‘Fines will not deter newspaper misconduct’

Fining newspapers for bad behaviour is unlikely to act as a deterrent or boost public confidence in the press, according to the Press Ombudsman.

Professor John Horgan said he would be slow to endorse a policy of imposing fines on the grounds that if you put a price on misbehaviour, “the unscrupulous will always be willing — and many of them will also be able — to pay it”.

Addressing a seminar organised by the Society of Editors in Belfast yesterday, he said he doubted a system of fines would reinforce public confidence in the press in the manner those who supported such a system imagined.

In addition, it would be “cumbersome and slow”, “would raise substantial enforcement issues”, and “might even obscure or marginalise the continuing need to articulate and monitor best professional practice in journalism”.

Neither did he believe it to be the role of the Press Ombudsman or the Press Council of Ireland to investigate alleged breaches of criminal law by journalists in the course of duty.

The Press Ombudsman said it was his experience that readers who lodged legitimate complaints were satisfied if their complaints were addressed swiftly and fairly by an independent body and if the press industry applied the same standards of accountability to itself that it expected of others.

Prof Horgan said while doubts had been expressed as to the independence of the Office of the Press Ombudsman and the Press Council, because they were recognised by statute, their status had never left them feeling compromised. It did not mean the Press Council was accountable to the Dáil.