ADJUDICATION NO. 561 the Press Council Has Upheld a Com Plaint
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10 AUSTRALIAN PRESS COUNCIL NEWS, AUGUST 1992 view". She also suggested that the report The editor of the Eastern Herald, Mr Nor ADJUDICATION NO. 561 appear on a back page, not on page one. mal North, later phoned and wrote to Mr The editors decided, however, that the Taylor, telling him that he would not pub The Press Council has upheld a com material should be published on the front lish the letter since it would serve only to plaint against the Sydney Morning Her page. perpetuate "the feud". The editor offered ald by Dr Rod Milton, about an article The Press Council agrees Dr Milton's re to consider for publication "a letter that published on 9 December 1991 under the marks were of clear public interest, but to was not solely devoted to denigrating the headline "Violent crime: the racial extract them from the context of a proposed campaign launched by the Preservation theory". feature story on the Strathfield Massacre Society; possibly an expression of pleas gave them an emphasis he had not intended. ure that the society was putting its weight The article reported speculation by Dr behind a campaign for a rail alternative Milton and the State Coroner, Mr K Waller, The Council believes that the Herald's treat you saw as an initiative of a study group that there might be a link between violent ment of Dr Milton in preparing the article of which the Friends were a part". crime and the cultural backgrounds of was unfair. The rail/freeway controversy was cov certain immigrant communities in Aus The paper recognised that his views were ered in a feature story in the Eastern Her tralia. A dissenting view by the Director "startling" (to use the journalist's expres ald last August, and shortly after a letter of the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics sion), and knew that their publication would from Mr Taylor was published pointing was also reported. occur outside the context in which they were out the Preservation Society's rejection of While Dr Milton does not deny having originally expressed. a place in the study group and its "cruel made the statements attributed to him - In fairness, the Herald should have informed hoax" comment. they were made during a long, tape-re Dr Milton in advance of its intentions, and The Press Council does not believe the corded interview with a reporter - there is given him an opportunity to confirm or November report was biased, but agrees disagreement between the parties as to qualify his earlier remarks in the light of the it could have been made more complete whether these particular comments were planned article. by reference to the RTA/Community on the record. Study. Dr Milton considered the article to be In the event, the paper might have done "sensational, inflammatory and divisive", more to encourage an objective letter from and found that "personally embarrassing ADJUDICATION NO. 562 the Friends of Wolli Creek, setting the and professionally detrimental material report in its wider context. was published in a selective and prejudi cial fashion". The Press Council has dismissed a com The Sydney Morning Herald rejects the plaint from the Friends of Wolli Creek complaint, taking the view that "news is against the Eastern Herald section of the news, no matter where you find it." Sydney Morning Herald. ADJUDICATION NO. 563 With regard to the preparation (as op The complaint alleged biased reporting on posed to the content), of the article, both the long-standing dispute over a rail or free The Australian Press Council has up parties agree that:- way link from central Sydney through Mas held in part a complaint against the cot airport to southern suburbs and 1. The extended interview during Whyalla News because of its treatment Campbelltown via the Wolli Creek Valley, which Dr Milton made his remarks of two deaths - the suicide of a young described as the last bushland in the Botany was originally granted as a contribu man and the murder of a young woman. tion to a major article on the Strathfield Bay area. A front page report in the 15 November Massacre. Publication of this article Complicating the issue is the evident rivalry 1991 edition included a large photograph was delayed by nearly two months, between the Friends of Wolli Creek and an of police standing next to the young man's but no attempt was made by the paper organisation known as the Wolli Creek Pres body, and an account of known facts, and to inform Dr Milton of the delay or the ervation Society. theories, surrounding both deaths. His reasons for it. The Eastern Herald published last Novem mother, Mrs Gillian Barratt, complained 2. An explicit undertaking was given ber a report which announced a campaign that she and her family were "very dis by the interviewer to contact Dr Milton by the Preservation Society to push for a rail tressed and upset with the picture and the before publication of any article, but link rather than freeways. story." this was not fulfilled. The Friends chairman, Colin Taylor, wrote The story also referred to the fact that he 3. The material published on 9 Decem to the Eastern Herald complaining basically had disappeared on the same night that ber was potentially controversial. The that the report did not acknowledge that a nurse Cheryl Allen was murdered. journalist reports that she "deliberately similar rail solution to the traffic problem raised with a number of senior col had already been suggested by a joint Roads While stating "police have not determined leagues, including the acting editor, on and Traffic Authority/Community study, whether Mr Stackhouse was involved in Sunday 8 December, the propriety of in which the Friends had taken part and the murder" the newspaper's report im publishing those comments as a stand which the Society had dismissed as a "cruel mediately went on to quote a police source alone report taken from a longer inter hoax". as saying forensic tests were still being AUSTRALIAN PRESS COUNCIL NEWS, AUGUST 1992 11 carried out "and it was hoped that the Rwandans (I'd probably draw the line at results would be 'positive' and that the Hungarians), the sale certainly throws new ADJUDICATION NO. 566 police could 'tie it all together'". light on Elders boss John Elliott, who prides himself as being a great Aussie patriot." While the newspaper is literally correct in The Australian Press Council has up arguing that "it never claimed of its own On 7 July 1991, Mr Mitchell quoted at length held a complaint against the Geelong accord that the two cases were connected", from a letter from Dr Derek Freeman to Advertiser by Ms Joan Creati over the the way the story was edited and the page Jewish constituents in Vaucluse which con use of material from a mail package ad cluded that the Liberal candidate in the elec dressed to her and given to the newspa presented, especially the quotations de per, after being found in a car park. scribing the police hopes of establishing a tions, Mr Michael Yabsley, was one of the connection, risked giving readers the im Jews' "rock solid and reliable friends" and In making its adjudication, the Press Coun noted that "Jews always need friends in the pression that a strong link was there and cil recognises that "leaks" - documents seats of power". about to be proved. and other information that reach newspa Mr Korda wrote to the Sun-Herald and cat pers through unauthorised or even illegal A more careful treatment of the two sto egorised the report as a type of gutter jour channels - can be a valuable and legiti ries, in which the local public were un nalism practised by the Nazis. The editor mate source of news. It is often only as a questionably interested, would have responded, saying that Dr Freeman's letter result of such material that newspapers achieved greater fairness and balance. To on Mr Yabsley's candidature was newswor are able to reveal facts that have unjustifi this extent the complaint is upheld. thy and served the interest of the democratic ably been kept secret and to expose wrong In reporting crimes and tragedies news process. doing and incompetence. papers must take great care not to give the The first comment was clearly intended to By its nature, however, such material con impression that mere suspicion of crimi be a joke. The Press Council does not agree fronts editors and reporters with serious nal guilt is more than just that. with the complainant that it was a deliberate ethical questions. Often the information The newspaper acknowledge receiving attempt to incite racial and ethnic dishar reaches them only because someone has numerous letters and phone calls com mony. stolen it or breached a confidence. This does not mean that newspapers must plaining about the coverage, and an equal The second comment is nothing more than never use such material; it does mean that number supporting it. Had the paper the report of an interesting aspect of an they need to be very sure that the public swiftly published a selection, or even one, election matter. benefit to be achieved through publica of the critical letters, some balance would The Press Council's consideration of the tion outweighs the harm of taking advan have been achieved. first complaint was delayed while the mat tage of somebody's misdemeanour or Although the complaint involved overall ter was considered by the Anti-Discrimina crime, even where the motives of the per coverage of the two stories, it centred on tion Board.