AOB6 - (Music Press) Regulation

The Press Complaints Commission.

The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) is a self regulatory body for British newspapers and magazines, usually dealing with complaints made against these forms of media. The PCC is fully funded by an annual levy charged to newspapers and magazines, resulting in it having no legal powers. Often referred to as ‘toothless’, the PCC are known for being reluctant to take significant action, as not to pose threat to their funding from the company it may be ruling against. This has caused many newspapers and magazines to adapt to a ‘publish and be damned’ theory, in which they publish content at their own risk, with confidence that the PCC will not act on any breaches of the editors code.

The most common complaint received by the PCC is accuracy, followed by discrimination, harassment, witness payments, confidential sources and intrusion into grief and shock. The PCC can only do so much because, as mentioned previously, they actually have no legal powers. Editors usually try to talk their way out of complaints by stating that the articles and information contained within them is in the interest of the public.

In relation the the case of the death of Stephen Gately, the PCC received more than 25,000 complaints after Jan Moir caused speculation into the cause of death, bringing Gately’s homosexuality and personal life into the frame. In a ruling, the PCC stated that it was "uncomfortable with the tenor of the columnist's remarks”. The commission also added "Argument and debate are working parts of an active society and should not be constrained unnecessarily.".
The director of the PCC then released a statement saying that the article contained flaws, however "It would not be proportionate to rule against the columnist's right to offer freely expressed views about something that was the focus of public attention.".

Although the article did breach the code of conduct on three grounds, by being inaccurate, intruding into private grief and containing homophobic remarks, the code says that the press must ‘avoid making pejorative references to a sexual orientation’, Moir did not use any discriminatory, abusive or offensive language.