Rethink forces press complaints investigation into the Daily Mail

Governance | Vibeka Mair | 10 Aug 2010

Rethink’s challenge to the Press Complaints Commission about the Daily Mail's coverage on mental health has been resolved after the newspaper published a letter from the charity's chief executive.

Earlier this year, the Daily Mail featured an opinion article from well-known journalist Janet Street Porter which called depression a "trendy new illness".

In it she implied that mental illness was a "recent epidemic of the middle-class" and depression was not common among those poor or working class.

Mental health charity Rethink complained to the PCC, saying "while Street Porter was entitled to her opinion about depression, her piece contained a number of inaccuracies".

It was one of over 180 complaints about the article. The PCC took Rethink’s letter forward as the ‘lead’ complaint.

In its defence, the Daily Mail said that it regularly carried supportive articles about depression and that Street Porter, who was clearly not projecting herself as a medical expert, was entitled to her personal views about the subject. It pointed out that it had published a letter in response to the piece a few days after it appeared.

However, following the initiation of the PCC's investigation, it agreed to run a letter from Rethink's chief executive, Paul Jenkins, and the complaint was resolved on this basis.

Paul Jenkins, Rethink’s chief executive, said: “We are pleased that our complaint has been resolved and that the Daily Mail agreed to publish a letter from us. Depression affects one in six people and so it is essential that people are given accurate information about the condition.

“Rethink consistently challenges misleading information about mental illness in the media, and will continue to do so to help society become better informed about symptoms and available treatment.”

Directory: Rethink
Who's Who: Paul Jenkins

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