PCC year at a glance
March
PCC upholds first complaint about journalist's blog
The Commission was asked to judge whether information published on Rod Liddle's blog on The Spectator website was inaccurate or misleading. It judged that it was.
The PCC's jurisdiction extends to blogs published by the mainstream press (whose content would otherwise be subject to the Commission's jurisdiction). The Commission recognises that blogs can be a conversation, a more informal means of broadcasting information, and this affects how complaints should be considered about them. The default position, however, must still be that the terms of the Code of Practice apply.
Baroness Buscombe: 'Freedom of speech is non-negotiable'
An article by Baroness Buscombe about the work of the PCC was published in the British Journalism Review, in which she discussed her experiences in her first year as Chairman.
POLIS debate on social networking
The PCC hosted, in conjunction with POLIS, a discussion seminar on the rise of social media and its impact on journalism. The PCC's Director, Stephen Abell, sat on a panel, which included the Guardian's Janine Gibson, the BBC's Torin Douglas and Professor Ian Walden from Queen Mary, University of London (and also a public member of the PCC). There is a report of the seminar here.
PCC update seminar in Belfast
Three members of PCC staff visited the Belfast Telegraph and Sunday Life newsrooms to host a seminar.
Advisory notes
In March, they included:
‒ Passing on a request from the solicitors of a bereaved family asking the press, ahead of an inquest, not to approach the family;
‒ Passing on the request of the wife of a man seriously injured in an accident that her local paper stop contacting her.