Government Endorses IPSO, Code and New Financial Journalism Best Practice Guidance – Market Abuse Regulation

The Editors’ Code  Committee  has welcomed official endorsement  of the effectiveness of IPSO and the Code of Practice when the new laws on market abuse came into effect last month.

Announcing  its new Financial Journalism Best Practice Note, the Code Committee said: “Journalists have been exempted from the Regulatory Technical Standards of the Market Abuse Regulation because the Editors’ Code of Practice and IPSO’s robust policing of the Code and its rigorous sanctions have been judged by the government to offer equivalent regulation for notification to the European Commission.

“This is welcome official endorsement of the effectiveness of IPSO and the Code of Practice.”

“The new Financial Journalism Best Practice note lays out the requirements that editors must now meet in their financial journalism. It replaces an earlier note issued in 2005.

“Some items that were described as ‘best practice’ in the earlier note are now mandatory, including the external disclosure of financial interests.”

Editors should read this guidance and the official Market Abuse Regulation and Regulatory Technical Standards and ensure their publication’s financial journalism meets their requirements.

NMA lobbying on the Market Abuse Regulation helped secure the relevant exemption. The revised Financial Journalism Best Practice Note is published on the Editors Code Committee website under the Codebook and guidance sections.