Two new rules added to Editors' Code of Practice
Two new rules will be introduced into the Editors' Code of Practice from 1 January, both involving what must be done if a newspaper or magazine breaches the PPC code.
The first rule, which will be added to the preamble of the code, will "require editors who breach the Code to publish the PCC's critical adjudication in full and with due prominence agreed with the PCC's director".
The second will be added in the public interest rules, and will "require editors who claim a breach of the Code was in the public interest to show not only that they had good reason to believe the public interest would be served, but how and with whom that was established at the time".
Paul Dacre, editor of the Daily Mail, editor-in-chief of Associated Newspapers, and Code committee chairman, said: "These changes are designed to ensure that the normal good practice followed in most newspaper offices in most cases becomes enshrined in the code itself, and in doing so explodes some popular fallacies about press self-regulation.
"Last year we introduced a rule requiring editors running corrections to agree prominence with the PCC in advance. This has helped to kill the myth that they are routinely buried in the paper.
"Now we have brought the publication of critical adjudications more into line with that. It should dispose of another misconception.
"The public interest amendment underwrites the need for editors and senior executives to give proper consideration before they consciously decide to breach the code - something that should never be done lightly.
"They should be ready to demonstrate they have observed this process. Most do it already. This measure should be a safeguard, not a burden."