Dr. Michael Foley:

I reiterate that point. One of the issues - as I am sure many people in this room will know - is that there are certain types of advertising that appear in the media that cause us to raise an eyebrow. They might possibly appear in property pages or elsewhere and we sort of ask ourselves whether that is an advertisement or whatever. We look at the copy. This is very damaging to journalism. Given the pressures that journalism is under at present, they do not need that anymore. Anything that brings in transparency within a context of advertising can only be good for journalism.

We are making a clear distinction between advertising and editorial copy, whether online, in a newspaper or on the radio or television. At one level, the Bill has very little to do with the National Union of Journalists but anything that helps people trust the information they receive, whether editorial, advertising or otherwise, and from wherever it comes, can only be good for journalism. That is why we broadly welcome the Bill, allowing for the various objections or points that have been made.