Leveson PR and social media implications

Just to demonstrate that it is old media that still rules Leveson has only made advance copies of his report available to mainstream media. So I’m writing this as the minutes countdown to its release without the benefit of actually knowing what is in it.

Two of my questions are around its implications for both PR professionals and for social media. One fear is that Leveson will point the finger at PR professionals and implicate them in some of the worst that has gone on. I believe that this will be a mistake. There are lots of examples of poor – and even corrupt – PR practice, but there are also lots of ethical PR professionals. PR professionals that are CIPR members and abide by its Code of Conduct. The report will undoubtedly find that there are corrupt and unethical journalists, but it should also find that the vast majority of journalists and ethical.

The question of social media is will Leveson recommend regulation or control for ‘citizen journalism’ and user generated content.