This study does not aim to be either a manual or
a textbook on self-regulation. It was prompted by prejudices arising
primarily from the lack of knowledge about self-regulation in the
media which is a practice widely spread across the world as well
as in Slovenia.
In this study the author presents self-regulation as a part of
a wider subject, that is, freedom of speech, arguing that self-regulation
does not intrude on this freedom beyond the limits set by democracy,
and that, compared to legislative solution, it is a much more
friendly way of implementing the principle that one person’s
freedom is limited by another person’s freedom. What is important
is that the media are aware of the power they enjoy. The author
gives several examples that illustrate where abuse of that
unruly power can lead and argues that it is much better if
media themselves hold it at bay and thus avert state’s interference
with an intention of compelling them to do so.
The book recapitulates various views on media accountability
and mechanisms reinforcing it, already widely discussed in public.
It also looks into the current state of affairs in Slovenia despite
the risk that time and further developments in this field may
soon cancel out present conclusions. The frame of debate on the
establishment of a press council in Slovenia could serve as a
useful example for others. The existing Ethics Commission in
Slovenia, whose past performance could have paved the way for
an elaborate form of self-regulation, unfortunately proved to
be an obstacle. The idea about a tripartite press council arose
in some a feeling that a press council would be set against the
ethics commission itself, even though, to the contrary, it could
primarily advance the present work of this commission. The study
therefore does not argue that existing ethics commission is needless,
but rather points to the ideas about co-regulation that have
recently emerged in the EU. They could lead to the shifting of
the center, meaning that voluntary self-regulation, which advances
media accountability and through it also professional conduct,
could be taken away from the media and placed in the hands of
users. The protection of professional standards would thus be
transformed into the protection of consumer rights.
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