Media owners, editors and journalists should be subjected to the same codes of public standards as govern politics and business if the integrity of the media is to be protected, according to Prof Onora O'Neill of Newnham College, Cambridge.
Prof O'Neill said false and unreliable reporting now posed a major threat to democracy because it marginalised large sections of the public. Constant criticism of politicians only served to foster apathy, particularly among the young.
A press that serves the people would not "routinely smear across the board", but would instead help society to distinguish between good and bad politicians.
Prof O'Neill, an internationally renowned academic and writer on ethics and political theory, was addressing the Royal Irish Academy on press freedom in Dublin last night.
"The founding arguments in favour of press freedom were first put forward at times when the press was relatively weak, and controlled or dominated by the state and other institutions. Today, the media are among the most-powerful and least-accountable players in public affairs. Yet, we continue to exempt the press, in particular newspapers, from many of the sorts of accountability required of other organisations and individuals."
While cross-ownership of media companies should be controlled, it was a complex issue, she said. But a number of measures could be introduced more easily, which go some way to safeguard the integrity of published information.
Owners, editors and reporters should be required to declare their financial interests. They should step back from stories when a conflict of interest arises. Penalties should be imposed on those who practice entrapment to generate news.
She added that sanctions should apply to those accepting bribes or favours in return for censoring or adopting a particular slant on a story. Those working in the media should also have a duty to report any attempts to bribe them. And regulations should be introduced to regulate the use of anonymous sources.
Prof O'Neill is a graduate of Oxford, where she studied philosophy, psychology and physiology. She went on to complete a PhD at Harvard and became the principal of Newnham in 1992.
In reply to her address, former taoiseach Dr Garret Fitzgerald said politicians were generally paranoid because they were "persecuted" by the media.
"I came to politics late and never achieved the paranoia levels of some of my colleagues," he said.
Within Ireland, media ownership is already concentrated. "Once it reaches a certain strength governments are loath to take it on," he said.
When the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, took office, he went "to see a certain gentleman (Mr Rupert Murdoch) in Australia". Mr Blair's first instinct was to build a relationship with the media mogul rather than "wonder how am I going to control him".
However, any state intervention in how the media operates would not be welcomed by journalists or the public.
Dr Fitzgerald would be in favour of relaxing the libel laws because many scandals had gone unreported for years as a result of restrictions on the media. Some of these had only come to light by accident. If the libel laws were "loosened" it might "ensure that evils are not hushed up in the future".
