A free, sustainable, and diverse media landscape is the best way to maintain a shared understanding of facts, and we are committed to supporting the invaluable role which journalism plays in the fabric of our society. Trustworthy journalism plays a vital role in countering the effects of mis- and disinformation, and local journalism in particular plays a crucial role in fostering civic engagement, with evidence showing a positive and significant correlation between daily circulation of local newspapers and local election turnout.

It is important therefore to maintain a healthy and diverse pipeline of talent into the industry through the provision of journalism education opportunities. With this in mind, we are exploring through the DCMS Local Media Strategy whether more can be done to promote journalism as a career amongst young people, including through the DCMS-funded Creative Careers Programme which is intended to promote careers in the creative industries among young people and recently added the National Council for the Training of Journalists to its steering group.

The Leveson Inquiry led to the establishment of a strengthened, self-regulatory system for the press, this includes the creation of the Press Recognition Panel, by Royal Charter. There are also two press regulators, the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) and the Independent Monitor of the Press (Impress), while other publishers, including the Financial Times and the Guardian, have chosen to stay outside either regulator with their own detailed self-regulatory arrangements.

This self-regulatory system is important for press freedom, but with this freedom comes responsibility. Newspapers must operate ethically and within the bounds of the law. This includes ensuring that members of the public are able to raise concerns about inaccurate reporting through clear, timely and effective routes to redress. If the public wishes to raise concerns about press reporting, they can do so via the relevant regulator. These regulators enforce codes of conduct which provide guidelines on a range of areas, including discrimination, accuracy, privacy, and harassment. If they find that a newspaper has broken the code of conduct, they can order corrections.

The news and media landscape has moved on significantly since the Leveson Inquiry and we need to address the wider challenges in the digital age, including mis and disinformation. The Government’s priority is seeing an independent, thriving and plural press, where journalists are safe and able to report on stories in the public interest and that matter to communities, so that traditional news sources continue to be rated high on trust, accuracy, and impartiality.

The Government takes very seriously the impact that online mis- and disinformation can have, including risks posed by AI. We also recognise the concerns around AI models generating large volumes of content that is indistinguishable from human generated content which may also impact trust in the information environment. Enabling users, and institutions, to determine what media is real is a key part of tackling a wide range of AI risks.

Journalism plays an invaluable role in the fabric of our society and we are committed to supporting a free, sustainable and plural media landscape, as the best way of maintaining a shared understanding of facts. We are engaging with the press sector on these concerns, including through a recent ministerial roundtable with major UK publishers and broadcasters on the broader impact of generative AI on journalism. We have also provided funding to the Bridging Responsible AI Divides research programme at The University of Edinburgh, which produced the report ‘Generative AI and Journalism: Mapping the Risk Landscape’. We will continue to work with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, as the lead department on counter-disinformation policy and monitor developments in this area to inform future policymaking.

DCMS works with a range of other Departments, including the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the Home Office, to support a free, plural, and financially sustainable press sector. This includes work to develop a Local Media Strategy and to deliver the National Action Plan for the Safety of Journalists.

We will update Parliament in the usual way on any policy developments in this area and work will be published as appropriate.

The Government currently has no plans to bring forward legislative proposals to regulate the press.

It is vital that the public have access to accurate and trustworthy information from a range of different media, and we are working across Government to consider these issues in the round.