Secrecy Among Public Bodies and Services Greatest
Obstacle to Press Freedom

Secrecy among public bodies and services is seen as the greatest obstacle to free reporting according to the results of a press freedom survey released by the Newspaper Society today. Over 80% of regional daily newspaper editors and over 60% of weekly newspaper editors surveyed ranked secrecy among public bodies of high or very high significance. These results come from a survey on the main obstacles to press freedom in the regional newspaper industry, which was conducted by the Newspaper Society in the run up to last year's Local Newspaper Week.

David Newell, director of the Newspaper Society said: "The survey was intended to provide an impressionistic overview of the concerns of local and regional newspaper editors, in their own words. The Newspaper Society, regional newspaper publishers and regional and local newspaper editors campaign hard on press freedom and the public right to know. The survey establishes what editors identify as their main difficulties in everyday newsgathering and publication, so that they can be tackled by the regional newspaper industry."

As part of the Week's press freedom theme, the Society asked a selection of editors of regional and local daily and weekly titles what they felt were the greatest obstacles to informing their readers about what was happening around them. They were asked to rank reporting problems and to suggest improvements to the law.

Central and local government secrecy and reduction in information released by the police, local government, schools and health bodies, were ranked highest as obstacles to local government reporting.

They felt that the chilling effect of the libel laws, data protection regime which generated numerous complaints and 43 editors singled out data protection as the greatest obstacle to reporting, court reporting restrictions, use of the law of confidence and exploitation of any exception to local government access to information rights, inhibit investigation and reporting. Editors were sceptical about the impact of the Freedom of Information act, but have been testing it since it came into force on 1 January.

Editors would like the law to promote the release of accurate information. They want public bodies to act on a presumption of openness. They want public and private bodies, and individuals to look for ways of lawfully releasing more information, instead of exploiting any legal ground that might allow refusal.

They want the police, local government, schools and hospitals to provide more information and to engage in informed dialogue with the press and public. They want reform of the libel laws, including the no-win, no-fee regime.

Editors want ways of countering spurious excuses, sometimes of doubtful legal validity, that restrict investigation and reporting. They believe that there is a need for clear, consistent and accurate advice or guidance to prevent automatic refusals and unnecessary resort to legal exceptions to access to information rights, or data protection, or the law of confidence, or contempt and court reporting restrictions or child protection.

Editors are looking for direct dialogue with decision-makers, helped not hindered by press officers. They want issues, information, reasons, arguments, debate, policy formulation, decision making and decisions to be open to the public and the press.

They also want to be able to identify those involved in newsworthy events. They want to be able to publish photographs that also inform, comment and entertain: photographs that could substantiate their investigations, reveal crime, deter accidents, celebrate sport, record local events and publicise the successes enjoyed by their readers and their readers' children.

Press Freedom Survey (pdf)

 

For further information please contact Martha Leary-Tanner or Santha Rasaiah on 020 7636 7014 or e-mail martha_lt@newspapersoc.org.uk or santha_rasaiah@newspapersoc.org.uk.

The Newspaper Society, the voice of Britain's regional and local press, represents around 1,300 daily and weekly, paid-for and free, newspaper titles in the UK.

The Newspaper Society is a member of UK Publishing Media: a £18 billion alliance of newspapers, magazines and books, which collectively represent one of the largest investors in the rapidly-expanding information society.