SoE08: Do not emasculate the PCC, says chairman to publishers

This article was migrated from an old version of our website in 2025. As a result, it might have some low-quality images or non-functioning links - if there's any issues you'd like to see fixed, get in touch with us at info@journalism.co.uk.

There used to be something here that couldn't be migrated - please contact us at info@journalism.co.uk if you'd like to see this updated!

The newspaper industry must give more support to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) to preserve self-regulation in the future, the group's chairman said today.

Speaking to delegates at the Society of Editors conference, Sir Christopher Meyer, who will step down from the PCC in March , said the commission requires more 'conspicuous support' from newspapers.

Without this support publishers are in danger of 'emasculating' the regulator, he added.

"If you do not want regulation by the EU or by the state, or some horrible amalgamation of the two, then make it clear to your readers that this resource [the PCC] is there – you don't do it enough," said Meyer.

"The industry is going through very tough times. People are making cuts, jobs are going. Should the regulator funded through a levy on the industry take pro-rata the same kind of cuts?

"If you want your regulator to rise to the challenge of what is coming, do not emasculate it now for quite separate economic reasons. The PCC will not survive as a public service if it can't do the business, but it cannot do the business if it faces swingeing cuts."

Meyer described the European Commission as 'itching' to get more heavily involved in media regulation and said current UK state support for self-regulation was not guaranteed for the future.

"We can't be sure what the response will be two or three years from now if public money starts to creep into the system," he said.

The PCC must also focus on 'getting ahead of technology' and looking at the implications new technological developments have for regulation, he added.