Thompson: Don't create 'a single lever' regulator

In a speech made in Taiwan this weekend, director general Mark Thompson issued a stark warning about the consequences of a knee-jerk reaction to the phone hacking scandal, describing the current time as a “dangerous period for British journalism”.

Thompson acknowledged a need for a common definition of public interest “so that, when we mount a public interest justification, everyone – courts, regulators, public – know that we are talking about the same thing”.  

But he argued that the further step – regulating newspapers in the same way as broadcasters – would have serious consequences.

“Plurality of regulation is a good thing,” he said. “One of the safeguards that broadcasters in the UK have is the presence of a far less regulated press, which can draw attention to any attempt by the authorities or anyone else to misuse their powers when it comes to broadcasting.

“To put all journalism under a singled converged regulator would potentially mean that, if ever the state wished to limit media freedom, it would have a single lever with which to do so.”

His comments follow a speech given by culture secretary Jeremy Hunt who, at the RTS Cambridge Convention, said he planned to introduce cross-platform regulation for newspapers, but said it was a “jump too far” to apply that to all media.

Thompson went on to attack the Metropolitan Police’s attempts to force the Guardian to disclose its sources on stories surrounding the News of the World’s phone hacking of murdered school girl Milly Dowler.    

He described it as “part of a wider, and in my view disturbing trend, for police forces in many parts of the UK routinely to demand that journalists disclose sources and hand over journalistic materials”. Thompson noted the “ever-growing number of demands for untransmitted news rushes which the police seem to regard as having no more privilege or protection attached to them than CCTV pictures.”

Last week it was revealed that the police had secured a court order forcing BBC News, and other outlets, to hand over footage shot during the riots that had not been aired on TV.

“Like politicians, the police often find themselves with a conflict of interest when weighing the independence of the media with their own priorities as they conduct investigations. Sometimes that conflict leads to faulty – and dangerous – actions,” he said. “The Leveson Inquiry and everyone involved in deciding how to respond to events at The News of the World have an unenviable tightrope to walk.”