Many places around the world have councils or commissions that regulate the media. Here we look at a few examples of how the members of those bodies are appointed.

• Denmark

The Scandinavian country is one of only a few democracies around the world to have a legislated — as opposed to voluntary — press council, which was established under the Danish Media Liability Act. The council is comprised of a chairman and a vice-chairman from the legal profession, appointed upon the recommendation of the president of the Danish Supreme Court, and six others, appointed by the Minister of Justice. Two members are recommended by the Danish Journalists' Union, two represent the editorial managements of the printed press and radio and television and two are appointed as public representatives upon recommendation by the Danish Council for Adult Education.

• Ireland

The press council in this European republic has statutory requirements under the Defamation Act 2009, which states that the body shall be "independent in the performance of its functions". The council has 13 directors, seven of them representing the public interest (including one as chairman), five representing the interests of owners and publishers of periodicals and one representing journalists. Under the law, the seven public interest directors must be of "standing in the community" and without any connection to the press. They are selected by a panel of people also independent from the press.

• Sweden

The self-disciplinary system of the Swedish press is not based on legislation. It is entirely voluntary and wholly financed by four press organisations, which are also responsible for drawing up a code of ethics. The press council is composed of a judge, who acts as chairman, one representative from each of the four press organisations and three representatives of the general public, who must not have any ties to the newspaper business or to the press organisations. Sweden also has a press ombudsman, who deals with complaints in the first instance. The ombudsman is appointed by a special committee consisting of the chief parliamentary ombudsman, the chairman of the Swedish bar association and the chairman of the national press club.

• UK

The British Press Complaints Commission is an independent body with 17 members, the majority of whom have no connection with the press. It receives no government funding and is free from statutory control. The independent chairman is appointed by the newspaper and magazine publishing industry. The public members and press members are appointed by an independent appointments commission. The public members must have no connection with the press and the press members must be experienced at a senior editorial level. The PCC's greatest sanction is to issue a critical adjudication against a newspaper or magazine.