Following my correspondence with the Rotherham Advertiser I thought that I ought to see if the new Independent Press Standards Organisation would be any improvement on the Press Complaints Commission. Here is the correspondence. What do you think?
Letter dated 5.2.15
Sir Alan Moses
Independent Press Standards Organisation
Halton House
20/23 Holborn
London EC1N 2JD
Dear Sir
Re: Complaint against Rotherham Advertiser – Bias racial prejudice and inaccuracy
I recently tried to place an advertisement with the Rotherham Advertiser. There was then email correspondence from which it became clear that the “Editor” had an inappropriate attitude towards any matter arising out of the Jay Report. I would remind you that this is the report which was highly critical of Rotherham Council and the South Yorkshire Police. It also detailed extremely serious allegations of child gang rape and prostitution against by various Muslim/Pakistani gangs in Rotherham. Crimes in which the authorities had not only failed to properly investigate but had been complicit in at the very least the sense of covering up what was going on. Moreover instead of doing their duty they had persecuted anyone who tried to raise the subject.
I enclose the email correspondence and an article from the Daily Telegraph which I think is appropriate to consider and also refer to the recent Casey report on Rotherham.
I suspect that such a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy could not have been conducted without local journalists being aware of it. It would appear from the correspondence that the Editor of the Rotherham Advertiser is not only unwilling to mention the religion or ethnicity of the perpetrators, but even the likely culpability of Rotherham Council and South Yorkshire Police. In the circumstances I wish to make a complaint of bias and racial prejudice against the Rotherham Advertiser.
Yours faithfully
R C W Tilbrook
Enc.
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From: mel.huggett
To: robintilbrook
Sent: 11/02/2015 10:18:03 GMT Standard Time
Subj: Independent Press Standards Organisation – Our reference 00654-15
Dear Mr Tilbrook
Thank you for contacting the Independent Press Standards Organisation.
Your complaint is currently being assessed, and we will be in touch with you again shortly. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions.
Should IPSO decide that your complaint falls outside of our remit, or does not raise a possible breach of the Code, we will write to you to explain why and send a copy of our letter to the publication.
Alternatively, if we decide that the concerns you have raised fall within our remit and raise a possible breach of the Code, and you have not previously exhausted the publication’s internal complaints procedures, a copy of your complaint and any other correspondence you have sent to us, including contact information, will be sent to the publication to provide it with the opportunity to resolve the matter directly with you.
A copy of the Editors’ Code of Practice, which is administered by IPSO, can be found at https://www.ipso.co.uk/IPSO/cop.html.
Please note, in addition, the following information about our confidentiality and data protection procedures:
Confidentiality: The system of self-regulation requires good faith on both sides. In order for us to be able to investigate complaints effectively, it is essential that neither party to a complaint, complainant or newspaper/magazine, publishes information which has been provided as part of the investigation – most notably correspondence – without the consent of the other party. Publication, without consent, may affect our ability to continue to deal with a complaint or may be considered when we reach a decision as to whether the Code has been breached. Material provided by both complainants and publications during an investigation must only be used for the purpose of the complaint to us. This will not generally prohibit a publication from publishing details of any ruling.
Data protection: By pursuing the complaint, you consent to the processing of any personal data which may be provided for the purposes of dealing with your complaint. You also consent to the publication of any decision in relation to the complaint, but may withdraw consent in writing.
Further information about complaining to IPSO, including a summary of the complaints procedure, can be found at: https://www.ipso.co.uk/IPSO/makeacomplaint.html.
With best wishes,
Mel Huggett (Mrs)
Receptionist / Complaints Assistant
Independent Press Standards Organisation
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From: mel.huggett
To: robintilbrook
Sent: 11/02/2015 16:58:12 GMT Standard Time
Subj: Independent Press Standards Organisation – Our reference 00654-15
Dear Mr Tilbrook,
I write further to our earlier email.
You have contacted the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), the new independent regulator for the newspaper and magazine industry in the UK. We uphold the highest standards of journalism by monitoring and maintaining the requirements set out in the Editors’ Code of Practice, and provide support and redress for individuals seeking to complain about breaches of the Code.
It appears that the concerns you have raised do not relate to the editorial content of a newspaper or magazine, and it does not therefore appear that we will be able to assist you further.
If you do wish to make a complaint about editorial content, we would be grateful if you could provide a copy of any article about which you wish to complain, and explain how you consider the Editors’ Code of Practice has been breached (https://www.ipso.co.uk/IPSO/cop.html).
If we do not hear from you in seven days, we will assume you do not want to pursue a complaint through IPSO.
With best wishes
Mel Huggett (Mrs)
Receptionist / Complaints Assistant
Independent Press Standards Organisation
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From: RobinTilbrook
To: mel.huggett
Sent: 12/02/2015 15:37:56 GMT Standard Time
Subj: Re: Independent Press Standards Organisation – Our reference 00654-15
Dear Mrs Huggett
Thank you for your email of the 11th.
It is concerning that the Independent Press Standards Organisation does not think that the vetting of advertisement content by the Editor is “editorial content”. Clearly the Editor has decided on the content of my advertisement and by any normal attribution of those words an Editor having a role in the decision as to content is encompassed by complaints relating to editorial content. I would like to see any legal opinion you may have to the contrary.
Yours sincerely
R C W Tilbrook
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From: mel.huggett
To: robintilbrook
Sent: 17/02/2015 15:35:18 GMT Standard Time
Subj: Independent Press Standards Organisation – Our reference 00654-15
Dear Mr Tilbrook
Thank you for your email.
Disagreements about the text of advertisements do not amount to concerns about editorial content; therefore your concerns fall outside IPSO’s remit, and I am afraid that we will be unable to assist you further.
IPSO’s Regulations, which define its remit, are available in full on our website, at the following link: https://www.ipso.co.uk/assets/1/REGULATIONS__PDF_.PDF
Best wishes
Mel Huggett (Mrs)
Receptionist / Complaints Assistant
Independent Press Standards Organisation
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From: RobinTilbrook
To: mel.huggett
Sent: 18/02/2015 09:41:40 GMT Standard Time
Subj: Re: Independent Press Standards Organisation – Our reference 00654-15
So Newspapers are allowed to discriminate about adverts and that is Okay with your organisation?
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From: simon.yip
To: robintilbrook
Sent: 19/02/2015 12:03:39 GMT Standard Time
Subj: Independent Press Standards Organisation – Our reference 00654-15
Dear Mr Tilbrook,
Thank you for your email to my colleague, Mel Huggett.
As we previously explained, advertisements do not fall within IPSO’s remit.
Best wishes
Simon Yip
Complaints Coordinator
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From: RobinTilbrook
To: simon.yip
Sent: 24/02/2015 09:22:37 GMT Standard Time
Subj: Re: Independent Press Standards Organisation – Our reference 00654-15
Dear Mr Yip
Thank you for your email.
Please note that the Editor’s approach to my advert is, I believe, part of and indicative of his whole discriminatory approach to the reporting of the extremely serious child rape crimes that were going on in Rotherham and about which the whole local establishment closed ranks and refused to report or even acknowledge. That is the reason that I think that you should consider this an editorial matter.
I respectfully suggest that this is also something of a test case for the credibility of your organisation.
Yours sincerely
R C W Tilbrook