The Press Council was a British voluntary press organisation founded under threat of statutory regulation as the General Council in 1953, with a non-binding regulatory framework. Through most of its history the council was funded by newspaper proprietors, with the stated aim of maintaining high standards of ethics in journalism. The General Council was reformed as the Press Council in 1962, with 20 per cent lay members. In 1980 the

National Union of Journalists The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) is a trade union for journalists in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was founded in 1907 and has 38,000 members. It is a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). Structure There is ...

withdrew from membership. In 1991, the Press Council was replaced by the

Press Complaints Commission The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) was a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC closed on Monday 8 September 2014, and was replaced by the Indep ...

First era: 1947–1962

The first Royal Commission on the Press recommended in 1949 that a General Council of the Press should be formed to govern the behaviour of the print media. In response to a threat of statutory regulation, the General Council of the Press was formed in 1953, membership being restricted to newspaper editors, funded by newspaper proprietors. By the time of the Second Royal Commission on the Press in 1962, the General Council had been subject to considerable criticism. The commission's report demanded improvement, particularly the inclusion of members that were not employed by print media.

Second era: 1962–1980

In 1962, following the recommendations of the Second Royal Commission on the Press, the Press Council was formed. Twenty percent of the membership were required to be lay members, who were not employed by a newspaper. In the latter half of 1967, the Press Council Headquarters were moved from Ludgate House to

Salisbury Square Salisbury Square is a square in London EC4. History The square is named after Salisbury Court, by and on part of the land, today the name of the narrow street which leads the square from the north. Salisbury Court was the medieval London house ...

, a location the Press Council described as the 'very centre of London's newspaper land'. During this period the Press Council published a series of guidance booklets. * Contempt of Court (1967) * Privacy (1971) * Defamation (1973) The Press Council was criticised extensively in the

Younger report on Privacy Younger or Youngers may refer to: People * Younger (surname) * List of people known as the Elder or the Younger Arts and entertainment * ''Younger'', an American novel by Pamela Redmond Satran ** ''Younger'' (TV series), an American sitcom base ...

in 1973 and in the report of the Third Royal Commission on the Press, in 1977. The third Commission urged the development of a written Code of Practice. The Press Council rejected this proposal, and in 1980, the NUJ withdrew from membership on the grounds that the council was incapable of reform.

Third era: 1980–1991

The Press Council had lost the confidence of many in the media, and the 1980s saw what people labelled as some of the worst excesses of unethical journalism and intrusions into privacy by the tabloid press. In response to two Private Members' Bills promoting privacy laws, the government set up a committee chaired by

David Calcutt Sir David Charles Calcutt, QC (2 November 1930 – 11 August 2004) was an eminent barrister and public servant, knighted in 1991. He was the Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge from 1985 to 1994. He was also responsible for the creation ...

QC to investigate in 1989. At the same time, under the chairmanship of

Louis Blom-Cooper Sir Louis Jacques Blom-Cooper (27 March 1926 – 19 September 2018) was an English author and lawyer specialising in public and administrative law. Early life Born in London, his parents were the grocer Alfred Blom-Cooper and Ellen Flesseman. ...

, the Press Council transferred its funding to the

Press Standards Board of Finance The Press Standards Board of Finance (Pressbof) was set up by the Press Council to raise a levy on the newspaper and periodical industries to finance the Council, which had previously been funded directly by newspaper proprietors. Pressbof later fu ...

and began work on the development of a written Code of Practice. The 1990 Calcutt report{{cite web, title=Calcutt Report, url=http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1990/jun/21/calcutt-report, work=Hansard, publisher=HMSO, access-date=23 July 2011 recommended the setting up of a new

to replace the Press Council. The new Commission would be given 18 months to prove non-statutory self-regulation could work effectively and if it failed to do so, then a statutory system would be introduced.

References

1953 establishments in the United Kingdom 1991 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Journalism ethics Mass media complaints authorities Self-regulatory organisations in the United Kingdom Consumer organisations in the United Kingdom

First era: 1947–1962

Second era: 1962–1980

Third era: 1980–1991

See also

References