David Cameron's failure to embrace the Leveson Report with any enthusiasm demonstrates just how much our political classes run in fear of the press. In turn, this clearly shows that it is long passed time that the media had its wings clipped.
This is not to say that I'm in favour of the government taking control of the press but it is clear that the current 'self-regulation' has failed miserably; any replacement self-regulatory arrangement is likely to be every bit as useless and impotent. that What is needed is a framework established by law which guarantees the freedom of the press while also making sure that it behaves in an acceptably civilized fashion. There is no reason at all why there should not be a wholly independent body in place of the discredited 'Press Council' and which can properly respond to complaints from those whom the press abuses. Such a body could be set up, chiared by a retired judge and with, perhaps, 2 representatives from the media and 2 from the public; the Press would, of course, foot the bill as they do now, but they would have far less ability to sweep things under the carpet.
There can be no doubt that some elements of the media are out of control and feel themselves to be beyond the reach of the law. The 'phone hacking scandal was merely the tip of a very nasty iceberg, the submerged parts of which include all of the grubby bits of journalism - the manufactured stories for pure sensationalist value, long range pictures of well known people living their lives, every type of intrusion into peoples' privacy for the purpose of making money alone. Most of these activities, all of which have usually been justified on the basis of 'the public interest', have been the mark of a dysfunctional press reacting to the salacious appetites of an uneducated and ignorant public.
It is time for a change.
No comments:
Post a Comment