THE Scottish Daily Newspaper Society has added its voice to the chorus of disapproval that the media might be restricted in the way it reports financial crises.
In the wake of the recent banking collapses, the Treasury Select Committee at Westminster is holding an inquiry.
So-called ‘D-Notices’ are used to restrict the reporting of stories that may jeopardise the national security, leading to concerns that something similar might be applied to financial journalism.
Says SDNS director Jim Raeburn: “This is a classic case of ‘shoot the messenger’.
“Quite apart from the practicalities of any such proposition, this would amount to blatant censorship in breach of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights relating to freedom of expression.
“It should also be said that financial journalists are already subject to statutory and self-regulatory controls, the latter under the Editors’ Code of Practice administered by the Press Complaints Commission and its Financial Journalism Best Practice Note published in 2005.”
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