Meanwhile, to the North, the Scottish Parliament is set to consider its own recommendations for press regulation. And in disturbing directions - by expanding its coverage, and requiring it to fund itself (presumably either by collecting fines or making publishers pay licensing fees to cover news).
"The principal difference between what we advise and what others have proposed is that the jurisdiction of the regulatory body must extend by law to all publishers of news-related material. No publisher of news-related material should be able to opt out of that jurisdiction. We have little confidence that the voluntary 'opt in or opt out' model proposed by Leveson would work - whatever incentives were devised to encourage publishers to opt in."One industry insider was quoted as saying
"These measures are draconian and unprecedented in a parliamentary democracy. The provision that all publications are required to register with this new body is effectively newspaper licensing. There it is. In theory is could extend to everything from a parish newsletter to a fishing journal serving the north-east."The storm clouds are gathering... (and not just in Knoxville for this afternoon's rain).
Source - Scottish Government publishes Leveson report press regulation recommendation and sparks newspaper licensing fears, The Drum
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