Response

Down with the PCC The PCC can't/won't act because they are useless, pointless, toothless and self-interested (Mark Lewis: Why won't the PCC act over phone hacking? , 6 September). It is a very clear and glaring example of a failure of self-regulation – stuffed with vested interest and unable to act in any timely fashion; or even if they choose to act, lacking anything that frightens the likes of the News of the World not to mention the Daily Star, Express and Mail. Time to reject the PCC and move to a better system where papers can be compelled and punished. Given that money is all too often the motivation for dodgy stories – make sure that two things come into being: like-for-like retractions/apologies/corrections carrying equal space and prominence and an ability to impose very hefty fines. This should not restrict journalism but set it free from being beholden to tittle-tattle and celebrity gossip and the dubious and suspect "close friends" and "anonymous sources" as well as the betting made by editors about sales to potential litigation. lorenzo1 online • "After the phone hacking story broke, the PCC, the regulator of the press financed by the press, did nothing." Chocolate teapot. Why is it that we set up regulatory bodies that are then subsequently controlled and influenced by the very entities they are supposed to be regulating? I mean, it's glaringly obvious that this "light touch", "self regulation" is a guaranteed way of ensuring our most important and integral institutions are not going to function properly. Surely this is clear, if not through logic, then at least now through (much) practice? Mezzum online • Fortunately with a plurality of newspaper ownership we don't really need a regulator with teeth. Oh. Hang on a minute. Lovelight online Just one in 6.7bn There's another angle to this ( Women's magazines: it's what's on the inside that counts , 6 September). In purporting to be rejecting fakery to produce the perfect image, the magazine's tapping into the current spurious belief that we are all brilliant. Well we're not, in fact most of us are rather tedious. slipperywhenwet online