Here at Byline, because we often cover the stories the British press won’t cover, or indeed cover the abuses of many media organisations, some could be mistaken for thinking we somehow dislike journalism
On the contrary, we love journalism, and our site is devoted to making sure journalists can get paid for difficult stories.
There’s absolutely no doubt that the British press has set a benchmark for low standards and that the current regulatory framework has completely failed the public. Of all the 28 countries in the EU in 2014-15 the written press had the lowest trust rating, below even Greece and Serbia, according to a EBU report this summer.
Like the National Union of Journalists and our senior advisors Sir Harry Evans and Nick Davies, we believe that the current press regulator IPSO fails key tests
IPSO is controlled by publishers and does not take third party complaints, prevents journalists from being involved in the ethical code committee and has avoided an arbitration panel offering redress to the public.
We firmly believe that the arbitration scheme enshrined by Impress provides a real protection for good investigative journalism. Complainants get a cost free mechanism for corrections and apologies and journalists are protected from chilling court costs (once the government enact Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act)
COMPLAINTS
Though Byline operates no prior restraint on its writers, we will be asking them to abide by the Impress standards.
We can look into complaints about items we have published which are in our control.
We adhere to the Standards Code adopted by IMPRESS and can only deal with complaints which relate to an alleged breach of the standards set out in this Code. http://www.impress.press/standards/.
We can only deal with your complaint if you are:
# personally and directly affected by an alleged breach of the Code
# a representative group affected by an alleged breach of the Code, where there is public interest in your complaint
# a third party seeking to ensure accuracy of published information
We are also regulated by IMPRESS, but initial complaints must be made to us BYLINE in writing at the following address:
e-mail: info@byline.com .
We will acknowledge your complaint by e-mail or in writing within 7 calendar days and will normally respond to your compliant with a final decision letter within 21 calendar days.
If we uphold your complaint, we will tell you the remedial actions we have taken.
If you are not satisfied with the final response to your complaint, or if you do not hear from us within 21 calendar days of submitting your complaint, then you can refer your complaint to our Independent regulator IMPRESS at the following address:
