There are three areas of the Code - the so-called 'victimless' clauses relating to financial journalism and payments to witnesses and criminals - where it has long been Commission policy to investigate a matter of concern without the benefit of a complaint."

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