Cambridge Independent and Bury Free Press publisher Iliffe Media has joined the Independent Press Standards Organisation along with three regional titles.
Among them is the Caerphilly Observer, which left Impress over “transparency concerns” last year.
The West Bridgford Wire and the Thurrock Independent also join the UK’s biggest regulator, which now claims to have “almost all local newspapers” and “over 90% of national newspapers” signed up to its charter.
A founding member of Impress, the Caerphilly Observer left the Royal Charter-backed regulator last November after claiming that it tried to “bury” an internal review on impartiality.
Editor Richard Gurner told Press Gazette at the time: “I thought for an organisation that’s supposed to be supporting transparency and openness it hasn’t really been that open with us.”
The Caerphilly Observer was the first publication to leave the regulator while still in print (the Ramsey and Warboys Reporter closed in October last year as a result of its editor’s ill health).
Speaking of the four new additions, IPSO chairman Sir Alan Moses said: “It’s wonderful to have local independent publishers on board and demonstrates that IPSO membership is a mark of quality, responsible journalism.”
Iliffe Media publishes 28 newspaper titles and a handful of magazine titles, including Velvet and IQ.
Picture: Caerphilly Observer
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