PCC phone hacking review to face scrutiny from International Federation of Journalists
Global organisation to use PCC as 'case study' in review of self-regulatory bodies
– 2 min read
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A uncritical report by the Press Complaints Commission into allegations of phone hacking activity at News of the World is to be scrutinised by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) .
The body has commissioned Jean-Paul Marthoz, a well-known Belgian journalist and Le Soir columnist , to conduct the inquiry, the results of which will be published in January 2010.
Last week, in response the Guardian's July allegations of fresh evidence of phone hacking activity at News International titles, the Press Complaints Commission issued a report claiming there was no new evidence further to its 2007 inquiry.
In turn, the Guardian, reporter Nick Davies and the Media Standards Trust condemned the report : "This complacent report shows that the PCC does not have the ability, the budget or the procedures to conduct its own investigations," said the Guardian in a statement .
Last week, Alan Rusbridger resigned from the Press Complaints Commission, as reported today by MediaGuardian. The PCC and the 'spat in the UK' is being used as a case study, in the IFJ's review of media accountability and self-regulatory systems, IFJ general-secretary, Aidan White, told Journalism.co.uk.
The study will help to 'show where existing structures don't work', he said. The IFJ believes that press regulatory bodies need to increase their advocacy and education work, and address the problem of convergence and changed communication environments, White added.
"This case raises serious questions about the role and responsibility of a press complaints body to be fair and honest in its dealings with the press," he said in an IFJ release .
"If journalists and media cannot trust a self-regulator to be fair, the whole system of self-rule in media loses credibility."
The IFJ will host a conference in Indonesia on the future of press councils and media accountability systems in December.
The IFJ had not yet been in touch with the PCC, White confirmed, but said that Marthoz would consult the body in the course of its inquiry.
Earlier in the year, the then PCC chairman Sir Christopher Meyer attacked another media organisation, the Media Standards Trust, for not consulting it in its critical review of the body .
