Credible Threats? Self-Regulation in the Shadow of the State

Leveson thinks that seven national convulsions over press regulation are enough. His proposal is for a ‘grand bargain’ with the press to ensure we never find ourselves in this situation again. In order to understand Leveson’s plan to break the cycle, we need to ask exactly why the dance of threat and bluff between Parliament and the media recurs so cyclically, and why he is so anxious to avoid ‘Leveson II’.