June 6, 2017

IPSO has published the third set of annual statements, covering the period 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2016. The statements, a requirement under the terms of their legally-binding contract with IPSO, set out the publishers’ approach to: (i) editorial standards; (ii) complaints-handling procedures; (iii) training processes; and (iv) records of compliance, including details of any complaints that have been upheld by IPSO’s Complaints Committee. All are available on the IPSO website and, IPSO says, “demonstrate a body of work that allows the public to see how its newspapers and magazines comply with the standards.”

IPSO says that the statements highlight the scope and variety of the publications produced by IPSO’s membership, from national titles like The Daily Mirror, Daily Mail and The Times, through to hundreds of local newspapers. In the magazine and online sector it includes highly specialised publications with subject matter ranging from fitness (Men’s Health and Urban Cyclist) to hobbies (Simply Crochet and Photography Monthly) alongside iconic glossies like Tatler and Glamour.

IPSO says that a clear development in this year’s statements is how publishers, such as Independent News & Media and Newsquest have taken lessons from readers’ complaints, upheld adjudications and resolved complaints and applied that to their training of staff with reference to press standards and the Editors’ Code of Practice. Many publishers also provided training to their editorial staff on the new Code, issued in January 2016.

Commenting, Sir Alan Moses, Chairman of IPSO, said: “The annual statements are a window into how IPSO-regulated publishers monitor and improve their compliance with the Editors’ Code. They are a significant acknowledgement of the authority of IPSO to scrutinise and monitor compliance with the standards the publishers have set themselves and I commend them to anyone who reads a newspaper, online or in print.” To read IPSO’s press release in full, click here.