A new and independent system that will allow members of the public to complain about newspaper or magazine articles was instituted yesterday with the establishment of the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman.
The Press Ombudsman, Prof John Horgan, said that for the first time citizens will have access to a complaints mechanism that is quick, fair and free if they feel that newspapers or periodicals have breached a clearly defined code of conduct.
He stressed that if people have complaints they should first of all seek to resolve them locally with the publication concerned. "We come into it where that process has failed," said Prof Horgan.
Members of the public are entitled to complain about any article in a newspaper or periodical published in Ireland which they believe has breached the code of practice to which the industry has subscribed.
All Irish daily and Sunday newspapers, the Irish editions of British newspapers, provincial and regional Irish newspapers and Irish-published periodicals are covered by the system. People are also entitled to complain about the behaviour of a journalist if they feel that the code has been breached.
A complaint must be made within three months of the date of publication of the article or the offending behaviour.
People wishing to make a complaint should first write to the editor of the publication concerned. If a reply is not received within two weeks or if the reply is unsatisfactory they can then contact the Office of the Press Ombudsman.
Complaints should be made in writing, cite the provision of the code of practice breached, be accompanied by a cutting of the article concerned and by copies of any correspondence with the editor of the publication.
Once a complaint has been made it will be assessed by the Press Ombudsman's office. It may not be investigated if the complaint does not involve a breach of the code of practice, if it is the subject of legal proceedings, if the complainant is not directly affected, or if it is made outside the time limit.
If the ombudsman decides that the complaint is valid an investigation will begin and an attempt will be made to resolve the matter with the editor involved.
If agreement on a solution cannot be achieved the ombudsman will examine the case in detail and make a decision. He has the option of referring significant or complex cases to the Press Council.
In the event of the complaint being upheld the publication will be obliged to publish the decision in full, with due prominence. If the finding is that there was no breach of the code, or that the publication involved has done enough to resolve the matter, no further action will be taken.
It will be possible in some cases to appeal a decision of the ombudsman to the Press Council.
Prof Horgan said that a significant change was on the way in terms of the definition of the right to privacy in the code of practice. "Up to now journalists and editors made the call when there was an apparent conflict between the public interest and the right to privacy. From now on that call can be appealed to me."
Prof Horgan stressed that the new system was independent of Government and the industry.
