Ivan Lewis’s journalism register ‘totalitarian’
Talking Point: the only code of conduct UK journalists need is ‘don’t break the law’
SHADOW culture secretary Ivan Lewis's proposal that journalists guilty of "gross malpractice" be "struck off" has, unsurprisingly, been condemned by journalists as totalitarian and insane. Unworkable and totalitarian
Conference season is barely half-way through, but already we have a strong contender for the most thunderously idiotic and ill-thought-through proposal of the year, blogged Tom Chivers for the Daily Telegraph. Lewis may be right to say that there have been "utterly appalling examples of malpractice within our trade" such as the phone hacking scandal, but "the idea of a journalists register is preposterous" not to mention having "a faint whiff of totalitarianism". The best way to punish untrustworthy journalists, and their employers, is to make sure everybody knows who they are, Chivers adds. "Will anybody trust Hari's writing now that they know where he gets his quotes from?" Journalists are not doctors
My response is bafflement, mixed with queasy foreboding, says Helen Lewis Hasteley in the New Statesman. Journalists are not doctors. They don't need professional qualifications or provide specific professional services like prescribing medicine. Journalists' everyday activities are more nebulous: talking to people, writing, researching.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
• Ivan Lewis should be careful what he wishes for...Then we get to the idea of a "register" of journalists (which the idea of "striking off" implies). Who would administer such a register? I know that Lewis's language is vague and there is no firm commitment, Hasteley adds, "but when an idea is this bad, why float it at all?" Too many trades are licensed as it is, says Alex Massie in the New Statesman. There comes a point at which occupational licensing ceases to offer guarantees to consumers and becomes a way of restraining trade, "protecting those already inside at the expense of those who would like to make a living". Just don't break the law
Given that "journalism" presently encompasses "publishing accounts of things you've seen using the internet" and "taking pictures of stuff and tweeting them" this proposal is even more insane than the tradition of "journalist licenses" practiced in totalitarian nations, says Cory Doctorow on Boingboing. I'm all for hanging up Murdoch and his phone hackers by their thumbs, but you don't need to register journalists to get that done. The only "journalism code of conduct" the UK needs to avert another phone hacking scandal is "don't break the law".
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Quiz of The Week: 13 - 19 April
Puzzles and Quizzes Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published
-
'Colleges warn of punishment for disruptions'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Peter Murrell: Sturgeon's husband charged over SNP 'embezzlement' claims
Speed Read SNP expresses 'shock' as former chief executive rearrested in long-running investigation into claims of mishandled campaign funds
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Britain's biggest political donors
The Explainer With the 2024 general election set to be the highest-spending contest ever we look at who is giving to which party and why
By The Week UK Published
-
What will £28bn green investment U-turn cost Labour?
Today's Big Question Dropping flagship pledge 'will confirm workers' scepticism of the endless promises of jam tomorrow', said union leader
By The Week UK Published
-
How many seats do Labour and the Tories need to win?
In depth Changes to constituency boundaries mean Labour needs even bigger swing at next election to form a majority
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Is Gaza rebellion a warning for Keir Starmer?
Today's Big Question Commons vote saw 56 Labour MPs defy Labour leader and call for immediate ceasefire
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Starmer's audition for PM: right Keir, right now?
Talking Point Labour leader 'a PM in waiting' though questions remain over his charisma and policies
By The Week Staff Published
-
'Labour risks making private schools a conclave for the super-rich'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week Staff Published
-
France’s presidential race: a ‘rancid’, illiberal campaign
Speed Read With the Left and Right both divided, Emmanuel Macron is in pole position to win again
By The Week Staff Published
-
Hong Kong voters shun first post-crackdown election
Speed Read Pro-Beijing candidates sweep controversial Legislative Council vote
By The Week Staff Published