New media regulator to oversee newspapers in the UK
Following the wiretapping scandal in the UK surrounding the now defunct News of the World newspaper, a new media regulator is to be set up. The British parties reached this compromise on Monday after lengthy negotiations.
The new institution is to investigate complaints about reporting and ensure that apologies or corrections are published in a timely and appropriate manner. In recent weeks, the major British newspapers had warned against restricting press freedom through stricter media control. Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday that his Tories' agreement with their coalition partner the Liberal Democrats and the opposition Labour Party had prevented an overly strict media law. Labor leader David Miliband said the newspapers had "nothing to fear".
In order to guarantee the independence of the new media regulator, it is to be created on a special legal basis - on which the BBC broadcaster and the British central bank are also based. Newspapers will have a say in the composition of the committee, but no right of veto. Media that do not wish to submit to the control will face severe penalties for offenses such as libel. The new media regulator is based on the report of a commission of experts that investigated the News of The World affair.
Journalists at the newspaper had been tapping the phones and voicemails of hundreds of celebrities, relatives of killed soldiers and victims of crime and bribing police officers for years in the hunt for exclusive stories. After the scandal broke in 2011, media mogul Rupert Murdoch shut down News of the World (Werbewoche.ch reported). Dozens of those responsible were arrested. (SDA)
