Changing times and changing media regulation

Centre for Law, Justice and Journalism Annual lecture

Changing times and changing media regulation

Baroness Buscombe

The public rightly demands stronger powers for dealing with the misconduct of the press. In this lecture Baroness Buscombe will outline the need to preserve and build upon what is good about the current way the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) works. For example, much of the current, pro-active work of the PCC, particularly pre-publication, remains private. As well as tackling the issues of regulating the press whilst maintaining a free press, especially with growth of online media.

The importance of a free press has never been greater.  Newspapers and magazines must continue have the freedom to represent their readers' interests, and also to expose wrongdoing wherever it may be found.

In this world of shifting media provision, Baroness Buscombe will outline her feeling that the answer to ethical concerns about the press is not statutory intervention. What is needed is a greater sense of accountability among editors and proprietors. A PCC with increased powers and reach remains the best way of achieving that.

The Leveson Inquiry must address the media as a whole - to consider the press in isolation would be to negate reality. Workable solutions which respect the speed and flexibility of technology as against the dead hand of legislation is paramount.

Baroness Buscombe, Peta, has had a varied career both within the private sector and in politics, prior to taking up her position as Chairman of the Press Complaints Commission in April 2009.

She is a Barrister and has acted as legal adviser and counsel to various organisations including Barclays Bank International, New York and Barclays Bank Plc, London, Most recently she was the Chief Executive of The Advertising Association, Director of Asbof/Basbof and Director of CAP/BCAP. Peta is currently a Non Executive Director of Veolia Central Plc.

Peta has had a distinguished political career and was made a Life Peer as Baroness Buscombe of Goring in 1998. Between 1999 and 2007 she was a Shadow Minister in the House of Lords covering several Whitehall departments including, Education and Skills (DCSF), Home Office, Trade and Industry (DBERR), Work and Pensions, Cabinet Office and Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). She was also Deputy to the Shadow Lord Chancellor for the whole of that period.

Peta was educated at Hinchley Wood School and Rosebury Grammar School, Epsom. She then attended the Inns of Court School of Law and Columbia Law School in New York. In 1977 she was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple.

The Centre for Law, Justice and Journalism is the first major interdisciplinary centre in the UK to develop a broad yet focused interface between law, justice and journalism in society.
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The Centre brings together the expertise in the disciplines of Law, Criminology and Journalism at City University London. Other disciplines and fields such as International Politics, Communications