Funferal

What implications will the Irish press council have for small/amateur media outlets?

Karlin Lillington reports on an interesting observation made by Fergal Crehan (fellow Tuppenceworth contributor and Flirt FM alumn) regarding the proposed Irish press council. The idea is that in return for self-regulation by a press/media council, media outlets will have some protection from the currently rather over-bearing law on defamation/libel. However, the changed standards will probably only cover those who are members of the council, which leaves those unable to invest in council membership – such as most bloggers, in the case mentioned, or presumably community radio, etc. – at a disadvantage.
If the council covers broadcasters as well as the press, I wonder if some sort of discount rate will be mandated for community radio outlets, and if this might be used as a basis to push for affordable rates for bloggers.
Of course, much of this is speculative at this stage – and Fergal obviously has a better handle on the detail than I do. Something to watch, definitely.