The Swedish Model of Press Council

national | arts and media | opinion/analysis Tuesday December 16, 2003 23:16 by Chris Donoghue chrisdonoghue at eircom dot net

This is what the Irish Government should work towards

The Irish Press has been hailing the Swedish Press Council as the type of Press Council we should have. This article is an analysis of the cost and makeup of the Swedish Press Council.

The Swedish Press Council was founded in 1916 and it is the oldest tribunal of its kind in the world. The Swedish press prides itself on being self-disciplinary and the Press Council is entirely voluntary. The members of the Press Council are responsible for drawing up a Code of Ethics for the press. The Swedish Press Council costs €600,000 to fund annually and four press organisations pay for it. They are The Newspaper Publishers Association, The Magazine Publishers Association, The Swedish Union of Journalists and The National Press Club. The council is made up of eight people, the chairperson of the Press Council is a judge; there is one representative from each of the press organisations above and three members of the general public also sit on the Council.
Sweden has an office of Press Ombudsman that works alongside the Press Council. A committee consisting of the Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman, the chairman of the Swedish Bar Association and the chairman of the National Press Club appoint the holder of the office of Press Ombudsman. What is important to note is that all of the people on the Swedish Press Council and the holder of the office of Press Ombudsman are independent of the Swedish Government. The Public may complain to the Press Ombudsman free of charge and the Ombudsman will then decide whether or not to proceed with a complaint. If the complaint is justified the Press Ombudsman will pass the matter onto the Press Council. If the Press Council finds a newspaper has violated good journalistic practice they will send that newspaper their recommendation. The newspaper is expected to publish the written decision of the Press Council and may be subject to a fine.
The issue of a Press Council in Ireland is at a standstill until January 2004. The government wants a statutory body and the National Newspapers of Ireland (NNI) wants its own Press Ombudsman and Council. Neither of these suggestions will lead to the preservation of good journalism. A council appointed by the government will act in the government’s interest and a council formed by NNI will act in the interest of NNI. It is important to note here that a large portion of NNI is controlled by Independent Newspapers. One press organisation should not be allowed to have a disproportionate share of power in a press council. What is also interesting is that neither the government nor NNI have drawn up adequate proposals to include the public in their press council.
The Irish Press has looked towards the Swedish Press Council as a model to aim for and it is now important that the Cabinet put aside their personal feelings about the press and implement the best Press Council possible. One organisation, be it government or press, cannot be allowed to control the new Press Council. This would be undemocratic.