• Introduction
• Chairman's perspective
• Public representatives
• Complainants
• Professional representatives
• Newspapers and magazines
• The Press Complaints Commission
• Constructive critics
• Vivien Hepworth - Chairman of the independent Governance Review
• Jonathan Heawood - Director of the writers' charity English PEN
• Tim Luckhurst - Professor of Journalism at the University of Kent and a former editor of The Scotsman
• International perspective
• Historical perspective
• Putting it into perspective

Constructive critics

Tim Luckhurst - Professor of Journalism at the University of Kent and a former editor of The Scotsman

It has been a painful year. The PCC was exposed as wrong for believing that it had not been "materially misled" about phone hacking. More pain followed when Richard Desmond withdrew his Express and Star titles from the system. It is not unreasonable to question the value of a regulator that cannot handle complaints about four national newspapers.

So, does the public interest demand that voluntary regulation now be abandoned? Several former supporters think so. They are wrong. Things are bad and new media are bringing fresh challenges, but legislators could still scour the world for a better regulatory system. They would fi nd only censorship masquerading as a servant of the people.

The solution is for the PCC to embrace, urgently, an enhanced role as a promoter of ethical standards in journalism. Beyond the excellent work it does on behalf of so many complainants it must promote itself as a passionate champion of ethics.

With newspaper circulations in decline, it is no longer plausible to pretend that old tricks work. If there was ever a case for spinning to make news sexy, it is destroyed by the plethora of sensation available online. Hyperbolic nonsense is ubiquitous on the internet. Modern readers are entitled to demand better.

They cherish trusted brands for their ability to present news accurately and in context, complete with commentary and analysis. Newspapers no longer need to be sensational. Instead they must be best at reporting thoroughly. Some call it curating the news.

The PCC must put promoting ethics on an equal footing with its role as an arbiter. Ethical considerations are becoming a criterion by which readers can distinguish professional reporting from the amateur variety known as citizen journalism. This will provoke resistance from sleazier publishers, but if it rises to the challenge the PCC can thrive in the multimedia era. It can help newspapers to thrive too, in print and online.