The Leveson Inquiry has given us all a lot to think about during the last few weeks. The public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press was sparked by the News International phone hacking scandal, but its remit stretches much further, into the relationship of the press with the public, police and politicians.
Last week’s highlights alone included the Express and Five proprietor Richard Desmond making a guest appearance. Typically controversial, Desmond played down criticism of the handling of the Madeline McCann story by his portfolio of newspapers and at one point claimed, “Ethical? I don’t quite know what the word means…” which in itself explains quite a lot. This week we can look forward to Trinity Mirror’s Sly Bailey and also to Ian Hislop’s first appearance.
The major participants though in the overall inquiry will be News International, the Metropolitan Police, the other major newspaper groups (Northern and Shell, Guardian News and Media, Associated Newspapers , Trinity Mirror & Telegraph Media Group), and the National Union of Journalists. Plus some 51 victims who have been named by the inquiry, including high profile public figures such as Hugh Grant, Anne Diamond and Jeremy Clarkson.
Apart from providing the media industry with endless gossip and anecdotes, the inquiry has already exposed some serious errors of judgment and management within the newspaper industry. Witness reports including Anne Diamond ‘s account of personally writing to tabloid editors begging them not to send photographers to her baby’s funeral – to no avail – attracted headlines of their own.
Many journalists have been quick to defend their paymasters – citing the British Press’s role in bringing to justice the Stephen Lawrence murderers, for example, and the exposure of MPs’ expense claims. Even The Guardian, the newspaper widely credited with exposing so much of the phone hacking story, this week ran a story in defense of the British Tabloid press.
We are still in phase 1 of the inquiry – and a report is due to be published in July. What’s Hot anticipates that several newspaper groups will be named as having illegally hacked phones and computers, and that there will be a new regulatory framework restricting journalists from invading privacy of the public as well as the famous.
The press market is already suffering declining circulations, and ad revenue (particularly from the retail sector) is down. The move from paper to digital in newspapers is an expensive one for the industry, and not without its teething problems. New regulation and possibly a new privacy law is the last thing the newspaper industry needs right now – and yet in so many ways it is justly deserved.