Abstract
From Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow's Cudlipp Lecture, “Poised for Journalism's Golden Age”, London College of Communication, January 23
‘I want to be regulated, I want to be held to high standards – I don't want the impact of my journalism to be tainted by even a hint of questionable ethics. I think it is absolutely right that there is a regulator that people can go to. Who are we to be above the opportunity for people to review what we've done? Furthermore I do not want to find my own editors somewhere in the mix. I want an objective regulator.
I'm no Ofcom sycophant, but I'm afraid they have done an excellent job regulating my end of television: firm, fair, and intelligent … What are these print guys afraid of – if their story is right, is justified, they have nothing to fear from a regulator? Even the most hardened of tabloid journalists must have been mortified, embarrassed, even shocked at the rubbish that has tipped across Leveson's desk; what age do these supposed journalists and editors who are the agents of this stuff live in … what lives do they live?
Of course, papers and TV are entirely different beasts … but I see no reason why print journalism wouldn't benefit from a credible regulator in the same way TV has … I'm not suggesting Ofcom should take over. But an independent system with its own powers to investigate wrongdoing seems an essential given what has gone wrong in the past couple of decades. It should be at well over arm's length from government, exclude any serving editors from its ranks, and probably – a very long way down the line – have recourse to the law to enforce its will. But I would hope that the mere spectre of the law would be enough to sort things out.
I repeat: If we can practise cutting-edge journalism on television with regulation I see no reason why an Ofcom-style regulator – although not necessarily an identical system – with full access for public complaint, should not be perfectly applicable to the print world too. If we have good regulation we don't need a privacy law – it's the sensationalist tabloid stuff that has triggered the desire for a privacy act. I admit I went through a phase of wanting one, but if we get regulation right we shall get privacy right.’