The Culture Secretary speaks to the Society of Editors in London on April 30 2024. She said the government was determined to clampdown on strategic lawsuits that have a chilling effect on publication, and on foreign ownership of newspapers. Filmed by Ben Lowry of the Belfast News Letter
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 sensible role that our news media plays in maintaining and enhancing our democracy.
00:06 And where better a place for that message? Since it was formed in 1999, the Society of Editors
00:15 has consistently campaigned for editorial freedom, the right to report, and the public's right to
00:22 know. Today, 25 years after the Society was founded, your mission is even more important than ever.
00:32 And although you may represent over 400 individual publications, programs and websites,
00:39 the Society of Editors is widely respected as an organisation that speaks with one voice
00:47 in advocating for press freedom at every opportunity. As we speak, journalists are on the
00:56 front line, fighting for the public's right to know, in war zones or in places where press freedom
01:04 is dangerously contested. Places where state control of media is an accepted part of everyday
01:11 life. We've seen far too many cases in the past year where journalists who have sought to empower
01:18 people at home with accurate, timely news gathering have paid the ultimate price.
01:25 According to the ICIJ, 99 journalists lost their lives in 2023, with three-quarters of those lives
01:36 lost in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. In the UK, we've seen the Iranian TV journalist
01:43 Roryeh Zarate stabbed on the streets of London. Fortunately, Mr Zarate returned to broadcasting
01:51 his show on the 5th April and told his audience that the show must go on. Many of you in this room,
02:02 like me, have been sanctioned by Russia for standing up for our principles,
02:07 and we must continue to do it.
02:11 Last week, an eminent, well-respected titan of the industry was asked by House and Lords Committee
02:21 how government could help the industry. He gave the question short shrift.
02:29 "Government," he said, "should stay the hell out of it. We are not on your side,
02:35 you are not on our side. I am a Jeffersonian. Government should concentrate on what only
02:44 government can do," he said. And in principle, of course that's right. There's nothing more
02:52 democratic than outstanding journalism. The media is there to scrutinise, to challenge,
03:00 to investigate. Often, politicians like us. And so it's clear that there can be no wrong
03:07 for government in this, or indeed, saying how this should be done. Moreover, if you're a Conservative,
03:18 personal responsibility, free markets and limited regulation are cornerstones of your belief.
03:25 Interfering in industry is absolutely not. But to suggest that the government should have no
03:33 role in protecting free speech is overly simplistic. The government has a role in setting frameworks
03:40 to enable a free press to survive. Indeed, recently, there have been many calls by industry
03:47 itself on the government to stand up, stand firm, take action to protect the free press
03:54 from the interference or dominance of others. And quite rightly, we have listened.