TMCnet News
Regulatory Funding Company Appoints First Board(Targeted News Service Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) LONDON, April 23 -- The Newspaper Society issued the following news release: In a further step towards establishing a new tough, independent self-regulatory system for the UK press, the Regulatory Funding Company has appointed its first board of directors. The eight members of the Regulatory Funding Company Board, representing the national press, regional press and magazine sectors, have been named as: Magazines Albert Read, Deputy Managing Director, Conde Nast Publications Regional Michael Gilson, Editor, Belfast Telegraph Ashley Highfield, Chief Executive Officer, Johnston Press Brian McCarthy, Group Finance Director, Archant Ellis Watson, Chief Executive Officer, DC Thomson Publishing National Paul Ashford, Group Editorial Director, Northern & Shell Christopher Longcroft, Chief Financial Officer, News UK Paul Vickers, Secretary & Group Legal Director, Trinity Mirror The RFC board was nominated by a wide spread of publishers who have signed contracts with the Independent Press Standards Organisation. This board will serve until the company's AGM in 2015. The press self-regulation system must, by definition, be funded by the newspaper and magazine industry it regulates. The role of the RFC will be to raise that industry funding. The independent Appointments Panel, chaired by Sir Hayden Phillips, is due to appoint the Chairman of IPSO imminently. The RFC's first task will be to work with the Chairman of IPSO to agree the budget for the regulator and to raise the necessary subscriptions from the industry. Paul Vickers, Chairman of the Industry Implementation Group and a director of the RFC said: "I am very pleased that the industry has shown its support for the new system by nominating a group of directors with such deep experience and complementary skills. The building blocks for the new self-regulatory system are fitting into place." The Scottish Newspaper Society holds its inaugural conference later today with a line-up of speakers including First Minister Alex Salmond. The conference will open with a debate on the future of self regulation led by Lord Black of Brentwood. One of the central figures in the creation of the new self-regulatory system, Lord Black will tell the conference that he will play no further role in the new regulatory bodies once they are established. Instead he will focus on fighting threats to press freedom from within government and from the EU. He is expected to say: "The threats to our freedoms, from both a UK Government perspective but also from the EU, are now so severe, and the political environment so deeply hostile, that I need to concentrate of tackling them, along with other colleagues throughout the industry." Note: The full text of Lord Black's speech is available here (http://www.newspapersoc.org.uk/sites/default/files/scottish_newspaper_society_speech1.doc). TNS 24KuanRap-140426 30FurigayJof-4716208 30FurigayJof (c) 2014 Targeted News Service |