Statistics 2010
Introduction
How do the stats for 2010 compare to those for the previous year? What are the primary causes of complaint? How can a statistical analysis shed light on the PCC's practical work? Here, we provide an introductory overview of what last year's figures show.
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The key numbers
Around 1,700 cases were ruled on
or successfully mediated in 2010.
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What do people complain about?
Complaints about alleged inaccuracies remain
the most common. But complaints about intrusion
into individuals' privacy increased slightly in
2010. National newspapers are most frequently the
subject of complaint but 45% of investigated cases
were against regional titles.
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Complaints with merit
The Commission's role is to determine which
complaints it receives actually reveal breaches
of the Editors' Code of Practice. In this section
we look at those cases which the PCC judged
to have merit under the terms of the Code -
and we set out what happened to them.
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Complaints without merit
Although many complaints raise concerns that are
quite understandable, they may not always show
a breach of the Code of Practice. Here, we examine
those cases that were judged by the Commission
not to have merit when set against the requirements
of the Editors' Code.
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Speed of service
It has long been a primary aim of the PCC
to offer a speedy service to complainants.
Last year we improved our average time
for dealing with cases.
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Prominence
We have worked hard in recent years to highlight
the importance of corrections and apologies being
published with due prominence. In 2010, 81.1%
of apologies appeared on the same page or
further forward than the original transgression.
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Desist requests and pre-publication advice
Statistics often hide the reality of specific cases.
This is nowhere more true than in respect of the
PCC's proactive work: preventing harassment,
assisting those at the centre of a media storm
and so on. But the fi gures for last year show that
these services are being used more than ever.
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Complainant feedback and public opinion research
Those who complain to the PCC generally feel very
positive about their experience of our service, even
if their complaints are judged not to breach the
terms of the Editors' Code. Public opinion about the
PCC is also positive, and the PCC has published
the results of its complainant feedback survey and
of public opinion research conducted by Toluna.
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