Press Releases

Press Council said today (Monday 28th December) that the proposed new curriculum on “Politics and Society” being prepared by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment should include a new emphasis on the power of the press, the accountability of the press, and on new media.

There are several fundamental reasons why the state should not involve itself in the regulation of the press. However, there are also more practical reasons why self-regulation can be a preferable alternative, benefitting journalists and the public alike. It is flexible, non-bureaucratic and highly effective at delivering practical solutions to problems. Ultimately, self-regulation can raise standards and provide effective redress to those who are wronged by the press. But it does so by working with journalists, not against them.

The passage of the Defamation Act 2009 and the completion of the procedures envisaged under this Act will create a radically new system of accountability for the print media which will mean that expensive legal processes will have to be invoked much less frequently than before.

Is suicide news?

The Press Council of Ireland has considered recent proposals by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner to issue draft regulations detailing requirements that, in the view of the Commissioner, should be met by an organization holding records that contain personal data and which are kept solely for the purpose of historical research or are covered by the National Archives Act 1986.

This is a significant occasion for the Press Council of Ireland as it reports on its first full year of operation.

The function of an Ombudsman is, I am sure, well enough understood in the Ireland of today for it not torequire anything substantial by way of explanation here. This Annual Report, however, is significant not only because it is the first of its kind and outlines our activities during the first year of operation, but because it also indicates clearly the parameters within which I as Press Ombudsman work.

There is a growing realization of the signifi cance, and seeming intractability, of suicide as a social problem in the Ireland of today. Just before Christmas, the Press Council of Ireland published, as a discussion document, the outcome of a public consultation it had held, with the cooperation of all its member publications, on the topic of Suicide and the Press. It is a calm and measured document, with many good ideas both for journalists and for those affected by suicide or working in the field of suicide prevention, and is available on our website.

“The past does not exist. There are only infi nite renderings of it”Ryszard Kapuscinski Travels with Herodotus

“Current Issues in Journalism”