RAISING STANDARDS - YEAR IN YEAR OUT

While most complaints of substance made to the PCC are amicably resolved, a small number each year are the subject of an adjudication by the Commission. These adjudications are crucial to the maintenance of effective self regulation - because they provide guidance to editors on important subjects and, by their example, help to raise standards of reporting across the industry. They are contained in quarterly reports published by the Commission and distributed to (among others) all national, regional and magazine editors. Among those key decisions in 1999 were these.

Intrusion into grief and shock

A magazine intruded into the grief and shock of parents whose son has committed suicide in an article which contained tips on how to kill yourself, alongside advice from a counsellor on how to prevent student suicide. The Commission ruled that the Code had been seriously breached because the student in question had died so recently: his death should have been treated sensitively and not with gratuitous humour.

Protecting children

A local newspaper breached the Code when it reported the identity of a child whose mother had committed suicide, and who was - at that time - in a particularly vulnerable position. The Commission saw no reason why the girl's name, school and whereabouts should have been included in the article so soon after she had suffered the loss of her mother.

Privacy and private places

A Scottish newspaper intruded into an individual's privacy when it published a picture of her in her office, taken with a long lens and without her consent. The Commission ruled that the inside of an office was a place where individuals should, under the Code, have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Accuracy - and asylum seekers

A regional newspaper breached the Code when it published an article about asylum seekers accompanied by a large picture of police in riot gear. The Commission ruled that the article was inaccurate because the picture had been taken on a different occasion to the incident which was the subject of a report. In its adjudication, the Commission took the opportunity to remind all editors of the danger that inaccurate or misleading reporting may generate an atmosphere of fear and hostility which is not borne out by the facts.

Payments to criminals

The Commission cracked down on newspaper payments to criminals and their associates in two adjudications. In one, a national newspaper breached the Code when it paid the daughter of Jonathan Aitken for an article about her father. The Commission ruled that there was no public interest contained in the information she made available. In another case, a magazine breached the Code when it paid associates of Reggie Kray for a column written by him. The Commission ruled that there was no public interest in the articles, which in fact glorified the way in which various crimes had been carried out and the people who did so.

Private lives

A national newspaper intruded into the privacy of two women, both public servants, when it reported details of a relationship between them. The Commission ruled that there was no public interest in the article simply because of the fact that the women involved were public servants. The adjudication made clear that individuals such as police officers are entitled to the same protection under the Code as anyone else.