Three well-known online publishers – The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, Open Democracy and The Bristol Cable – have signed up to independent press regulator Impress.
They join more than 200 other – mostly small, online and either local or specialist – member publications to Impress, which is the Royal Charter-recognised press regulator.
Rival regulator the Independent Press Standards Organisation represents most newspaper and magazine publishers in the UK including all the nationals except for The Guardian, The Observer, Financial Times and The Independent which are not signed up to any regulator.
Of the new arrivals, Impress chief executive Lexie Kirkconnell-Kawana said: “As Impress reaches the end of its first decade, it is incredibly heartening to see these prestigious platforms eager to join the membership.
“With plummeting trust in journalism and increased threats to freedom of speech, the importance of Impress and the protection we offer public interest journalism has never been more apparent.
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“So I welcome TBIJ, Open Democracy and The Bristol Cable and applaud them for their leadership in adopting truly independent self-regulation and hope others will follow.”
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It means the three publishers will adhere to the Standards Code set by Impress and they get access to advice from experts and alternative dispute resolution services, which Impress said could help them against legal intimidation from people trying to stop stories getting out.
TBIJ chief executive and editor-in-chief Rozina Breen told Press Gazette earlier this year that the non-profit publisher has been forced to spend an increasing amount on fighting legal threats. Breen has repeatedly been part of calls for legislation to crack down on the use of gratuitous lawsuits designed only to silence public interest journalism.
Open Democracy editor-in-chief Aman Sethi said: “Open Democracy’s journalists around the world pride themselves on adhering to the highest standards of ethical journalism.
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“Joining Impress is part of this commitment to reporting with honesty, accountability and rigour.”
The Bristol Cable’s strategic lead, Eliz Mizon, said: “Our decision to be regulated by Impress is not only beneficial to the Cable itself, due to the support available for us in the event of bad actors seeking to derail our work.
“It’s also beneficial for our readers, members and those who appear in our reporting, who can better understand the ways our work conforms to codes of conduct, and how to seek redress if they feel it necessary.”
Impress chair Richard Ayre described the three publishers as “three of the most innovative publishers this country has to offer”.
“By providing serious, enquiring, groundbreaking news to local, national and international audiences, these are tomorrow’s media. By joining Impress they’ve made a public commitment to integrity: confident journalists happy to be publicly accountable for their conduct as well as their content.”
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our “Letters Page” blog
Electric-vehicle makers boosted Hong Kong stocks on Friday, as major indices rose across the board in the wake of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut.
The Hang Seng index rose 1.8 per cent, with Chinese EV companies Xpeng and Geely Auto adding 9 per cent and 4.8 per cent, respectively.
Japan’s Topix rose 1.5 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi added 1 per cent.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4 per cent, led by clinical trial groups Euren Pharmaceuticals and Telix Pharmaceuticals, which gained as much as 6.7 per cent and 4.9 per cent, respectively.
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On Thursday, the S&P 500 gained 1.7 per cent, hitting a new record after the Fed’s half-point rate cut announcement on Wednesday.
Last week JPMorgan made headlines by announcing it planned to cap its junior bankers’ working week to 80 hours (“High pressure, long days, crushing workloads: why is investment banking like this?”, FT Alphaville, FT.com, September 13).
The media and most western professionals and other workers will see that figure as extraordinarily high — but the small print makes clear that the cap will not apply when junior bankers are working on “live” deals.
The 80-hour working week, it seems, is the routine baseline expectation.
Former investment banker Craig Coben, author of the FT Alphaville piece, outlined the history and factors that make the long-hours culture a seemingly intractable fact of life across the investment banking industry — and other related sectors such as Big Law.
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As investment banking is a bespoke service the work cannot fit into a standard nine-to-five schedule. The question is: does this bespoke service require regular “all-nighters”?
Is this really the most efficient approach? Research shows that working long hours does not improve productivity. Studies document diminishing returns after a certain threshold — typically around 50 hours per week.
Coben also pointed to the mega-salaries junior bankers earn. In the end, there is no such thing as a free lunch in life.
They know what they are getting themselves into. The reality may not be as glamorous as it seems. Assuming an entry salary of £90,000, as indicated in the article, an 80-hour working week for 47 weeks a year — admittedly a very basic calculation — junior bankers would earn a higher hourly rate by doing private tutoring!
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Yes, this is partly down to the nature of the business but it is also a self-perpetuating culture that is blocking efforts to at least mitigate its worst excesses.
Addressing this could, in fact, positively impact productivity as well.
Sonia Falconieri Professor in Corporate Finance, Bayes Business School (formerly Cass), London EC1, UK
“We asked for a thorough investigation,” says Olivia.
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“That’s definitely what they’ve done as it’s been a while now.
“I hope the FA do the right thing.
“It’s important we don’t skim over what happened.”
Regardless of the outcome, the 25-year-old says there’s no way things can stay the same in women’s football.
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“I’d like to think that after what’s happened to my sister, there’s no way there can’t be any change.
“Maddy ultimately lost her life and her spirit to football and it’s important that nobody else goes through that.”
Maddy’s family has launched a foundation in her name to support women and girls in football and hopes to be a voice for them too.
“You can’t bury your head in the sand,” says Olivia.
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“You need to stand up for these girls and stand up for Maddy ultimately as well.
“We just really wanted to find what was missing and give these girls a voice.”
They recently hit a £50,000 milestone, something Olivia says she “never even dreamed of”.
“It made me really proud,” she says.
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“I thought, we could really change the game here and change young girls’ lives.”
‘I’m going to be like Maddy’
Some of the money raised goes towards supporting girls like eight-year-old Neveah, who idolised Maddy.
Neveah’s mum, Beth, tells Newsbeat the love started when she was assigned the same number football shirt.
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“She’d see Maddy play and say, ‘Mum that’s me – I’m number eight, I’m going to be like Maddy’.”
Last year, Neveah was a mascot for Sheffield United and chose to walk out with Maddy, which Beth says helped to “grow her love of football”.
When Maddy died, Beth says Neveah “took it really hard” and, in December, the foundation offered to pay for her to have new boots – something the family had done for Maddy every Christmas.
Since then it has also sponsored her kit.
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“She was very touched by that,” Beth says.
“We always get in touch with the family because she likes to tell them how many goals she’s scored for Maddy.”
Although Neveah is sometimes the only girl on the pitch, she is generally supported and encouraged in the sport, says Beth.
But she knows that might not always be the case, and that is why the work of the foundation is so important.
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“[Girls] need to know that support is available for them,” she says.
“I just hope Neveah’s journey through football, however long it is, continues to be positive.”
Olivia says her sister was “loved and adored and an inspiration to so many”.
“My main focus with the foundation is to carry that on for as long as I can and to bring her to life for as long as I can as well.”
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There will be a vigil for Maddy later and she will also be remembered at a match between Sheffield United and Derby County – the club Maddy supported – on Saturday.
“She would’ve been there for sure,” Olivia says of her big sister. “With a beaming smile.”
A spokesperson for Sheffield United told Newsbeat they were pleased to mark the anniversary with the match.
“The thoughts of everyone associated with Sheffield United Football Club remain with the Cusack family, as well as Maddy’s friends, colleagues and team-mates,” they added.
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The FA said it would not be appropriate to comment while it was still investigating.
If you’ve been affected by the issues raised in this article, help and support is available via BBC Action Line.
Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays – or listen back here.
No publication has bettered the FT for the coverage of Boeing’s downward and tragic flight path resulting from putting financial engineering (sic) before real engineering. Rereading John Gapper’s piece about the revival of Rolls-Royce’s fortunes (Opinion, September 13) I was surprised to see no words of caution about the possible consequences of too much “squeezing” of a product that must work perfectly throughout its life, and no warning on the potential for a Boeing outcome.
For me, I am always reassured when I look out from a window seat to see the classic black and silver RR logo on the engine housing. Long may this continue.
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