The statements lay out the publishers’ approach to editorial standards; complaints-handling procedures; training processes and records of compliance, including details of any complaints that have been upheld by IPSO’s Complaints Committee. All are available on the IPSO website and demonstrate a body of work that allows the public to see how its newspapers and magazines comply with the standards, says IPSO.
The statements highlight the scope and variety of the publications produced by IPSO’s membership, from national titles like The Daily Mirror, Daily Mail and The Times, through to hundreds of local newspapers. In the magazine and online sector, it includes highly specialised publications with subject matter ranging from fitness (Men’s Health and Urban Cyclist) to hobbies (Simply Crochet and Photography Monthly) alongside iconic glossies like Tatler and Glamour.
A clear development in this year’s statements, continues IPSO, is how publishers, such as Independent News & Media and Newsquest have taken lessons from readers’ complaints, upheld adjudications and resolved complaints and applied that to their training of staff with reference to press standards and the Editors’ Code of Practice. Many publishers also provided training to their editorial staff on the new Code, issued in January 2016. The Guernsey Press, Jersey Evening Post and MNA produced a multiple choice quiz for their staff.
Commenting, Sir Alan Moses, Chairman of IPSO, said: “The annual statements are a window into how IPSO-regulated publishers monitor and improve their compliance with the Editors’ Code. They are a significant acknowledgement of the authority of IPSO to scrutinise and monitor compliance with the standards the publishers have set themselves and I commend them to anyone who reads a newspaper, online or in print.”
IPSO’s Head of Standards, Charlotte Urwin added: “The statements don’t just demonstrate our diverse membership. They are also a public statement, in a publisher’s own words, of the steps they take to meet journalistic standards and what they do when they don’t meet those standards. IPSO will publish more information in the summer in the form of an analysis of how publishers have changed their procedures and learnt from complaints since IPSO came into being.”
