The media has pledged to set up a self-regulating council by mid-September and urged Government to "put on ice" its plan for a legislated watchdog.

A joint letter was sent yesterday to Premier Ewart Brown and copied to MPs from the editors of the Island's two newspapers and those in charge of the three main broadcasting companies.

The signatories told Dr. Brown: "We take this opportunity to formally and collectively acknowledge that we 'dropped the ball' on the formation of a media council.

"It has been discussed on and off for years and we have had ample time to act.

"There are myriad reasons but no excuses — nor is there anything to gain by dwelling on what might have been. But we are now committed to a firm course of action."

The letter — signed by Government senator and radio host Thaao Dill, programme director of Inter-Island Communications; Chris Lodge, news director at DeFontes Broadcasting Company; Rick Richardson, CEO of Bermuda Broadcasting Company; Tony McWilliam, editor of the Bermuda Sun; and Bill Zuill, editor of The Royal Gazette — promises that a voluntary media council will be "up and running" by September 14.

It comes after Dr. Brown tabled the controversial Media Council Act 2010 in the House of Assembly on May 7.

The bill — which has yet to be debated by MPs — has been severely criticised by local journalists and global press freedom campaigners, who claim the statutory council would be politically biased and could infringe freedom of expression.

Yesterday, the Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM) issued a statement suggesting that the draft legislation sought to "impose a regime of prior censorship and direct political, non-editorial control over media conduct and content".

"Media self-regulation does not belong to the realm of legislation, which can have the effect of criminalising expression and creating avenues for punitive action that have the potential to silence dissenting and disapproving voices," said the statement.

The proposed council would consist of a majority of members appointed after consultation with the Premier and would have the power to ban publication or broadcast of material. It would devise a code of conduct for news organisations and deal with complaints.

The media's letter to Dr. Brown includes a proposal on how the voluntary council would work and a pledge to have a code of practice written, signed and adopted by all five news outlets by June 8.

The signatories write: "We are confident that this proposal will meet our shared goals of raising journalistic standards, elevating accountability and providing an effective forum for grievances against the media — while eliminating the negativity associated with a statutory body."

Mr. McWilliam will set up the council, with help from Glenn Jones, former press secretary to the Premier and general manager of Bermuda.com, and veteran journalist Meredith Ebbin.

Internet-only news organisations will be asked for their input and a detailed plan outlining the aims, scope, membership structure and complaints procedure of the new watchdog will be ready by June 8.

The five organisations issued a joint press release yesterday afternoon, which said: "We have asked Government to put its media council bill 'on ice' while our self-regulatory option is given consideration.

"And we accept that if our council falls short of expectations, Government can always revert to the legislative option.

"Public debate has been lively in recent weeks and we feel the case for media self-regulation, drawing from examples around the world, has been well made. "Conversely, the potential drawbacks of a statutory media council, with heavy political representation, have also been highlighted."

The Premier's spokesman said last night: "The Government acknowledges that we have received the information."

The ACM statement said media councils were best operated "through self-regulatory mechanisms introduced by the media industry itself" such as the Press Complaints Commission in the UK.