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The press’s concessions strategy

21/06/2013

Hacked Off

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The appeals by national newspaper editors for a return to the negotiating table in order to unpick the cross-party royal charter are as predictable as they are patently self-serving. What is more disturbing is that the Guardian, the paper that did more than any other institution to reveal the scale of the phone-hacking scandal, appears to be being carried along by the current.

After months of distorted reporting and the systematic smearing of anyone who supports press reform, it is perhaps not surprising that even moderate newspapers are being hoodwinked by this ‘concessions’ strategy. The problem, they say, is that the newspaper industry is not ready to abide by parliament’s decision and needs to wring more concessions out of the government. The solution, they suggest, is to reopen an historic agreement, the product of a year-long public inquiry and four months of cross-party negotiations with the press and victims, which produced a deal which won the clear backing of both houses of parliament and the public at large.

This week, the cross-party Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards recommended that senior bankers guilty of reckless misconduct should be jailed. One can only imagine how the newspapers might react if the banks said, “Sorry, but we don’t agree. We would prefer the opportunity to restart discussions in order to negotiate a deal more favourable to ourselves.”

On Tuesday, Hacked Off pointed out that there was no basis to compromise further, saying in a press statement:“Gerry McCann already called the Leveson recommendations the minimum acceptable compromise for victims of press mistreatment. Concessions in the cross-party charter, and the use of a royal charter itself instead of legislation have moved the deal in the press’s favour.

“We have an agreement signed up to by all political parties and both Houses of Parliament, backed by the victims of press abuse and the vast majority of the general public. What are the grounds for reopening negotiations, simply because, as Leveson predicted, the press barons are reluctant to comply?

“Hacked Off has always been willing to meet newspapers to discuss the practical issues around implementation, but the independent judge, the elected parliament and public opinion has decided that the last chance saloon will finally be closed.”

In fact, scores of compromises have already been made in order to accommodate the press, both during the Leveson process and after the inquiry reported.

Here are ten of the more prominent examples.

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