Guest Speaker-Sue Roberts-PCC

The third in the series of Guest Speakers who have come to University College Falmouth to advise first year students on a variety of topics related to journalism was Sue Roberts, External Affairs Manager for the Press Complaints Commission (PCC).

There has been some form of self-regulation within the industry since 1953, when the Press Council was formed. This acted as a watchdog of the industry until 1991 when it was replaced by the PCC after there was a decline in confidence from members of the press and some MPs

The PCC is an independent body, dealing with complaints from members of the public in relation to editorial content within newspapers and magazines. It aims to respond to most complaints within 35 days, at no cost to the complainant.In 2006 there were 3,325 complaints. Of these only approximately 25% were regarding privacy. The most common complaint is over accuracy of published content.

The PCC publish a Code of Practice, which is reviewed every year, which provides the framework of the self-regulation of the industry. This code helps ensure no inaccurate or misleading stories are published, and if so that they are quickly and publicly altered. It also deals with complaints from people who feel they have had their privacy intruded, although many now feel that the PCC has begun to side with the newspapers in many cases, but the PCC strongly deny this.