PCC stalls on recommendation over improving corrections in the press

One of the few recommendations from the independent Governance Review which the Press Complaints Commission has not accepted is this one:

28. The Commission needs to do more work to ensure both that apologies are prominently published, and that people are aware of this. A working group on this specific issue would be a positive step (paragraph 46).

The Commission accepts that prominence is a significant issue, and is committed to ensuring corrections and apologies continue to appear with due prominence. Following positive engagement by the Chairman and Director of the PCC with the Editors’ Code Committee, the Code has recently been changed to make clear that prominence of corrections and apologies must be agreed by the PCC before publication. This represents a significant step forward for the system. While the Commission will consider a working group on the subject, it feels that the issue can be kept under appropriate review by its Review Panel (charged with an annual audit of the Commission’s work).

However, on similar lines:

32. The Commission and PressBof should consider setting up a joint working group further to consider sanctions. We believe there are a range of creative ideas about how existing sanctions could be made more effective – and be seen to be so – and that these should be investigated (paragraph 48).

The Commission accepts this recommendation, and is in discussion with PressBof.

PressBof is the Press Standards Board of Finance.