The Journalists’ Whistleblowing Hotline is provided for journalists who are working (either on a freelance or employed basis) for IPSO member publishers. Journalists can use the hotline to raise concerns that they have been asked to act contrary to the Editors’ Code. The hotline is an anonymous and independent reporting service. It is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
IPSO has run a whistleblowing hotline since it launched in 2014. This was adminsitered by staff and has received only a small number of calls.
IPSO recognises that, although staff are experienced at handling calls, the fact that it was providing the service directly could potentially inhibit journalists from raising concerns. As a result, IPSO has outsourced the provision of the hotline.
It can be used by any journalist who has been asked to act contrary to the Editors’ Code by, or on behalf of, a publication regulated by IPSO. This includes both freelance and employed journalists.
Contact the Journalists’ Whistleblowing Hotline if you have concerns about being asked to act contrary to the Editors’ Code. You can also contact the hotline if you have concerns about corruption, dishonesty, or unethical behaviour which you feel are related to the Editors’ Code of Practice and you cannot raise in the normal way within the publisher's own processes and procedures.
No. The role of the Journalists’ Whistleblowing Hotline is to provide you with a means to provide anonymous information in an entirely non-judgemental environment.
Calls to the Journalists’ Whistleblowing Hotline are answered by the highly trained and experienced call handling team.
Your call will be logged by the Journalists’ Whistleblowing Hotline and a report will be passed to the appropriate senior manager within IPSO within 24 hours who will then decide upon the next course of action.
No.
Yes. You do not have to give your name if you do not want to.
The Journalists’ Whistleblowing Hotline does not have the capability to trace or record calls and there is no 1471 facility or call line identifier. There is no means of identifying you unless you volunteer your details. The Journalists’ Whistleblowing Hotline is there to process what you know, not identify who you are.
Anonymous information can often be very useful in directing an investigation and once the issue is highlighted it may be quickly resolved. No anonymous call is ever acted upon without proper analysis being made by both the Journalists’ Whistleblowing Hotline and IPSO.
The Journalists’ Whistleblowing Hotline is there for you to report where you have been asked to act contrary to the Editors’ Code of Practice by, or on behalf of, a publication regulated by IPSO. It is also for you to report any form of unethical wrongdoing or illegal activity within your workplace which you may be aware of and you believe may be related to the Editors’ Code of Practice.
Any actionable information which you may provide will be investigated by the designated senior member working for IPSO. Even they will not know who has provided the information they receive so anonymity is 100% guaranteed.
As your information is anonymous there will be no further contact with you unless you opt to engage in the Journalists’ Whistleblowing Hotline’s two-way communication function.
The skill and expertise of the call-handling team identifies such calls. All information received will be subject to proper analysis and assessment so you should feel safe that a colleague cannot target you without substantial justification.
IPSO recognises that, although it may occur only rarely, it is possible that journalists could be asked to act contrary to the Editors’ Code of Practice by, or on behalf of, a publication regulated by IPSO. IPSO has established this hotline so that Journalists’ can be confident in raising those concerns and supported to do so.
You cannot use the Journalists' Whistleblowing Hotline to make a complaint about an article, please use IPSO's complaints form.
The Independent Press Standards Organisation C.I.C. is a Community Interest Company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales with registered number 02538908.
