Help with press intrusion

The Editors’ Code says that journalists must not engage in harassment, intimidation or persistent pursuit.

If you ask a journalist to stop their activities, the Editors’ Code says they must unless there is specific and adequate public interest to justify a decision to carry on.

IPSO can give specific advice about how the Editors’ Code applies to your situation and in appropriate cases is able to contact newspapers and magazine publishers to make them aware of concerns that the Editors’ Code may be breached via a privacy notice.

Private advisory notices are not injunctions and they do not have legal powers. But they do put editors on notice and we know they are extremely effective at dealing with a number of concerns.

Here are some examples of how privacy notices can be used. They have been anonymised because the service is confidential.

Terrorist attack or high profile accident

Some families want private funerals. We are able to make editors aware of their request that the media do not attend or publish photographs, so families are able to grieve privately even if the fact of the deaths are high profile and have a lot of media interest.

Relatives of person accused of a crime/press on the doorstep

The media are outside someone’s home, but the family does not want to speak. We can make editors aware and ask them to stop seeking comment and move away from the area so normal activities can resume uninterrupted.

Celebrity or high profile stories

This could include divorces, marriages, births or if there is a significant amount of media interest around a person or story. We can make editors aware that the parties involved do not want to speak to the press.

Family member killed abroad

We can make editors aware that relatives do not want to speak to the press so they are not contacted at an already difficult and stressful time.