Opinions: Hugh Cudlipp lecture 2012

by Matthew Sanderson & Nick Ford

We asked some of those in the audience for the Hugh Cudlipp lecture 2012 how they felt about Jon Snow’s suggestion that print journalism should have an Ofcom-style regulator?

Lady Cudlipp:

“I don’t think it should be, I think every editor should decide that themselves. Having been an editor myself I think editors are important people and they should make up their own minds about what happens.”

Jon Slattery, former deputy editor of the Press Gazette:

“They will have to reorganise a voluntary system but I think they should make all major publishers join it. They will have to lay down some rules and give them more powers of investigation. I don’t think anybody has much stomach for statutory control, they want a voluntary system with a bit more clout than there has been in the past."

Bob Satchwell: Executive Director, Society of Editors:

"There will be change and the biggest danger is that you over-regulate something that we don’t know the scale of. What we do know is that some things were done that were very wrong but they were criminal things, nothing to do with the ethics or the Press Complaints Commission."

Bill Hagerty, former deputy editor of the Daily Mirror:

“He [Jon] was right when he said no serving editors should be on the complaints committee, it has always been a complaint, long before phone hacking. The industry funds it itself so its very difficult, even more difficult if you take it away because papers are going to say we are not represented and if they don’t fund it who funds it? The citizens certainly won’t."

Philip Jacobson, Hugh Cudlipp Trustee:

“The PCC was so hopeless in the hacking case, they made no real investigation into it, no wonder they ended up looking like prats. They have to get rid of the present set up where they get in people who are not particularly knowledgeable about print."

Mihir Bose, author and journalist (Evening Standard, BBC, FT and Sunday Times):

“I hope he's right - particularly I hope that the wretched libel laws will be changed. Nothing has been more damaging to British journalism than our libel laws.”

Stephen Fay, Hugh Cudlipp Trustee:

“I think he is quite right, we have to regulate it. I think he is also right that it shouldn’t be statutory and it shouldn’t contain editors or indeed proprietors.”