The Press

Hard cases make bad law and so it is to be fervently hoped that the mess in which the press finds itself does not lead to its regulation that in any way restricts its freedom to investigate and report. That such right to do so should be carried out within the law as it stands is fine since both hacking people's phones and paying bribes to the police or anyone else for that matter are already illegal activities. Any new regulation should be limited so that anyone writing for or distributing a story to the public should be deemed to have made a declaration that the story has not been obtained as a result of an illegal activity. As for stories which are made up it seems to me that the laws of libel provide sufficient redress although for those who do not wish to take proceedings they should instead have the ability to make a complaint to an independent body paid for by the media that can review the complaint and decide whether or not its main thrust is true and impose a fine both on the journalist that wrote it and the newspaper that published it if they decide it is not. Of course when I refer to newspapers I also mean other forms of media such as television, radio, reports issued by quangos and other bodies and even blogs. Thus my proposal would even cover reports by bodies like the IPPC and other single issue organisations. The independent complaints body would have a duty to ensure that all points of view were heard in coming to its conclusion with the usual right of appeal to the courts.