The PCC adjudication over the Jan Moir column about Stephen Gately highlights the need for a watchdog within newspapersThe Press Complaints Commission's decision not to uphold a complaint against the Daily Mail over its publication of Jan Moir's article about the death of Stephen Gately is now unsurprisingly the centre of heated controversy.
The adjudication made the point,often overlooked, that one of the primary functions of the PCC, or any other self-regulatory system for the news media,is to defend freedom of speech. The PCC seeks to conclude that in two ways: directly, as in this case, or by endorsing the upright of a newspaper and its columnist to publish "offensive" views; and indirectly,by working in a way which both press and public find convincing as an alternative to restrictive legislation.
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Source: theguardian.com