Copy of HackedOff_Results_150903 (00000002) (00000002)

A year after its creation, fewer than one in five trust IPSO

Asked how much confidence they had in IPSO:- Two thirds of the general public (66%) say they have little or no confidence in IPSO, the regulator set up by the press.- After a year of operation, there is virtually no change in those saying they have little or no confidence in the press being able to regulate itself (66% today versus 67% a year ago).- Those who say they have confidence in IPSO are outnumbered four to one by those who don’t (66% vs 17%)IPSO was established by the big newspaper publishers a year ago – in defiance of the recommendations of the Leveson Inquiry – amidst great press acclaim that it was going to be much tougher and more effective than the discredited Press Complaints Commission. After a year of operation, it has had no impact whatsoever on public confidence, which remains as skeptical today as it was under the previous regime.Dr Evan Harris, Joint Executive Director of the Hacked Off Campaign commented,“When it comes to IPSO and the PCC, the public don’t see a difference, and no amount of newspapers' uncritical coverage of and over-claiming for IPSO has fooled them.IPSO’s failures over the last year have only confirmed the public’s position that the press cannot be trusted and Leveson’s recommendations of audited self-regulation must be implemented."

Public choose Leveson over IPSO by 3 to 1

Asked which model of press regulation they would prefer:- Of those who expressed a preference, 78% said they would choose Leveson over IPSO- Fewer than one in six (14%) would prefer IPSO to a Leveson-compliant regulator- Leveson is preferred by the public by a margin of more than 3:1 (50% to 14%)Only 14% support IPSO, while 50% support implementing the Leveson recommendations and 35% said they “don’t know”.Dr Evan Harris, Joint Executive Director of the Hacked Off Campaign commented,“These results are extraordinary: after a year of IPSO’s operation and despite the newspapers’ constant promotion of its benefits through their own megaphones, public support is at a paltry 14%.“No other regulator could survive such a pathetic level of public support. Moreover, newspapers are demonstrating contempt for the views of their own readers when they persist with IPSO in the face of such clear opposition.”This is all after IPSO Chairperson Sir Alan Moses has stated time and again that IPSO will ultimately be accountable to the public:September 8th 2014, IPSO Press Release:"IPSO aims to help rebuild public trust in the press through independent, fair and transparent regulation.”Septmber 8th 2014, ITN interview:"We are responsible to the public. The public need a voice, the public need protection from those who abuse them. Where they feel they are victims they need somebody to stand up for them. And the Press need us as well. The Press need us to re-establish their authority. Authority will only come with trust and there will only be trust if there is a truly independent regulator regulating.”[Q: How will you win the public’s trust?]“Well by getting rid of the complexity, getting rid of the arguments, of people shouting at each other, because if people are shouting at each other nobody will listen and we are going to get them on our side, I hope, by showing that we will do what we say we will do, which is independently regulate, and regulate in a system which is simple, clear and transparent, that the public can trust and that the public can understand. It’s all been far too difficult and taken far too long hitherto.”IPSO Board minutes, September 2014:APPENDIX 1THE APPROACH OF IPSO AT ITS OUTSETBy doing so, [the press groups that established and fund IPSO have] acknowledged that independent regulation affirms and strengthens the authority of the press. The key to such authority is public trust in the standards by which the press will be measured and public trust in the independence of the regulator who will enforce those standards.Trust depends on the demonstration and recognition of independence. The essence of independence is freedom from control by others. IPSO will establish a structure and procedure which in reality will be free from the control of others.Society of Editors speech, November 2014, Sir Alan Moses:“But the independent authority which Ipso seeks to demonstrate will come, not so much from its decisions, but from the way it reaches its decisions, by the procedures it will deploy, by the reasons it gives. It should be and, I hope, will be judged, by the strength and independence of its procedures, by the clarity and effectiveness of its process. It is by the procedures at its command that it will establish trust and authority.“And it is not just its trust and authority which is at stake….it is yours. Your agreement to sign up to the notion of an independent regulator stemmed, I suggest, from your recognition that the press needs and wants authority. And authority comes only with trust. You have understood that come the day when no-one believes in you, when you are no more than a woe-begone troll, no-one will want you. But if the public know your commitment to the Code, to the highest professional standards has at its heart a commitment to be governed by the independent regulator you have created, why then the public will trust your regulator and trust you. And with that trust will come your authority.”Times interview, March 26th 2015:Sir Alan is cautious about claiming success, to date, for Ipso. That will judged by “speedy resolution of complaints, decisions that demonstrate our independence so that everyone, like judicial work, understands why they have lost or won”. He says: “I am not smug about it: I am nervous, fearful and still agnostic about how its effect is going to be and remain so. It remains for us to prove ourselves.”All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1,642 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 2nd - 3rd September 2015. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).Notes1. Please see below for a series of previous polls asking a similar question to Question 1 above. While confidence has never been high in IPSO, this poll shows some of the lowest numbers yet. See Appendix 1.2. Appendix 2 contains the specific questions on each of those dates.3. Appendix 3 contains links to previous polls referred to.4. Hacked Off is the campaign for a free and accountable press. Please call 07883 533052 for enquiries.Appendix 1Previous poll results:Wording for each tracker question varies. Please see tabled below for precise wording.DateFieldwork: 31st January - 1st February 2013Fieldwork: 1st - 2nd May 2013Fieldwork: 17th - 18th July 2013Fieldwork: 9th - 10th October 2013Fieldwork: 2nd - 4th June 2014Fieldwork: 11- 12 Apr 2015Fieldwork: 2nd - 3rd September 2015A lot of confidence1423232A fair amount of confidence11161912151815TOTAL CONFIDENCE12202115172117Not much confidence37344442424139No confidence at all36222431251927TOTAL NO CONFIDENCE73566873676066Don't know14251012161917 Appendix 2 Previous questions asked:Fieldwork: 31st January - 1st February 2013An alternative means of trying to ensure that a new system of press self-regulation is independent and effective is to have it monitored by a new body which is set up using a Royal Charter. This would avoid the need for a new law but, on its own, would not achieve all of Leveson’s recommendations. How much confidence would you have in... A press regulator set up voluntarily by the newspapers, without any legal backing?Fieldwork: 1st - 2nd May 2013In March, a new system of press regulation, based on Lord Justice Leveson’s recommendations, was agreed by the three political parties and by Parliament, and was backed by representatives of some of the victims of press abuses. A number of major newspaper publishers have said they oppose the new system of regulation and have proposed their own alternative system. How much confidence would you have in the alternative system proposed by newspaper publishers?Fieldwork: 17th - 18th July 2013How much confidence would you have in a system of press regulation established by the major newspaper publishers?Fieldwork: 9th - 10th October 2013How much confidence would you have in a system of press regulation established by the major newspaper publishers, if that system was not reviewed independently?Fieldwork: 2nd - 4th June 2014How much confidence would you have in a system of press self-regulation established by the major newspaper publishers, if that system was not reviewed by the Recognition Panel?Fieldwork: 11- 12 Apr 2015The Leveson Inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the press, which started in 2011 following revelations about phone-hacking and other abuses carried out by the press, made recommendations for reform of press regulation in November 2012. The Leveson Report recommended a new system of press regulation involving an independent external check of the adequacy of any press self-regulator and argued that this would aim to prevent a repetition of the press abuses that led to the Leveson Inquiry. Many newspaper companies oppose this proposal and argue that an external auditor for the press self-regulator amounted to government interference in the free press. Instead, they set up the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), which is not subject to checking by an independent external body. How much confidence do you have in the system of press self-regulation established by the major newspaper publishers?Fieldwork: 2nd - 3rd September 2015The Leveson Inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the press, which started in 2011 following revelations about phone-hacking and other abuses carried out by the press, made recommendations for reform of press regulation in November 2012. The Leveson Report recommended a new system of press regulation involving an independent external check of the adequacy of any press self-regulator and argued that this would aim to prevent a repetition of the press abuses that led to the Leveson Inquiry. Many newspaper companies oppose this proposal and argue that an external auditor for the press self-regulator amounted to government interference in the free press. Instead, they set up the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), which is not subject to checking by an independent external body. How much confidence do you have in the system of press self-regulation established by the major newspaper publishers?Appendix 3Previous poll linksMedia Standards Trust/YouGov, 31^st January – 1^st February 2013Media Standards Trust/YouGov 1^st – 2^nd May 2013Media Standards Trust/YouGov 17^th – 18^th July 2013Media Standard Trust/YouGov 9th – 10th October 2013Media Standards Trust/YouGov 2nd – 4th June 2014Hacked Off/YouGov 11th - 12th April 2015