AUSTRALIAN PRESS COUNCIL Annual Report No. 31 Year ending 30 June 2007 Suite 10.02, 117 York Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 Australia Telephone: (02) 9261 1930 or (1800) 025 712 Fax: (02) 9267 6826 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: http://www.presscouncil.org.au/ ISSN 0156-1308 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007 Contents Chairman’s Foreword ...........................................................................3 Free Speech Issues Report on free speech issues ................................................................ 6 Charter of a Free Press in Australia ................................................... 19 Adjudications and Complaints Adjudications Nos 1322 - 1361 ......................................................... 20 Adjudication publication details ........................................................ 41 Complaints/adjudications 1976-2007 ................................................ 42 Index to Adjudications ....................................................................... 43 Complaints/adjudication statistics 2006-2007 ................................... 43 Complaints not adjudicated ............................................................... 46 Changes in principles and procedures ............................................... 50 Statement of Principles ...................................................................... 52 Privacy Standards for the print media ............................................... 53 Complaints procedure ........................................................................ 55 Other Council activities Administration and activities ............................................................. 56 General Press Releases Nos 272 - 279.............................................. 62 Press Council Publications ................................................................ 68 The Council Changes on the Council ..................................................................... 69 Council members as at 30 June 2007 ................................................ 70 Code of Ethics for Council members ................................................ 72 Council Meetings 2006-2007 ............................................................ 72 Elected and appointed officers of the Council ................................... 72 Statement of Financial Position ......................................................... 73 Publishers’ Statistics ........................................................................... 74 Graphs ................................................................................................. 95 Annual Report 31 was edited by Jack R Herman 2 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council Ken McKinnon Chairman’s Foreword Chairman Fostering high journalistic standards The year in review has been notable for the commitment of members to the realisation of the Council’s mandate to sustain and foster the highest possible journalistic standards. Both public members and industry members insist upon newspapers ‘getting it right’ in terms of ‘accuracy, fairness and balance’. Public and industry members put aside prejudices and argue objectively and persuasively in support of fair complaint outcomes. It is a pleasure to chair these participatory debates, often vigorous, in which there is a common goal of discerning the right answer. The spirit of debate is best illustrated by the fact that in my time as Chairman there has Editors are never been a decision where public members or industry members have voted as a bloc always upset against the other. Rightly, adjudication of complaints involves fine judgments and careful and often interpretation. This year has illustrated the benefits of the Council, working essentially as a annoyed when jury of peers, reaching decisions that as far as a jury process can are scrupulously fair to complaints both complainant and newspaper. are upheld. It is clear that complainants feel strongly. Contrary to the uninformed, out-of touch claims They bruise in David Salter’s recent publication, The Media We Deserve, nobody should be under the easily. Their illusion that the upholding of a complaint against a newspaper can be shrugged aside. Editors professional are always upset and often annoyed when complaints are upheld. They bruise easily. Their judgment has professional judgment has been found wanting. Shame is a potent force. The common view been found in the industry is that, before a doubtful piece is included in a newspaper, care should be wanting. taken taken to ensure it meets both legal requirements and Press Council principles. Shame is a potent force. An adverse adjudication sometimes results in an editor so angry that s/he is unable to resist using space in the newspaper to fulminate, and question the wisdom of the Council. I am often asked about the propriety of a newspaper printing its self-justification alongside an adverse adjudication (which newspapers are obliged to publish prominently). The Council feels that there is no need to prohibit editors from appending such editorial comments. The Council does, however, think such responses are ill-advised; invariably, they reinforce the Council’s judgment of the complaint. The consequence of such a consistent and unwavering commitment to its principles, irrespective of whether Murdoch, Fairfax or any other newspapers are involved, is increasing evidence of respect for the Council. This includes an increase in the diversity of complaints, which in the last couple of years have included not only those relating to the concerns of individuals but also those made on behalf of hitherto unlikely sources, such as the judiciary (initiated by an Attorney General), governments and even the Governor-General. The beauty of the complaints mechanism lies in its non-legal, no-cost, fearless and prompt resolution processes. Challenges of the Internet and blogging The decision of the Council during the year that its remit should extend to Internet news sites using the same standards as have operated for a quarter of a century for newspapers (and recently for their websites) is in the early stages of implementation. Some non-newspaper news sites are already showing interest. The extension was really inescapable because most newspapers now have sites that may become the subject of complaints. Extension to all news sites willing to commit to the Council’s principles may complicate its operations and raise the stakes a little further, but it had to be done. A complication, for instance, arises from one feature of contributions to Internet sites is that the language ‘register’ used is often very informal and direct, sometimes to the point of 3 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007 Chairman’s being seen to be unacceptably rude, abusive or defamatory. Another complication is that Foreword electronic publication is essentially worldwide and access to electronically stored publication is without time limit. Newspapers have already succumbed to the necessity for some editorial scrutiny of their Internet sites, if only for self-protective reasons. The Council believes that its principles, which have so far proved so helpful in achieving a free and a responsible press, will serve equally well in this new arena. Election reporting In a federal parliament election year, the Council initiated a significant study of the characteristics of election coverage in Australian newspapers. The resultant research findings on possible print media bias have now been published in the 2007 Supplement to the State of the News Print Media in Australia (http://www.presscouncil.org.au/snpma/ index_snpma2007.html). For each of the 2006 Victorian (The Age) and Queensland (The Courier-Mail) elections, independent academic research found no evidence of bias. The reports include interesting commentary on the trend to presidential-style coverage, and the consequent framing of most commentary as part of a head-to-head race, but they did not find partisanship in the news pages. The reports do not cover opinion pages, where, as might be expected, partisanship can be found among particular pieces published. Some of it It will be is undoubtedly partisan, sometimes even virulent, but editorial policies almost always ensure essential that that, over time, there are opinion pieces favourable and unfavourable to the main parties and the Public policies. Right to Know initiate Overcoming restrictions on the free flow of information to the public several further steps, A constant pre-occupation of the Council has been to roll back what has become an increasing rolling up a array of restrictions on the free flow of information that the public has a right to know. coalition of Nearly every meeting over the last few years the Council has had to grapple with how to public respond to some new impediment or restriction. The Council therefore took great pleasure support and in being informed of the establishment during the year by the combined media (newspapers, forcefully television and radio) of the Public Right to Know campaign, with an independent audit lobbying headed by former NSW Ombudsman Irene Moss. A considerable proportion of the impetus responsible for establishment of the campaign has undoubtedly come from the Council’s sustained authorities to highlighting of these problems, some of them impinging on fundamental freedoms in a achieve quite sinister way, as reported in several of the Council’s recent Annual Reports. legislative Publication of Ms Moss’s report in the near future