March 1, 2016

Sir Joseph Pilling has been appointed to conduct an external review of the independence and effectiveness of IPSO, according to an IPSO press release.  IPSO says that Sir Joseph was appointed by the arms-length IPSO Appointments Panel, chaired by Wendy Harris, with a majority of non-industry members who are also not members of IPSO’s Board.

IPSO says that the Review will report on how IPSO is fulfilling its role as regulator of the UK newspaper and magazine industries.  It will examine the effectiveness of IPSO’s functions, and the extent to which it operates independently.  In looking at this, the reviewer will test the degree to which IPSO has been faithful to its publicly stated principles and values.

The Review will consider:

• the independence of IPSO’s Board and Complaints Committee, including appointment, composition and management of conflicts of interest;
• IPSO’s funding, including consideration of the quantum of funding and the mechanism by which funding is agreed and received;
• the relationship between IPSO and its members and any issues arising from the nature and range of those publications in membership and those which are not;
• the relationship with the Regulatory Funding Company;
• the relationship with the Editors’ Code Committee and any issues arising from the use of the Editors’ Code as the standard that IPSO enforces;
• the accessibility of IPSO’s functions to the public, the quality of its customer service and the degree to which it acts to protect the public and be on the public’s side, and the degree to which it is seen by the public as doing so;
• the effectiveness of the complaints system, its timeliness, the quality of the judgements reached and the appropriateness of the remedies required;
• the establishment and effectiveness of IPSO’s other functions: (i) standards (including standards investigations, compliance and the whistle-blower hotline); (ii) arbitration; (iii) advisory notices; and (iv) external affairs;
• the effect on industry regulation of issues including declining circulation and advertising revenue, consolidation of publishers and titles, increased digitisation and convergence; and other related matters that arise in the course of the review.

The Review will be conducted by Sir Joseph and published in his name; the aim will be to complete the Review within six months.  To read IPSO’s press release in full, click here.