Ofcom chief seeks common media standards

Ofcom, the United Kingdom’s broadcasting regulator, should not be given responsibility for policing the newspaper industry but could help produce a common set of principles to govern the behavior of journalists across the media spectrum, its chief executive said.

Ed Richards said the differences in television and newspaper journalism were a strength and should be maintained. But he added that with the Leveson inquiry looking into how to regulate the press in the wake of scandals over phone hacking and other abuses of privacy, and concerns growing over the untamed journalism of the “blogosphere”, now might be the right moment for a broad approach.