A new report is claiming that the greatest obstacle to free reporting is secrecy among public bodies.
In a wide-ranging survey, more than 80 per cent of regional daily newspaper editors and more than 60 per cent of weekly newspaper editors surveyed said the problem was of “high” or “very high” significance.
The results come from a survey on the main obstacles to press freedom in the regional newspaper industry, which was conducted by the Newspaper Society in the run up to last year’s Local Newspaper Week, which had a theme of press freedom.
The Society asked a selection of editors of regional and local daily and weekly titles what the greatest obstacles were to informing their readers about what was happening around them. They were asked to rank reporting problems and to suggest improvements to the law.
Restrictions which hold up their work – and were ranked highly by newspaper bosses – include:
They were also sceptical about the impact of the Freedom of Information act – but have been testing it since it came into force on January 1.
The survey showed that editors would like the law to promote the release of accurate information. They want public bodies to act on a presumption of openness. They want public and private bodies, and individuals to look for ways of lawfully releasing more information, instead of exploiting any legal ground that might allow refusal.
They want the police, local government, schools and hospitals to provide more information and to engage in informed dialogue with the press and public.
Editors want ways of countering spurious excuses, sometimes of doubtful legal validity, that restrict investigation and reporting. They believe that there is a need for clear, consistent and accurate advice or guidance to prevent automatic refusals and unnecessary resort to legal exceptions to access to information rights, or data protection, or the law of confidence, or contempt and court reporting restrictions or child protection.
Editors are looking for direct dialogue with decision-makers, helped – not hindered – by press officers. They want issues, information, reasons, arguments, debate, policy formulation, decision making and decisions to be open to the public and the press.
They also want to be able to identify those involved in newsworthy events. They want to be able to publish photographs that also inform, comment and entertain: photographs that could substantiate their investigations, reveal crime, deter accidents, celebrate sport, record local events and publicise the successes enjoyed by their readers and their readers’ children.
Some also called for reform of the libel laws, including the no-win, no-fee regime.
Newspaper Society director David Newell said: “The survey was intended to provide an impressionistic overview of the concerns of local and regional newspaper editors, in their own words.
“The Newspaper Society, regional newspaper publishers and regional and local newspaper editors campaign hard on press freedom and the public right to know.
“The survey establishes what editors identify as their main difficulties in everyday newsgathering and publication, so that they can be tackled by the regional newspaper industry.”
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