Why doesn the Code cover issues of taste and decency?
Matters of taste are always highly subjective, and imposing blanket rules would inhibit freedom of expression. However, editors are acutely aware of the risks of offending their readers – their paying customers – who, in a highly competitive market, would be likely to take their business elsewhere. Newspapers and magazines are therefore highly targeted to reflect their readers’ tastes and values. Some papers, for example, will publish topless pictures, but will not print expletives. Others take the opposite view. It leaves the readers free to choose. The diversity of the British press allows it to cater for a very broad range of tastes.
