Comments on: Time running out to sign the letter opposing PCC regulation of blogs http://www.liberal-vision.org/2009/11/20/time-running-out-to-sign-the-letter-opposing-pcc-regulation-of-blogs/ Looking Forward to Freedom Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:15:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 By: Angela Harbutt http://www.liberal-vision.org/2009/11/20/time-running-out-to-sign-the-letter-opposing-pcc-regulation-of-blogs/comment-page-1/#comment-2690 Angela Harbutt Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:16:46 +0000 http://www.liberal-vision.org/?p=3848#comment-2690 OK here's the thing that really confuses me about this. The PCC is a body that is funded by the newspaper and magazine industry FOR the newspaper/magazine industry. The newspaper/mag industry pays for it - there is no govt money and the PCC operates under no statutory control. Its a self regulatory body that exists because if it didn't there would be a govt quango doing it. So why is interested in the blogging world? I suspect that this is it either just a power grab by the executive of the PCC or - more likely - they are worried that as the blogosphere grows and some part of whitehall feels it needs an eye kept on it - any quango formed will naturally want to encompass newspaper/magazines as well. So its probably a defensive move now by the PCC to stop it being swallowed up by a bigger govt quango down the line. They must and I am sure will back down in the face of any significant protest by virtue of the above. Having said that it is bizarre that they should seek to extend their influence outside of their patrons areas of operation at this time. We should fight it - the PCC has no place interferring with us - but I suspect that even if we win that won't be the end of the fight..... OK here’s the thing that really confuses me about this.

The PCC is a body that is funded by the newspaper and magazine industry FOR the newspaper/magazine industry. The newspaper/mag industry pays for it - there is no govt money and the PCC operates under no statutory control. Its a self regulatory body that exists because if it didn’t there would be a govt quango doing it.

So why is interested in the blogging world?
I suspect that this is it either just a power grab by the executive of the PCC or - more likely - they are worried that as the blogosphere grows and some part of whitehall feels it needs an eye kept on it - any quango formed will naturally want to encompass newspaper/magazines as well. So its probably a defensive move now by the PCC to stop it being swallowed up by a bigger govt quango down the line.

They must and I am sure will back down in the face of any significant protest by virtue of the above.

Having said that it is bizarre that they should seek to extend their influence outside of their patrons areas of operation at this time.

We should fight it - the PCC has no place interferring with us - but I suspect that even if we win that won’t be the end of the fight…..

]]> By: Niklas Smith http://www.liberal-vision.org/2009/11/20/time-running-out-to-sign-the-letter-opposing-pcc-regulation-of-blogs/comment-page-1/#comment-2689 Niklas Smith Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:52:56 +0000 http://www.liberal-vision.org/?p=3848#comment-2689 I am only hesitating to sign because the end of the letter suggests that signatories would not be against PCC regulation of blogs so long as the PCC had managed to enforce proper ethical standards in the mainstream media. I on the other hand am opposed to PCC regulation of blogs on principle: there is no reason why bloggers should be treated like journalists because most aren't doing journalism. I am only hesitating to sign because the end of the letter suggests that signatories would not be against PCC regulation of blogs so long as the PCC had managed to enforce proper ethical standards in the mainstream media. I on the other hand am opposed to PCC regulation of blogs on principle: there is no reason why bloggers should be treated like journalists because most aren’t doing journalism.

]]>