PCC: Overview

What does the PCC do?

• The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) is an independent self-regulatory body which deals with complaints about the editorial content of newspapers and magazines (and their websites). 
• They use the 16 clauses as their guidlines.
• The PCC will investigate when they receive a complaint by someone directly affected.
• The PCC will attempt to help the editor and complainant to agree on a way to resolve the issue, such as a published apology or clarification.

How does the system work?

• The system is not a legal one, but rather a voluntary agreement between editors.
• The 16 clauses which act as guidlines are drawn up by a group of editors.
• Non of the PCC staff are connected to the industry.

What does the code of practice cover?

• An editor is expected to take responsibility for all the stories and photographs that appear in their publication and to ensure that they comply with the code.
• The code does not cover issues of taste and decency. This is because the PCC recognises that in a democratic society we have the right to free press.
• However, people can choose which newspaper is to their tastes, so with advertising such as billboards, then matters of taste and decency apply more.

How is the PCC funded?

• Funded through the Press Standards Board of Finance (aka PressBof), which is responsible for collecting money from newspapers and magazines in the UK.
• Newspapers and magazines pay a sum proportional to their papers circulation - so big newspapers pay much more than small local papers.
• PCC does not receive any money from government.

History of the PCC:

• The PCC was set up in 1991 and replaced the Press Council, which had been set up in 1953.
• During the 1980s, a small number of publications failed to observe the basic ethics of journalism, and many MPs lost condfidence in the Press Council.
• So the PCC was set up to prove "that non-statutory regulation can be made to work effectively".

Who complains to the PCC and what about?

• The PCC will acept complaints from anyone who thinks an article involving them breaches the code in some way.
• A number of celebrities have used the PCC's service in recent years, but most complaints are from odinary people. (In 2007, 95.8% came from odinary members of the public.)
• The code provides special attention to particularly vunerable groups such as children, hospital patients and minority groups.

Why is the PCC important?

• In a democratic society, we should have the right to free press, so the press should not subject to control by the law or govenrment.
• The PCC is independant and voluntary to ensure this.
• The PCC still protects the public, and is fast and free.