The formal announcement will be made next Wednesday of the setting up of the Office of Press Ombudsman and the Press Council of Ireland. Their establishment, first mooted by the former editor of this newspaper, Douglas Gageby, some 22 years ago, is a welcome development, if long overdue. They mark a defining moment in Irish journalism where the rights and responsibilities of the print media can be held to account by readers, not just for corrections and clarifications but for the new code of practice which, hopefully, will provide the impetus to improve journalistic standards into the future.
Nothwitstanding the circumstances in which the new model of independent press regulation has come about, both the public and the media should benefit from the new accountability. The Press Council was designed to avoid the deficiencies of self-regulation and the imposition of statutory, Government-controlled regulation on the press. The new 13-member council, although industry-funded, consists of an independent chairman, Prof Tom Mitchell, the former provost of Trinity College, and a majority of independent members representative of civil society. It came into being following a protracted, but fruitful, process of negotiation with the former minister for justice, equality and law reform, Michael McDowell, during the term of the last coalition government.
The fact that the media industry - comprising national and regional newspapers, the Irish editions of UK titles, magazine publishers and proprietors, editors and working journalists - has come together to agree an independent model for professional and ethical regulation is a good omen for the future of journalism in the society which it serves.
It is now possible for the aggrieved reader to ask for help and redress from the newly-appointed Press Ombudsman, Prof John Horgan, to rectify errors and to confront breaches of the newly-evolving independent standard of conduct. It can be done quickly at no cost to the complainant and without the expensive and long-drawn out process of recourse to the courts.
The new model of press regulation will mean that the workings of journalism will come under public scrutiny in a manner never seen before. The modus operandi of journalists will be as important as the material published. In this newspaper, for example, there will be the daily Corrections and Clarifications column; the processing of complaints by the Press Ombudsman and, if necessary, the Press Council; while the normal legal actions for defamation will continue in the courts. A senior managing editor, Eoin McVey, has been nominated by The Irish Times to oversee these new developments.
The launch of the new model of Press Ombudsman and Press Council must be seen to make a quick and effective impact on the printed media in order to win public confidence. There is a lot at stake at this time.