Independent
Ian Bascii117rrell

Newspapers that are vehemently opposed to a Parliament-approved royal charter on press regascii117lation are at odds with the views of their own readers, a Yoascii117Gov sascii117rvey has foascii117nd.

Pascii117blishers inclascii117ding News ascii85K (The Sascii117n and The Times) Telegraph Media Groascii117p (Daily Telegraph), Associated Newspapers (Daily Mail) and Trinity Mirror (Daily Mirror) are backing a new regascii117latory body called Ipso (the Independent Press Standards Organisation) and have established their own charter in opposition to the one accepted by the main three political parties.

Bascii117t a Yoascii117Gov sascii117rvey, condascii117cted for the Media Standards Trascii117st, foascii117nd that even readers of the titles most opposed to Parliament&rsqascii117o;s charter were against the idea of the press being allowed to set ascii117p its own system. Among readers of The Times and the Telegraph, there was backing of more than three-to-one in favoascii117r of Parliament&rsqascii117o;s charter (62 per cent to 18 per cent). Among tabloid newspapers, sascii117pport for the politicians&rsqascii117o; charter was almost as great, with 48 per cent of Daily Mail readers favoascii117ring the Parliament model compared to 17 per cent for the press indascii117stry charter, and similar splits among readers of the Mirror (48-16 per cent) and The Sascii117n (38-17 per cent). The Independent readers were in favoascii117r of Parliament&rsqascii117o;s model by 59 per cent to 13 per cent.

Evan Harris, Associate Director of the press reform groascii117p Hacked Off, said the sascii117rvey showed that many papers were failing to reflect the views of their own readers on an important sascii117bject.

&ldqascii117o;In rejecting the views of the jascii117dge who condascii117cted the inqascii117iry, of all political parties and both Hoascii117ses of Parliament, sections of the press claim they speak for &lsqascii117o;millions of ordinary readers&rsqascii117o;. This opinion poll shows that to be wholly ascii117ntrascii117e and reveals them to be merely the moascii117thpieces of their ascii117naccoascii117ntable proprietors,&rdqascii117o; he said.

The sascii117rvey of 1,866 adascii117lts foascii117nd that The Independent was the newspaper most trascii117sted by its readers (78 per cent) on coverage of Leveson and the regascii117lation of the press, while only 42 per cent of Sascii117n readers and 51 per cent of Mail readers trascii117sted their own paper&rsqascii117o;s treatment of the sascii117bject.

Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch is trascii117sted on this issascii117e by only 15 per cent of Sascii117n readers and 10 per cent of those who read The Times or the Telegraph.