The chairman of the ASA, Lord Borrie, yesterday urged local and regional newspapers to play their part in maintaining the self-regulatory system in advertising, but stated that even with self-regulation promised as part of Ofcom, the ASA would fight to remain outside the new industry regulator.
Addressing the Newspaper Society yesterday, he said, “We intend to ensure that self-regulation retains the confidence of consumers, industry and government alike, despite the challenges of digital convergence. Keeping non-broadcast advertising independent of Ofcom over the next period will be as important to the ASA as keeping it independent of government has been for 40 years.”
With this in mind, the speech urged local and regional newspapers to play their part in maintaining the effectiveness of the ASA Code of Practice, saying, “You are an important part of the self-regulatory system through which the industry itself sets out detailed codes of practice for advertisers, agencies and the media.”
He continued, “We need to show that the commitment is more than fine-sounding talk- that self-regulation is real. The media and for that matter the advertisers and the agencies should not just leave it to the ASA to ensure compliance with the Code of Advertising Practice.”
Lord Borrie’s focus on the regional and local press comes from the fact that 23% of all advertising spend is in this sector. When TV and radio, which is not covered by the ASA remit, is excluded, that share is 38%. Borrie pointed out that many advertisers in the sector were likely to be local small businesses, possibly new to advertising. “They certainly do not sleep with a copy of the British Codes of Advertising under their pillows.” he pointed out, saying that ad departments therefore had an “important role in making sure that business growth is built on the sure foundation of claims readers can trust and words and images they find acceptable.”
ASA: 020 7580 5555 www.asa.org.uk
Subscribers can access ten years of media news and analysis in the Archive
