IPSO's guidance covers the reporting of Muslims and Islam, but many of the issues it raises are relevant to the reporting of any religion or community. It is designed to help editors and journalists understand how the Editors’ Code is applied and includes a number of case studies.
Please note this guidance was published November 2020.
A number of external organisations from across the religious spectrum have guidance available for journalists:
Religion Media Centre is an impartial independent organisation helping journalists to cover religion. They can provide background information and commentators. The website has fact sheets and they also offer training for journalists.
info@religionmediacentre.org.uk or phone 0203 970 0709
The Church of England is considered the original church of the Anglican Communion, which represents over 85 million people in more than 165 countries. While the Church upholds many of the customs of Roman Catholicism, it also embraces fundamental ideas adopted during the Protestant Reformation.
https://www.churchofengland.org/
https://www.churchofengland.org/media-and-news/media-centre
The Catholic Church in England and Wales is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See.
https://www.cbcew.org.uk/home/contact-and-legal/contact-us/
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is a national umbrella body for Muslim organisations in Britain. It is the UK’s largest and most diverse Muslim representative umbrella body with over 500 affiliated national, regional and local organisations, mosques, charities and schools.
media@mcb.org.uk or 0845 2626786
The Board of Deputies of British Jews is the voice of the British Jewish Community, the first port of call for the Government, the media and others seeking to understand Jewish community interests and concerns.
Publications - Board of Deputies of British Jews (bod.org.uk)
The Network of Sikh Organisations (NSO) is a registered charity that links more than 130 UK gurdwaras and other UK Sikh organisations in active cooperation to enhance the image and understanding of Sikhism in the UK.
Media guidelines
info@nsouk.co.uk or phone 0208 5404148
The Sikh Press Association works to represent the Sikh Community and provide accurate multimedia content for the mainstream media globally.
Media@SikhPA.com or phone 07723 966 776
IPSO constantly monitors complaints made under Clause 12 (Discrimination). The results of this monitoring can be checked via a dedicated web portal in our Standards section.
Two episodes of the IPSO podcast also cover the reporting of religious matters and connected topics:
Challenging Extremism
Reporting Sikhism
The IPSO blog also has a host of articles dedicated to the reporting of religions and religious matters:
Guest blog: Reporting on Muslims and Islam - Fiyaz Mughal, Founder of Faith Matters and Tell MAMA, welcomes new IPSO guidance on reporting of Muslims and Islam. As with all our guest blogs, the opinions are those of the author.
IPSO Blog: Reporting on religion - Policy and Public Affairs Officer Sophie Malleson reflects on attending the second Religion Media Festival.
Guest blog: Reporting on Sikhism - In the second in our series of guest blogs highlighting our new external resources for journalists, Hardeep Singh, Deputy-Director of the Network of Sikh Organisations (NSO), explains how the NSO’s media guidance can help journalists get a clearer understanding of Sikhism.
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.
