Widespread scepticism as to the effectiveness of the new Office of the Press Ombudsman and Press Council of Ireland was not justified, Press Council chairman Prof Thomas Mitchell said yesterday.
Speaking as guest of honour at the presentation of the annual John Healy journalism awards at Mount Falcon Hotel, Ballina, Co Mayo, Prof Mitchell said the council will command respect and be truly independent of any interested parties. A code which clearly identified what the boundaries are between appropriate and inappropriate conduct by the media had been agreed by all segments of the media, Prof Mitchell said.
Anyone aggrieved by media coverage will have a new, simple, accessible route for complaints. The Press Council would provide an alternative to the courts, a situation described by Prof Mitchell as being "of enormous benefit".
He also said the Press Council would raise standards in the media, describing the establishment of the council as "a good news story" for the Irish public.
He said every freedom has its limits and the press had a heavy responsibility. The Government could not claim to be an independent arbiter and the press cannot regulate itself.
He said self-regulation was no longer acceptable to the public as a means of control, so the challenge was to find a middle way.
The overall winner and local radio winner of the John Healy awards 2007 was Sally Anne Barrett of Shannonside/Northern Sound for her documentary One Mother's Son - The Story of Prionsias - about a 17-year-old boy who died in a car crash.
Awards: winners
National TV/radio:Sam Gleeson and Adrian Lydon, Primetime, RTÉ, for their programme, Scandal Over Water Quality in the 21st Century.
Local print:Sinéad Ní Neachtáin, Galway Now magazine, for her article "Breast Cancer".
National print:Brian O'Connell for "Joining a new wave of islanders", published in The Irish Times.
Photography:Keith Heneghan for "Reek Sunday", published in The Irish Times.