Royal Commission on the Press

Royal Commission on the Press (RCP), any of three groups appointed by the government of the United Kingdom in the 20th century (1947–49; 1961–62; 1974–77) to investigate the issues of press standards and concentration of ownership and to make recommendations for improvements in those areas. Their advice focused on self-regulated reform and antimonopoly measures and was regarded as having primarily reinforced the status quo. That conservatism resulted largely from the strong influence of the liberal tradition, with its emphasis on the protection of the press from state interference. Moreover, successive British governments failed to enact the more reformist of the recommendations.

The first RCP was convened, after some urging by the National Union of Journalists, to examine the effect of concentrated ownership of media on journalistic free expression. The commission’s 1949 report stated that “free enterprise is a prerequisite of a free Press.” It concluded that, despite some problems with local monopolies and chain ownership, “the degree of concentration … is not so great as to prejudice the free expression of opinion or the accurate presentation of news.” However, it recommended that acquisitions and mergers be monitored.

By 1962 it had become clear that the report’s optimism regarding the efficacy of self-regulation had been misplaced. The second commission, which focused on “the economic and financial factors affecting the production and sale of newspapers, magazines and other periodicals in the United Kingdom,” reached the conclusion that, given the economics of production and sales, further contraction of titles and concentration were all but inevitable. However, it rejected government financial assistance to newspapers and instead recommended that the government approve proposed press acquisitions by large groups. It also stated that press shareholdings in broadcasting companies were “contrary to the public interest.”

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The third commission, in its 1977 conclusions, reported further decline in newspaper diversity, especially due to high entry costs and economies of consolidation. Departing from the recommendations of the previous reports, it also referred to the need to protect editors and journalists from owners and emphasized the importance of preserving the public’s freedom of choice. Nevertheless, it ruled out any form of government assistance. Instead, it recommended the referral of more cases to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, the toughening of tests of approval (which was ignored), and the limitation of press shareholdings in broadcasting. That recommendation was enacted in the 1981 Broadcasting Act but was relaxed in the 1990s.

Regarding press performance, the RCPs consistently upheld the principle of self-regulation. The first commission recommended the establishment of a general council to deal with questions of standards and training and to promote press research. The General Council of the Press was formed only in 1953 and was made up solely of newspaper editors and funded by newspaper owners. The second commission heavily criticized the council and recommended the inclusion of members from outside the newspaper industry. The regulatory body then reformed as the Press Council, which consisted of one-fifth lay members. The third commission remained critical of the work of that body, particularly in its handling of complaints made against newspapers. It recommended “far-reaching changes” in its composition, funding, and operation, but the council failed to reform and never achieved its aims. Amid renewed threats of statutory regulation, especially because of the tabloids’ invasion of privacy, the council was replaced in 1991 by the Press Complaints Commission (PCC). The PCC, within its more-restricted remit, was generally considered a somewhat more-effective self-regulator than its predecessor.

The RCPs and their recommendations resulted in little change. Despite later inquiries examining the press and private bills calling for legislation, the press in the United Kingdom is still, unlike broadcasting, largely self-regulated. Furthermore, the RCPs had little impact on fostering professionalization and a public-service culture.

Public trust in the British press remained low during the PCC era, but it reached a nadir with a 2011 phone-hacking scandal that involved the country’s best-selling newspaper, News of the World. It came to light that editors of the paper, which was owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation Ltd., had intercepted voice mails of thousands of public figures and other news makers to obtain private information. The resulting scandal led to a public inquiry led by Lord Justice Brian Leveson and to the subsequent creation of a new government watchdog group that would give press regulators statutory powers. Newspaper publishers objected on the grounds that political oversight of media regulation was fundamentally incompatible with a free press.

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