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

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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 will only be a first step. And will primarily, and no doubt, relate to potential government reform. It will be essential that the Public Right to administrative Know initiate several further steps, rolling up a coalition of public support and forcefully amendments lobbying responsible authorities to achieve legislative and administrative amendments and, and, especially, attitudinal changes. Many of the restrictions are unworthy of a democratic country. especially, The Council will continue to play as big a role as its limited resources allow. attitudinal changes. The courts and the media Equally the flow of information relating to courts and their functioning is in need of reform. Achieving an adequate flow of information the public has a right to know is a problem in every jurisdiction, federal, state and territory. The Council has noted increasing understanding by senior judges that something needs to be done better to achieve the ideal of justice being seen to be done as well as being done (about the latter they have no doubts). They realise that maintenance of confidence in the courts depends upon public understanding. In turn, public understanding depends upon people

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being informed (and educated) by newspapers and periodicals. Success in realising that Chairman’s goal cannot become solely the responsibility of the press. Foreword Understandably judges have to write judgments in the knowledge that the reasons for judgments must be explained and tabulated in case of appeals. Too often this means that barely decipherable legalese replaces plain English, with the consequence of no public report or an undesirable focus on celebrities, garish aspects or court foibles. There are, in fact, both systemic and individual problems. The systemic problem is that the courts have not yet adjusted to the electronic age, and the individual problem is that judges may be averse to public exposure, have too little understanding of media imperatives or have no sense of obligation to maintain public confidence through intelligible public reporting.

The systemic need is for an overhaul of the presumptions, practices and approaches of Registrars courts to facilitate media access to documents used by the courts, not some time next week and other but simultaneously with the court proceedings. Registrars and other court officials must court officials work within a strong presumption that they are obliged as a matter of normal practice to must work release court information. Adequate rules can easily be developed to preserve the within a confidentiality of closed court proceedings and to delay the release of information before an strong action is finished. It should not be possible for a single judge or official to hold back presumption information that might embarrass a colleague, as happepud in one jurisdiction recently. that they are Arguments that restrictions on access to the Internet by jurors are necessary to ensure fair obliged as a trials, or that remote in time press mentions constitute contempt by publication, fly in the matter of face of common-sense. The only available research evidence concludes that jury members normal are not influenced by such material. Court processes need to be modernised more boldly, if practice to they are not to fall into other unwanted error. It is surely time that all courts should employ release court a sufficiently well-trained person (as some do already) to liaise with the media and ensure information. access to information needed to report to the public in a timely way. It is surely time also that there should be active efforts to facilitate electronic access and transfer of transcript and other material, if only in the interests of accuracy in reporting. There can be no presumption that newly appointed judges come to the court fully equipped for the task. On the evidence, most need media training, so that what one or two brave trail- blazing judges already do, that is, use the media in the court and in other settings to explain courts and their proceedings, can become the norm. Judges need to be authoritative of course, but that does not mean authoritarian. More change in court processes and approaches is needed if the justice is to be seen to be done

Conclusion Notwithstanding the foregoing satisfactory report on the working of complaints processes, the Council will endeavour in the coming years to continue to strengthen and improve its robust complaint-handling processes. It, too, accepts that it has to acquire more skill in making its work better known. There are mixed prospects for a better flow of information. On the positive side, as well as the Public Right to Know campaign, Queensland and Victoria have both recently announced reviews of their Freedom of Information laws and administrative arrangements. On the doubtful side the Commonwealth just before the election announced a Law Reform Commission reference on FoI. Given its failure to do anything about a previous set of recommendations, scepticism is appropriate. The work remains very interesting and in many respects exciting. It is a worthy contribution. Professor Ken McKinnon October 2007

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Jack R Herman Report on free speech issues

Free Speech issues

Australia has no constitutional protection for freedom of communication, although both the ACT and Victoria have recently passed legislation guaranteeing human rights. In the absence of an over-riding guarantee, any action taken by government, the courts or corporations can result in excessive restrictions on the ability of the press freely to report matters of public interest and concern. There is some dispute among the international agencies as to whether the Australian situation is better or worse than in previous years. According to Freedom House, in its 2007 report, Australia is ranked 39th among the nations of the world in so far as press freedom is concerned (from 31 in 2006). Conversely, Reporters sans Frontieres (in its recently released 2007 list) ranks Australia in 28th place (up from 35, after a number of years in which its ranking has consistently fallen). The Press Council’s interest in free speech area arises from its Objects, which seek to promote freedom of speech through responsible and independent print media, and adherence to high journalistic and editorial standards by, among other things: • keeping under review, and where appropriate, challenging political, legislative, commercial or other developments which may adversely affect the dissemination of information of public interest, and may consequently threaten the public’s right to know; • making representations to governments, public inquiries and other forums as appropriate on matters concerning freedom of speech and access to information; and The Council has noted the • undertaking research and consultation on developments in public policy affecting increasing freedom of speech, and promoting public awareness of such issues. decline in the In the two most recent Annual Reports the Council published material about the current openness of state of play in relation to press freedom issues. In the 2006 State of the News Print Media information in Australia, and its 2007 Supplement, the Council has published detailed reports on the providers. issues impacting on freedom of communication. That material is available from the Council’s Whether it is website. through This report concentrates solely on the Council’s free speech activities in 2006-2007. legislation that restricts access to Come clean campaign material, the The Council has launched a ‘come clean’ campaign to encourage governments and other use of ‘spin’, leaks and holders of information to be more open with the public by providing the media with the media information they need to report on matters of public interest and concern. The Council has management noted the increasing decline in the openness of information providers. Whether it is through to release legislation that restricts access to material, the use of ‘spin’, leaks and media management only a part of to release only a part of the story, judicial actions that suppress material before courts, or the story ... close the courts, or the abuse of laws intended to make information available (such as the use of conclusive certificates stop material being available under Freedom of Information laws), there has been a marked diminution in the ability of the media accurately and fairly to report matters that are properly in the public interest. One step in this campaign was the publication of an opinion piece (A fight for freedom, written by Council Executive Secretary Jack Herman) in the Melbourne Herald Sun on 14 May. The article has been posted to the Council’s website. Another step was the co-hosting

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of a conference with the University of Melbourne Centre for Communications and Media Free speech issues Law. “Open Justice, the Courts and the Media” was to be held at Melbourne Law School on Come clean Gov’t suppression 27 July. One non-government aspect of the ‘come clean’ campaign will be support from the Council for media campaigns to ensure that the commercial interests of sporting bodies do not interfere with the ability of the media properly to report matters of public interest arising from sporting events. In this area, the Council has already expressed concern at the failure adequately to accredit on-line journalists and the granting of exclusive rights to cover a sport or exploit images from it. The Council is also concerned when sporting bodies use internal disciplinary procedures, including fines, to try and silence participants and coaches from expressing their views on developments within the game. In the light of its own ‘come clean’ campaign, the Council welcomed the launch of the Public Right to Know campaign by the proprietors of the print and electronic media. News Limited, Fairfax Media, the ABC, FreeTV Australia, Commercial Radio Australia, SBS, AAP and Sky News are among the campaign’s sponsors. The campaign has commissioned an audit of the current state of free speech in Australia and, on the basis of that report, will lobby governments and the judiciary, seeking a major reappraisal of laws and regulations that censor free speech and undermine the right of all Australians to get information that is relevant and important to their lives.

Government Suppression

Classification Material In Annual Report 30, the Council noted that the federal government had raised with the which states and territories proposal to ban certain books associated with terrorism. When the supports a other Attorneys did not support his proposal, AG Ruddock took up the issue of his own particular initiative. political or ideological In May 2007, the Council made a submission to the Attorney on his proposal to amend the point of view Classification Code to prohibit publication of material advocating terrorism. The Executive should be Summary of the submission read: acceptable The Press Council urges the Attorney-General to reconsider the introduction of the proposed provided it amendment to the classification scheme. However, if the government does proceed to introduce a does not ban on material which advocates terrorism, the Council is of the view that the following advocate recommendations should be implemented: violence. 1. The definition of “advocate” should be as narrow as possible in order to avoid the unnecessary and excessive restriction of material which merely comments upon or explains ideologically or politically motivated action. The definition employed should refer to material which overtly or explicitly urges violent action. At the very minimum, the reference to “indirectly” should be omitted from any definition. Material which supports a particular political or ideological point of view should be acceptable provided it does not advocate violence. 2. Any exemptions which aim to protect freedom of speech should be included in the legislation itself. It is not sufficient to place such exemptions in the explanatory memorandum. Such exemptions should include public interest, satirical, artistic, informative, and educational purposes. The complete submission has been posted to the Press Council website (http:// www.presscouncil.org.au/pcsite/fop/fop_subs/class.html). Mr Ruddock then introduced the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Amendment (Terrorist Material) Bill 2007, which expanded the grounds for refusal of classification to material that directly or indirectly counsels a terrorist act. At the end of the reporting year, the Council made a submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee Inquiry into the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Amendment (Terrorist Material) Bill 2007. The Council acknowledged that the Bill in the form in which it was introduced into Parliament has advanced some way towards addressing 7 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

Free speech issues the concerns raised in its earlier submission, particularly by the inclusion of exemptions and Gov’t suppression a form of public interest defence in the Bill. However, the Council did not believe that these changes went far enough to adequately protect freedom of speech. Its view remained that the definition of “advocate” used in the Bill was too broad. Two particular phrases needed to be removed from schedule 1 of the Bill. First, the phrase “or indirectly” should be removed from clauses 9A(2)(a) and 9A(2)(b). Secondly the phrase “or any mental impairment” should be removed from clause 9A(2)(c). The inclusion of these phrases has the potential to prevent the publication of material that provides information or commentary and that is appropriate subject matter for public discourse. The Council was also of the view that the wording of the exemption clause was unnecessarily restrictive in its reference to the sort of material that would be protected by the exemption and sought a widening of this definition. The full submission has been posted to the Council’s website (http://www.presscouncil.org.au/ The Attorney- pcsite/fop/fop_subs/sen_class.html). General said that the ALRC Sedition recommendations on sedition In Annual Report 30, the Council reported that the question of the sedition clauses in the would not be Anti-Terrorism Act, the Crimes Act and the Criminal Code had been referred to the ALRC, accepted. He which strongly supported proposals for the removal of the sedition sections from the Anti- considered Terrorism Act and changes to the Crimes Act provisions to ensure a crime would only be the urging of committed if it could be proved that any words used were actually intended to provoke the use of violence. The Attorney-General said that the ALRC recommendations on sedition would violence in its not be accepted. He considered the urging of the use of violence in its own right to be own right to dangerous and that it should be a separate offence. The Attorney-General also said that be dangerous other key ALRC criticisms of the legislation would be considered in due course by the and that it Government. The Council awaits his further advice. should be a separate offence. Security and counter-terrorism In Annual Report 30, there was reference to the Sheller Committee review of federal security and counter-terrorism legislation. The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security reviewed the Sheller Report. Sheller had drawn attention to section 102.7 of the Criminal Code, which criminalises support for terrorist organisations. The Joint Committee recommended that the wording of the offence of providing support to a terrorist organisation should be changed to “providing material support” to ensure that there would be no ambiguity as to its meaning. The government did not act on that recommendation.

Content services The Council discussed the Communications Legislation Amendment (Content Services) Bill 2007, which aimed to regulate the publication of offensive content on the Internet. It noted that the news and current affairs exemption in the Bill should prevent the proposed legislation having any effect on the press. The Council decided to monitor the Bill’s progress but took no further action.

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Freedom of Information Free speech issues FoI McKinnon’s case Ownership On 6 September 2006, the Press Council issued a press release (GPR 272 on page 62) expressing its dismay at the High Court’s 3-2 decision to dismiss the appeal from Michael McKinnon, then FoI Editor of The Australian, against the Treasurer’s refusal to grant access to information on the first home buyer’s scheme and the impact on taxpayers of bracket creep. The Council participated in the case, having lodged an amicus curiae brief in support of the case for better access under Freedom of Information (FoI). In the Council’s view, the decision indicates that FoI law, as well as FoI practice, needs urgent reform. As a first step in a process towards achieving those ends, the Council published, in the May APC News, several articles on the way ahead from McKinnon, including analyses of the decision by the Council’s Vice Chairman, Professor HP Lee, and its Policy Officer, Inez Ryan, as well as articles by noted FoI experts Moira Paterson and Rick Snell.

Other FoI issues [T]he Free Throughout the year the Council discussed cases that reinforced the need for review of FoI Flow of law and practice. In particular, it noted the initial failure of authorities to release the names Information of Sydney restaurants that had breached health regulations, and at the Minister for the Act 2007, Environment’s refusal to release the papers that informed the federal government’s $10 currently billion Murray-Darling Rivers proposal. The Victorian Ombudsman’s July 2006 report was before the US a further indication that the problems are not confined to the federal government. Events at Congress, Macquarie University, involving a squabble between the present and the immediate past indicates that Vice Chancellors showed that public institutions learn quickly from government: after the in comparable responsible FoI official released information on the matter, the university decided that democracies authority for the release of material should be held by a more senior official. there is a stronger In contrast, the Free Flow of Information Act 2007, currently before the US Congress, commitment indicates that in comparable democracies there is a stronger commitment to making all to making all relevant information available to the public. relevant information Media Ownership available to the public. The decision by the federal Minister for Communications to proceed with alterations to the cross-media prompted the Council’s Chairman and the Executive Secretary meet with Helen Coonan to discuss the issues. In September 2006, the Minister tabled legislation to effect the government’s proposed changes. These Bills were referred to the Senate Committee for Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts for inquiry. Despite the limited time frame between tabling of the Bills and the committee’s two-days of hearings, the Council made a submission on the Broadcasting Service Amendment (Media Ownership) Bill 2006 and related bills. Its Executive Summary read: The Australian Press Council accepts the need for the government to change limitations on cross- media ownership. It believes that any such changes need to ensure that there remains a diversity of Australian voices in the media, that the rules governing mergers and acquisitions within the media sector be fair and that Australian newspapers remain independent of government regulation or control. The Council doubts that the proposed changes will achieve these objectives. It sees a real possibility that the changes will result in a serious reduction in the diversity of viewpoints and voices in Australian media. Worse, it fears that the changes will lead to the capacity for government interference in the traditional freedom of Australian newspapers. The granting of regulatory powers over the print media to the Australian Communications and Media Authority, a government-appointed body, is a dangerous step and could lead to further government intrusion into a free and unlicensed press, to the detriment of the people’s right to be informed on matters of public interest and concern.

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Free speech issues The complete submission has been posted to the Council’s website (http:// Ownership www.presscouncil.org.au/pcsite/fop/fop_subs/bsa06.html). The Council was invited to give Defamation oral evidence to the committee at its hearings but, due to previous commitments, the Council’s Chairman was unable to attend on either day. The Senate made some changes to the legislation, which will have the effect of further limiting the capacity for cross-media ownership, by restricting control to only two out of three platforms (print, free-to-air-television and radio) in any market. But the Bills retain requirement for newspapers to register cross-media interests with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and mandate disclosures of conflicts of cross-media interests in newspapers, with ACMA responsible for enforcement of these provisions. While the Bills were before Parliament, the Council’s Chairman and Executive Secretary met with Senator Coonan to discuss the proposals. One aspect that was covered was the Minister’s apparent commitment to continuing self-regulation of the press, and her assurance that she saw no regulatory role for ACMA in regard to the print media. The Council discussed the legislation as passed by the Parliament and agreed that it should await the introduction of the new regulations on registration and on declarations of conflict [InJameel], of interest and see how they pan out in reality before expressing any views on the possibility the House of that they could lead to a form of de facto government regulation of newspapers. Lords has indicated that the emphasis Defamation should be on The Council has kept an eye on developments in defamation since the commencement of the the uniform Defamation Acts. Most of the cases before the courts in the reporting year were professional initiated before the introduction of the revised and harmonised defamation laws. The number judgment of of new defamation actions has apparently decreased significantly since the commencement editors and of the harmonised Defamation Acts. The Herald and Weekly Times has received NO writs journalists, in relation to material published after commencement of the uniform legislation, but has suggesting received three notices of concern, which were settled. Fairfax Media has received one writ that, where in the 18 months to July 2007 against its Melbourne masthead, The Age, and six statements there is a of claim, five relating to material published after the commencement of the uniform public interest in the defamation legislation, against its Sydney newspapers, The Sydney Morning Herald and publication of The Sun Herald. a news story, Perhaps the most notable defamation matter in 2006-2007 was the High Court’s decision on a publisher aspects of John Fairfax Publications Pty Ltd v Gacic. The High Court ruled that the NSW establishing Court of Appeal has the right to substitute its own decision for that of the jury if it finds the an absence of jury’s decision to have been unreasonable. The High Court also found that the appropriate carelessness standards to apply in cases of “business defamation” are different from the community would standards that apply in other defamation matters. The NSW Supreme Court has yet to hear establish the newspaper’s defences so the Gacic case has not yet been finally determined. A case note qualified on the Gacic case was to be published in the August 2007 APC News. privilege. The case of Obeid v John Fairfax Publications Pty Limited, again under the old laws, highlighted an aspect of defamation law that has concerned legal professionals who act for media defendants. While the Reynolds principles laid down by the House of Lords were intended as a guide to whether a defendant had acted reasonably, the courts appear in many instances to be treating the Reynolds principles as “hurdles” that media defendants must overcome. By contrast, in the UK case of Jameel & Ors v Wall Street Journal Europe Sprl, the House of Lords has more recently indicated that the emphasis should be on the professional judgment of editors and journalists, suggesting that, where there is a public interest in the publication of a news story, a publisher establishing an absence of carelessness would establish qualified privilege.

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The Council noted some recent attempts to get around new defamation laws by using other Free speech issues causes of action. Alan Bond, for example, launched an action that claimed that a newspaper Defamation Privacy article written by Paul Barry was misleading and deceptive and therefore in breach of the Trade Practices Act. The court rejected that contention and dismissed the matter.

Posted defamatory material The US case, Barrett v Rosenthal, which dealt with aspects of defamation via the Internet, interested the Council and led it to make submissions to the federal, state and territory governments seeking changes to the way in which laws deal with potentially defamatory or offensive material posted by users to website discussion forums. The Council is seeking changes to the Commonwealth Broadcasting Services Act and to the state and territory Defamation Acts. The Executive Summary of the submission to the federal government read: A healthy The Australian Press Council brings to the attention of the Commonwealth government the problem of defamatory or offensive material being posted by users to website forum discussions and the democracy associated exposure of publishers to the risk of liability. thrives on A healthy democracy thrives on free discussion and debate involving as wide a range of people as free possible. The evolution of the Internet has facilitated a dramatic growth in the number and range of discussion people who are able to participate in open debate on a range of issues. The development of the and debate online forum, often in conjunction with a weblog, is of particular significance in this flourishing of involving as public debate. The online forum has transformed the consumption of media content from a passive wide a range activity to a vibrant exchange of views analogous to the vigorous debates that once took place upon soapboxes in public squares, in London’s Hyde Park or in Sydney’s Domain. of people as possible. The But this rejuvenation in public debate brings with it problems and risks. By facilitating the publication of user comments upon their websites, publishers expose themselves to liability for any defamatory evolution of or offensive content included in those comments. the Internet The Press Council urges the Australian government to reform the Broadcasting Services Act in has facilitated order to ensure that publishers are not exposed to excessive risk in relation to material that they a dramatic have not authored. growth in the The submissions to the state and territory governments were in similar terms, with the final number and paragraph of the Executive Summary reading: range of people who The Press Council urges governments to reform the Defamation Act in order to ensure that publishers are not exposed to excessive risk in relation to material that they have not authored. Such reform are able to could also ensure that publishers deal appropriately with defamatory posts when they are aware of participate in them. open debate The complete submissions have been posted to the Press Council website (http:// on a range of www.presscouncil.org.au/pcsite/fop/fop_subs/bsa_defam.html and http:// issues. www.presscouncil.org.au/pcsite/fop/fop_subs/in_dissem.html, respectively).

Privacy In Australia, there is a federal Privacy Law, which largely deals with protection of the confidentiality of information on individuals held by government and by the private sector. There are also a myriad of federal, state and territory laws that regulate privacy protection, in areas such as telecommunications, surveillance, listening devices, health records, data matching, trespass, matters affecting children, adoption, sexual offences, juries, prisoners, security, and family law. But there is no common law or statutory cause of action for breach of privacy. Throughout the year there has been judicial, legal and political activity in the area of privacy, apparently moving towards the development of such a cause of action. Three separate Law Reform Commissions (Australia, NSW and Victoria) are conducting inquiries into aspects of privacy and two have foreshadowed proposing a cause of action for breach of privacy.

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Free speech issues ALRC inquiry Privacy In January 2006, the federal Attorney-General commissioned the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) to review the Privacy Act, with a reporting date of March 2008. The ALRC inquiry is the third such inquiry in recent times. In 2005 both the Privacy Commissioner and a Senate Committee conducted inquiries into the Act. The Council’s submissions to those inquiries were reported in Annual Report 29. The outcomes of those reviews and the Council’s subsequent submission to the Attorney-General, especially related to the media exemption in the Act, were also reported in Annual Report No 29. The commission conducted a preliminary community consultation, including a “national phone-in” in early June 2006. The phone-in demonstrated that telemarketing and information privacy are the top community concerns. Three out of four callers nominated unsolicited telemarketing as their number one privacy complaint. About 1,300 people took part over the two days. In addition to their concerns with intrusive calls from telemarketers, a large number of callers also raised concerns about how private sector organisations and government agencies stored and shared their personal information. Other major privacy concerns included the security of personal information provided over the Internet, access to electronic health records and surveillance in public places and at work. In its preliminary phase the inquiry developed an Issues Paper for circulation in September 2006. After further consultations it wrote a Discussion Paper that was released in September The judicial 2007, inviting final submissions. system seems On 8 August 2006 the Australian Press Council sent a preliminary submission to the ALRC either for consideration in developing the Issues Paper. The Executive Summary of the submission unaware of, or read: uncaring for, the The Australian Press Council argues that questions of privacy require acknowledgement of the balance between private rights and the public’s right to know and that any developments must importance of stress the public interest as an appropriate criterion. As the body which administers the Privacy press freedom Standards for the Print Media under the media exemption in the Privacy Act 1988, the Council and how it submits that the media exemption inserted into the Act is working well, that the Council’s experience contributes to indicates that an appropriate balance between the flow of information on matters of public concern and individuals’ rights to privacy in their private affairs has been struck. The Council also appends a a system of brief summary of the privacy matters with which it has dealt since the introduction of the media transparent exemption. justice. The The full submission has been posted to the Council’s website (http://www.presscouncil.org.au/ possibility pcsite/fop/fop_subs/alrc_priv.html). exists that any expansion In January 2007, the Council made a submission to the ALRC’s Issues Paper 31, Review of of individual Privacy. The Council congratulated the ALRC on the scope and detail of its review of privacy privacy rights and of the Privacy Act. In its submission on the Issues Paper, the Council addressed two will not take issues only: into account • the threshold issue of whether there is a need for a judicial or legislative recognition the balance of a cause of action for breach of privacy and question ... • with respect to the Privacy Act, whether the extant media exemption should be retained and, if it is retained, whether it requires amendment or additional definitions inserted into the Act. On the first aspect, the Council noted: Governments and the courts, acting separately, are moving towards the development of further privacy law, through a putative tort of privacy that is legislated or developed through case law. The judicial system seems either unaware of, or uncaring for, the importance of press freedom and how it contributes to a system of transparent justice. The possibility exists that any expansion of individual privacy rights will not take into account the balance question noted above. The difficulty of leaning heavily towards more privacy protection (at the expense of public rights to information) is that it seems impossible to avoid reinforcement of trends towards more secrecy on matters where public debate is essential for the proper functioning of a liberal democracy. The danger exists that any putative cause of action for breach of privacy will be just another weapon in the arsenal of those in society who would seek to deflect public scrutiny of their possible malfeasance or non-feasance.

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The High Court (in Lenah Game Meats) recognised the necessity of public interest defences in Free speech issues cases alleging a breach of privacy. In the development of any proposals towards a putative cause of Privacy action for preach of privacy, the Commission needs to place a stress on the public interest as an appropriate criterion to be used to determine the balance between privacy rights for individuals and the public’s right to the free flow of information on matters of public concern. Addressing the question of the media exemption in the Privacy Act, the Council noted that, in its June 2005 review, The Real Big Brother, the Senate Legal and Constitutional References Committee makes no recommendation for change, even though it recommends the removal of another exemption. The Council submitted that the current exemption, and the Press Council’s administration of it for the print media, strikes an appropriate balance between the availability of information to the public and the protection of individual’s privacy. The Council’s Executive Secretary took part in an ALRC roundtable with representatives of a range of media groups after the close of submissions on the Issues Paper. [T]he current exemption, and the Press NSW and Victorian LRC inquiries Council’s Despite the fact that there is existing federal privacy legislation, and an on-going review of administration that legislation due for report in 2008, and the fact that there are close to a 100 pieces of of it for the legislation in the states and territories that protect aspects of personal privacy, two state- print media, based Law Reform Commissions have initiated inquiries into questions of personal privacy: strikes an appropriate The Vice Chairman and the Executive Secretary attended a consultation in June with the Victorian Law Reform Commission on the question of surveillance in public places. The balance VLRC’s consultations are to be completed by July, and then it will release an issues paper. between the availability of The NSW Law Reform Commission has been asked to look at three issues: how best to information to develop a consistent national privacy regime; how best to harmonise the various laws that form the existing privacy protections in NSW; and whether there is a need for a statutory tort the public and of privacy in NSW. The LRC has issued a Consultation Paper that concentrates largely on the the protection third term of reference – one already being addressed by the ALRC in its review. The Council of individual’s is developing a response to the Paper to be submitted by mid-September 2007. privacy.

Guardianship The Queensland Law Reform Commission (QLRC) issued a discussion paper, Confidentiality in the Guardianship System: Public Justice, Private Lives, on proposed reforms to the Guardianship and Administration Act 2000 (Qld). The reforms relate to the legislation’s confidentiality provisions. The Council’s Policy Officer, Inez Ryan, drafted a submission arguing that section 112(3) of the Act, which prohibits the publication of information concerning proceedings of the Guardianship Tribunal, should be either repealed or amended to allow the publication of information concerning proceedings unless the tribunal issues a suppression order. A further issue for consideration was whether newspapers should be able to publish identifying information or only “de-identified” information. At the end of October, the Press Council made a submission to QLRC, the Executive Summary of which read: It is critical to the efficient functioning of our legal system that an appropriate balance be struck between the principle of open justice and the need to protect the confidentiality of parties. It is the contention of the Australian Press Council that Queensland’s Guardianship and Administration Act 2000 fails to achieve such a balance. While the Press Council recognizes the need to protect certain vulnerable individuals who fall within the guardianship jurisdiction, the use of mechanisms such as suppression orders and closed hearings should be minimised. The prohibition in the Act against the publication of information about tribunal proceedings should be removed and disclosure of information should be permitted unless confidentiality is absolutely necessary to protect the welfare of parties, witnesses and other individuals involved in tribunal proceedings. The complete submission has been posted to the Council’s website (http:// www.presscouncil.org.au/pcsite/fop/fop_subs/guardian.html).

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Free speech issues Other privacy issues Privacy Sources In late July 2006 the Victorian Attorney-General said that SCAG would be looking at the issue of unauthorised photos, particularly those involving ‘upskirting’ and ‘downblousing’, and that new national laws would be the result. The Council still awaits the drafting of such legislation. The case of Doe v ABC, which concerned the identification of a victim of sexual assault, was another step along the path towards a judicially developed cause of action for breach of privacy. Like Grosse v Purvis, it involved a lower court and has little precedential value. What made the case a matter of concern for the Council, and a potential threat to press freedom, is that one of the causes of action cited and accepted by the court was for breach of the plaintiff’s privacy. This was in spite of the availability of a cause of action for breach of statutory duty. A case note on the matter was published in the May 2007 APC News. According to press reports, the NSW Attorney-General has rejected the NSW LRC on its [T]he recommendations on reform of surveillance devices legislation, reforms that would have conviction of had a major impact on the ability of the press to use images, even when taken in public journalists places. The Council’s submissions to the LRC had been discussed in Annual Report 27. protecting their sources Protection of confidential sources illustrates the failure of The Council has been lobbying the state, territory and federal Attorneys-General to ensure governments that there is a more workable protection for journalists who want to protect thenidentities of to make their confidential sources. The most recent impetus for this was the conviction and sentencing themselves of Gerard McManus and Michael Harvey, two Herald Sun journalists called to give evidence properly in the preliminary stages of the prosecution of a public official who was alleged to be their accountable source. to the electorate. Through the McManus and Harvey suppression On 25 June 2007, the day that two journalists were sentenced for their refusal to disclose of information the confidential sources for a story, the Press Council issued a statement arguing that the and the conviction, and sentencing, of journalists protecting their sources illustrates the failure of rorting of governments to make themselves properly accountable to the electorate. Through the freedom of suppression of information and the rorting of freedom of information law, material directly information related to government performance is not available through the press. The Australian Press law, material Council challenged all governments to come clean and ensure relevant details are available directly to the public. General Press Release 279 is published in this report on page 67. related to government performance Uniform Evidence Acts is not The Council wrote to federal Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, on 28 March 2007: available Last year, when Michael Harvey and Gerard McManus were before a court in Victoria, you said that through the the ability of journalists to protect their confidential sources should be better protected. press. Also last year, the Australian Law Reform Commission, in a joint report with its Victorian and NSW analogues, recommended that all Australian jurisdictions move towards a stronger protection of journalists’ sources. That recommendation was endorsed by Standing Committee of Attorneys- General (SCAG) and matching legislation promised. As you have noted, the states and territories have been slow to move on the SCAG agreement. But so has the Commonwealth. Now is the time for the federal government to show some leadership on this issue. The Press Council calls on you to set the standard by introducing legislation that would enshrine in Commonwealth legislation a strong protection of journalists’ right to protect confidential sources in all but the most extreme cases.

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I note the comments made by Solicitor-General David Bennett at a recent hearing of the Harvey- Free speech issues McManus case. He said on 12 February that the Commonwealth would be introducing legislation to Sources protect journalists placed in a position similar to Harvey and McManus. The Council would urge you to do so now, but to use the draft New Zealand Evidence Bill (rather than the current NSW law) as your model. The New Zealand law shifts the onus to a default position that recognises the journalists’ ethical position requiring protection of confidential sources unless there are strong public interest reasons for the source to be revealed. In addition to introducing legislation to protect the confidentiality of journalists’ sources, the Council would encourage you to expand the defences available to public interest whistle-blowers under federal law. The conviction this week of Allan Kessing for release of information that in fact led to a major overhaul of airport security, and the judge’s directions that the jury could not take into account the defence’s public interest argument, indicates that reform of the federal law governing whistle- blowing is required as a matter of urgency. New Zealand You demonstrated an ability to lead your colleagues in the states and territories when you introduced and the USA draft federal defamation legislation, encouraging the Attorneys-General to introduce their own uniform ... have in fact laws. A similar action by the federal Attorney on the question of confidential sources could break the come up with log-jam and ensure that the ALRC recommendation and the SCAG agreement are enacted. workable The federal Attorney advised the Council that legislation would be introduced in the Budget solutions to session of Parliament and would be based on the existing NSW legislation, not the stronger the difficult New Zealand proposal. The federal Attorney also said that he was seeking to press his state task of and territory counterparts to enact similar provisions. The Western Australian Attorney- isolating General suggested that his decision as to whether to introduce such legislation would be those few conditional on West Australian Newspapers replacing the editor of its daily newspaper. extreme Subsequently, the Council, which remains convinced that the NSW model is not sufficiently occasions strong to protect journalists, again wrote to all Attorneys drawing their attention to better that should models, more likely to protect journalists from being forced to choose between jail and the require revelation of a confidential source, in legislation from comparable democracies. The US journalists’ House of Representatives is currently dealing with a proposed new law, the Free Flow of sources to be Information Act, which is discussed by Bree Nordenson in the Columbia Journalism Review identified in May/June 2007. The New Zealand Parliament passed a new Evidence Act that, in Section court. They 64, made protection of sources the default position from which courts can only move, in the have done so interests of justice, in the most extreme circumstances. while establishing a New Zealand and the USA feel the need to protect journalists from having to reveal default confidential sources in most circumstances important enough to develop better laws. They position that have in fact come up with workable solutions to the difficult task of isolating those few courts should extreme occasions that should require journalists’ sources to be identified in court. They not allow have done so while establishing a default position that courts should not allow legal fishing legal fishing expeditions just because particular authorities are miffed that news the public has a right to expeditions know has been reported. While the language of either proposal may not be the same as an Australian law would use, the Council believes that the US and New Zealand legislation both provide sound bases for a putative Australian shield law. The Council has asked the Attorneys-General to revise the proposed uniform national shield proposals so that they would in fact protect journalists and keep them out of jail. The federal Attorney indeed introduced reforms to the Evidence Act to give courts discretion to excuse journalists from being required to identify their sources. The federal reform as enacted generally copies the NSW Act, which the Council sees as inadequate and no real protection for journalists or their sources. Geoffrey Robertson QC has described the provision as a “snare” for journalists and their legal representatives. The states and territories are still discussing the form any uniform reform of their Evidence Acts will take but appear set to use the NSW Act as their model.

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Free speech issues Public-interest Whistleblowing Whistleblowers Courts The role of whistleblowers in maintaining government accountability has become a significant Constitution issue in recent years. The basic problem of the vulnerability of government employees who disclose malfeasance or mismanagement will remain until there is statutory protection for genuine public-interest whistleblowers who go the media after official channels have let them down. The cases of Alan Kessing (who was convicted after a report he wrote on inadequacies in Customs at Sydney Airport was leaked) and Desmond Kelly (the official at the centre of the Harvey and McManus case who was exonerated on appeal) demonstrate the federal government’s ruthless attitude to unendorsed leakers. Figures revealed in the Australian Parliament indicate that, in a four-year period, the Australian Federal Police spent over 2100 hours and $2 million trying to track down whistleblowers within the federal public service.

Judicial Suppression In Annual Report 30, the Council noted the rejection by the Conference of Chief Justices of News Limited its proposal for a uniform method of reporting suppression orders. Despite the assertion by had 887 Chief Justice Gleeson in his correspondence with the Council that the majority of suppression matters on its orders are mandated by law, the Council continues to note the use of suppression orders by database of judges in most jurisdictions. By the end of the reporting year, News Limited had 887 matters suppression on its database of suppression orders (those were the ones of which its employees were orders (those aware and which they had reported to the database manager) and over 200 new orders had were the ones been entered in 2007 alone. of which its employees The Council noted that the legislation foreshadowed by SA Attorney-General Michael were aware Atkinson before the most recent South Australian election had been passed in mid-2006. and which The new laws were intended to make it tougher for judges to issue suppression orders. The they had impact on the number of such orders in the “suppression state” is still being assessed. reported to Towards the end of the reporting year, the federal Attorney-Generals’ department sought the database advice from the Council whether there was inadvertent non-compliance with suppression manager) and orders by the media due to a lack of knowledge of their existence. The department is over 200 new investigating the possibility of a national register of suppression orders, something very orders had close to the Council’s original proposal to the chief justices. The Council’s response and any been entered action by the department will be discussed in Annual Report 32. in 2007 alone

Access to courts and documents In Annual Report 30, it was reported that two submissions have been made on the issue of media access to court documents: one submission to the Victorian County Court and another to the NSW Attorney-General. The Council has heard nothing further on either review.

Constitutional Law Unlike in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and in many other democratic countries, there is no national Bill of Rights in Australia, nor any constitutional guarantee of freedoms in the federal or state constitutions or in any over-riding law. The Australian Capital Territory enacted the nation’s first Bill of Rights in the form of the Human Rights Act 2004. During the year, Victoria passed into law the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Bill. Both were base don the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. There has been no equivalent action by other states or territories, nor by the federal government.

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The Council, which strongly supports the enactment of a Bill of Rights either into the Free speech issues Constitution, or failing that into federal law, decided that, in the period leading up to the Sports 2007 federal election, it would seek the advice of the major parties as to whether they would commit to the introduction of such legislation.

Sports accreditation Attempts by sporting bodies to restrict access of some journalists, particularly on-line journalists, to sporting events and to restrict the availability of footage that can be broadcast The Council ... on news websites has been of growing concern to the media. This led to an effort by strongly media organisations to gain open access for journalists seeking to attend press conferences supports a and other public events attached to sports events and not covered by exclusive rights free and a agreements. responsible In late 2006, Cricket Australia threatened to exclude print journalists if their organisations press. This did not agree to restrict their use of on-line material to 30 seconds of footage to be shown implies the no earlier than one hour after play. Additionally organisations were to be allowed to post free access of only 12 photos, to be updated daily. The restrictions on on-line journalists’ attendance at all journalists press conferences remained as well. These issues were resolved eventually by negotiation to the and compromise agreements reached. reporting of news, Similarly a compromise was eventually found in the dispute between News Limited, whether it be Telstra and the Rugby League over the use of video footage from NRL games on news political, websites. economic or There have also been on-going concerns with the granting of exclusive rights to photograph sports. AFL fixtures (particularly impacting on overseas news organisations) and possible future attempts in the future to limit the number of photographers who have AFL access. The Council took up this issue with the AFL: I am writing on behalf of the Australian Press Council to express its concerns with proposed restrictions on the reporting of news events by sports bodies, including the Australian Football league The Council, which is the self-regulatory body of the print media, with representatives of publishers, journalists and members of the public, strongly supports a free and a responsible press. This implies the free access of all journalists to the reporting of news, whether it be political, economic or sports. This means the right of access of journalists, including photo-journalists to events and to news conferences preceding and following events. Sports events are undoubtedly legitimate news events. The AFL’s decision to licence AFL Photos as the exclusive provider of images from its games threatens the ability of the press freely to report news. While most large outlets will be able to have their own photo-journalists present to record events, many smaller outlets, particularly country newspapers, rely on agencies to provide them with images for use in the mastheads. Any exclusive agreement, such as yours with AFL Photos, gives rise to a concern that the sporting body will restrict distribution of images that it finds distasteful or which it sees as threatening to undermine the ‘standing’ of the game. Newspapers want to report all of the news. The Council understands the desire of sporting bodies to maximise monetary returns from their events but rejects any attempt to turn news events into marketable commodities. In large part, the value of your brand has been built on the back of the reporting of your events in the free media, print and electronic. Without the continued reporting of AFL games as news, the value of your brand, and your ability to commercialise the sport, would be lessened. The Council’s general and strong policy is that there must be minimum interference with the collection and reporting of news, in words and images, whatever the form that news takes. Journalists should be allowed to do their job, no matter what medium they report in, or what form that reporting takes. The Council calls upon your organisation to ensure that all outlets seeking access to AFL games to report them as news be assured of such access. Most recently a coalition of international news organisations has been in negotiation with the International Rugby Board over coverage of the 2007 world cup. These

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Free speech issues negotiations have led to concessions while there remain limits on the number of images that Sports can be used from any game. International The reason for the media’s actions in this area were summarised in a December 2006 press release (GPR 276 on page 65) from Press Council Chairman, Professor Ken McKinnon. He said, “The Press Council regards reporting of sports events as legitimate news. It is alarmed that sports organisations, both locally and internationally, are attempting to limit coverage of events, and of press conferences, as part of agreements with broadcast (and on-line) partners. “Our general and strong position is that there should be minimum interference with the collection and reporting of news, in words and images, whatever the form that news takes. ... The Council’s “Journalists should be allowed to do their job, no matter what medium they report in.” press release condemned International the military’s restriction on In December, the Australian Press Council condemned the actions of the military in Fiji in the people’s targetting the free media. The Council’s press release (GPR 275 on page 64) condemned the access to military’s restriction on the people’s access to information of public interest and concern information of were reprehensible, especially the visits to newspapers and broadcasters in an attempt to public censor their news coverage. interest and It endorsed the statements of Daryl Tarte, the Chairman of the Fiji Media Council, who has concern were said: “The media organisations of Fiji ... will, at all times, continue to champion the ideals reprehensible, of freedom of the media enshrined in the Fiji Constitution Bill of Rights.” especially the The Australian Press Council particularly supported the actions of The Fiji Times, its managing visits to director Tony Yianni and editor Samisoni Kakaivalu, in suspending publication after the newspapers military ordered the paper not to publish any “propaganda” against the new political and leadership; and the actions of The Fiji Daily Post and its editor in chief Robert Wolfgramm broadcasters in suspending publication after being warned by the military not to continue supporting in an attempt Prime Minister Qarase. to censor their news Chris McLeod, an industry member of the Council, went to Fiji to speak at World Press coverage Freedom Day events in May 2007. There was considerable coverage of the visit and other activities, both in the print and electronic media. Mr McLeod had four meetings with various media people, including the Fiji Media Council and employees at the Fiji Times, did an interview with a journalist and gave the keynote speech. The speech turned out to be a big occasion: there was seating for 100 people but 250 turned up. The people at the forum would have gained a clear understanding from all the speakers that journalists operate in Fiji at present under pretty trying circumstances.

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Charter of a free press in Australia

Preamble Freedom of opinion and expression is an inalienable right of a free people. Australia is committed to The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 19 of the Declaration provides: Everyone has the right of freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. Laws, regulations In a truly democratic society open debate, discussion, criticism and dissent are central to the and practices process of generating informed and considered choices. These processes are crucial to the which in any formation of values and priorities and help in assessing and finding solutions to social, way restrict economic and political problems. or inhibit the A free press means a free people and the people of Australia have a right to freedom of right of the information and access to differing views and opinions and declare that the following press freely principles are basic to an unfettered flow of news and information both within Australia and to gather and across the nation’s borders. distribute news, views The Principles and information 1. Freedom of the press means the right of the people to be informed by the press on are matters of public interest so that they may exercise their rights and duties as citizens. unacceptable 2. The press shall not be subject to government licence and government authorities ... should not interfere with the content of news nor restrict access to any news source. 3. The press has a responsibility to the public to commit itself to self-regulation which provides a mechanism for dealing with the concerns of members of the public and the maintenance of the ethical standards and journalistic professionalism of the press. 4. It is in the public interest for the press to make available to the people a wide diversity of views and opinions. 5. It is the responsibility of the press to protect the people’s right to know and to contest encroachments upon that right by governments, groups or individuals. 6. Laws, regulations and practices which in any way restrict or inhibit the right of the press freely to gather and distribute news, views and information are unacceptable unless it can be shown that the public interest is better served by such laws, regulations or practices than the public interest in the people’s right to know.

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Adjudications Intro 1322 Adjudications 1323 There were 40 adjudications issued by the Council in the year ended 30 June 2007. There continues to be use of the Council’s conciliation techniques to settle matters and a willingness in publications to find amicable settlements of complaints. On page 42 is a table showing a year-by-year comparison of complaints received, matters mediated or withdrawn (i.e. complaints settled amicably) and complaints adjudicated. The table indicates that there has been a trend away from referring matters for adjudication. One reason for this is the availability in recent years of an option of face-to-face mediation conducted by a member of the Council or of the Secretariat. Whatever the cause, fewer than 20 per cent of complainants now seek an adjudication. Below is a reprinting of all the adjudications issued during the year. Following a reprinting of all adjudications issued during the reporting year, this report carries a summary of the publication details of all adjudications, as well as an index of adjudications, sorted by the ethical issues involved.

Commentator’s right to comment Adjudication No. 1322 (July 2006) The Press Council has dismissed a complaint brought by Paul Freeburn SC against The Courier- The Council Mail, Brisbane, in relation to a bylined opinion article published on 17 November 2005. has The article, written by Margaret Wenham and headed Whistleblower left nursing wounds, consistently contained an account of the imbroglio involving nurse Wendy Erglis who had claimed that a held that such bone marrow transplant ward in the Royal Brisbane Hospital ‘had acquired a bad workplace articles reputation’. should be The article, written in the wake of an unsuccessful defamation action brought by Ms Erglis given a against the Queensland State government, noted the $500,000 possibly being awarded against greater her in legal costs and highlighted the ‘difference in direction Erglis’s whistleblowing took, to latitude for that of Toni Hoffman of Bundaberg Hospital inquiry fame’. the expression of Mr Freeburn, who had acted as a Counsel in the defamation action, complained of a number of a point of inaccuracies and false assertions in the article. view. In this In response the newspaper suggested that the complaint itself was “muddled with inaccuracies”. case, the It stood by the journalist’s right to comment. facts are The article under complaint is clearly a bylined opinion article. The Council has consistently open to held that such articles should be given a greater latitude for the expression of a point of view. In interpretation this case, the facts are open to interpretation and the newspaper was entitled to publish a and the commentary discussing the issues. Where a reader disagrees with the published point of view newspaper the best response is to submit promptly a cogent letter to the newspaper for publication. While was entitled Mr Freeburn sent a long letter to the editor two weeks after the article, it was clearly not publishable to publish a in the form submitted. commentary discussing Prominent apology required the issues. Adjudication No. 1323 (July 2006) The Australian Press Council has upheld a complaint against Cosmopolitan magazine from the family of two young women, Colleen and Laura Irwin, who were brutally murdered in their Altona North, Melbourne, home in January this year. The May edition of Cosmopolitan published an article which carried the lines The Irwin sisters from Melbourne were being stalked but didn’t speak up … NOW THEY’RE DEAD above a picture of the sisters and the words THE SUBURBAN STALKER KILLINGS below the photograph. The article consisted of a compilation of previously published material concerning the murders and quoted an unnamed source as saying she believed Laura was being stalked and that Laura was aware of this. It also published previous comments from the victims’ father that the stalker 20 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

theory was “bullshit” and that, if either of the women had known of a stalker, they as parents Adjudications would have been told about it. No-one in the family was approached by Cosmopolitan for 1323 comment for the article. 1324 Allan and Shirley Irwin and the sisters’ aunt and uncle, Dianne and Hugh McGowan, complained that the article had caused enormous hurt to their family and friends. Shirley Irwin said her daughters were never stalked and the police had never said anything to support the contention. The McGowans said the magazine gave readers the false impression that the sisters contributed to their own deaths. In its response the magazine said its intention in publishing the article was not to exacerbate the suffering of the Irwin family and the girls’ friends, but to address stalking which was an issue of considerable public interest. A write-off with the article said “Here’s the full story and what we can take away from it” and a The Council second article headed What to do if you are being stalked included a list of dos and don’ts and a believes the panel alerting readers about how to contact Crime Stoppers. magazine acted Mr McGowan sent a suggested apology to Cosmopolitan in the form of an article to carry an approved picture of the sisters. The magazine offered an alternative version. This was rejected irresponsibly by the family, as being too brief and not prominent enough. The Council agrees that the magazine’s in pursuing a version would not have provided appropriate redress. stalker theory in the face of The Council believes the magazine acted irresponsibly in pursuing a stalker theory in the face of denials from denials from both the victims’ father and a Homicide detective who had specifically ruled out both the stalking in one of the newspaper reports on which the Cosmopolitan article was based. The victims’ father magazine’s justification for not interviewing the family, and its efforts to check facts with the and a police, do not meet the standards of responsible journalism expected by the Press Council. Homicide The Council is strongly of the view that, when the Irwin family contacted it, the magazine detective should have published a prompt and appropriately prominent apology to the family.

No additional comment required Adjudication No. 1324 (July 2006) The Press Council has dismissed a complaint by Synergy Wind Pty Ltd against the Yarram Standard News relating to an article and paid advertisement both published on 10 May 2006. The complainant is the developer of a wind farm in country Victoria. It holds the view that the newspaper has, over time, displayed bias against the wind farm. The most recent incident is the subject of the complaint. The complainant had entered into a commercial arrangement with the newspaper to insert a paid notice advising of a reward for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible for damage that had occurred to the wind farm’s property. The notice was published on 10 May. In the same edition of the newspaper an article headed Wind farm petition in the post was published. The article included a reference to the reward being offered and comments from an opponent of the wind farm who advised that, while he did not condone vandalism, he believed that anyone opposed to the wind farm would not “dob in” the perpetrator(s). The complainant argues that the newspaper must have advised the wind farm opponents of the reward prior to its publication and, after doing so, it then published negative comments from those opponents about the reward. No balancing comments from the company were sought. The newspaper, while not addressing the accusation that it had passed on details of the commercial transaction to opponents of the wind farm, asserts that, as a small newspaper, it attempts to give the local community a voice on those matters of significant local interest. The complainant and newspaper disagree on the validity and genuineness of the newspaper’s claim that it has previously offered the complainant space to put its views. The Council believes a fair balance is fundamental in handling controversial issues. In this case, the Council does not believe additional comments from the company were required to achieve that balance and can find no breach of its principles in the newspaper’s actions.

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Adjudications Change of description unexplained 1325 Adjudication No. 1325 (July 2006) 1326 The Australian Press Council has upheld in part complaints from Allan Taylor that the Sunshine Coast Daily has been unfair to the local bus company, Sunbus, and the bus drivers employed by it. While the Council can At the heart of the complaints is the disappearance of a young boy, Daniel Morcombe, in December find no 2003. The newspaper has written in a number of articles, as recently as March 2006, that Daniel evidence that “disappeared from a bus stop … and has not been seen since”. the Mr Taylor says that the place was not a bus stop and, in fact, it was signposted to ensure that newspaper vehicles were prohibited from stopping there. He forwarded a letter from the Minister for Police has unfairly that supported his assertion. Mr Taylor links the newspaper’s reporting of the disappearance to singled out other published material that mentions Sunbus in what he perceives as an unfavourable light. In Sunbus and particular he cites a court report about “a Sunbus driver” accused of Internet-related sex charges its drivers in and a very long letter to the editor about a bus driver who allegedly failed to pick up a female its reporting, passenger near a local supermarket. Mr Taylor notes the reference to the boy’s disappearance in it finds that the published letter and that the accused in the court case had ceased to be a Sunbus employee by the time of his court appearance. the reporting of the site of The newspaper has recognised part of the complaint by changing its reporting of the disappearance Daniel so that it now refers to the boy “waiting for a bus” rather than being at a bus stop. It rejects the Morcombe’s wider aspects of the complaint, what it calls Mr Taylor’s “conspiracy theories” about its reporting disappearance of Sunbus. was, at best, While the Council can find no evidence that the newspaper has unfairly singled out Sunbus and careless. its drivers in its reporting, it finds that the reporting of the site of Daniel Morcombe’s disappearance was, at best, careless. Further the newspaper has not explained in print the reason for the change of its description of the disappearance scene.

Shot in the dark Adjudication No. 1326 (September 2006) The Press Council has upheld in part a complaint brought by J. Harkness against The Advertiser, Adelaide, regarding a bylined film review published in its 8 July edition. Mr Harkness, a writer and director, produced a film Shot of Love which was the subject of the The Press review attributed to Stan James. The newspaper, in correspondence with Mr Harkness, Council has acknowledged that, as a result of a production error, the review that was written by Ben McEachen maintained was wrongly attributed to Stan James. The newspaper stated that a correction of this error the view that would be published in a later edition. This was done on 15 July on page 2. The review was reviews (and reprinted under the correct byline in another section of the newspaper on the same day. other commentary) The paper failed to link the correction to the reprinted review or alert the readers of the review are afforded a pages that there was only one review – and that Stan James had expressed no view on the film. To the extent that this misled readers the complaint is upheld. reasonably wide licence The review was extremely critical of the film. The complainant found it to be highly objectionable to publish a and wrote a very long letter to the newspaper. point of view. The Press Council has maintained the view that reviews (and other commentary) are afforded a reasonably wide licence to publish a point of view. The Council finds the review itself is not in breach of its Statement of Principles. It also finds that it was not an unreasonable exercise of the newspaper’s discretion not to publish the letter written to it by the complainant.

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Kids’ privacy invaded Adjudications Adjudication No. 1327 (September 2006) 1327 1328 The Press Council has upheld a complaint against the Herald Sun, Melbourne, over articles following up a human interest story involving the family of Elie Malkoun and an act of kindness by tennis star Kim Clijsters. The story developed in a new direction when the newspaper found that Mr Malkoun had a serious criminal conviction for which he had served 10 years in jail. The human interest article appeared in the Herald Sun on 25 January 2006. Details of the family, including names and ages of the children, were published. The Herald Sun learned, however, of Mr Malkoun’s past and, on 26 January, it ran a story under the headline Drug boss ends up in box seat. The names of the Malkoun children were again published as was a photograph featuring Mr Malkoun and his son, aged 5, sitting in the players’ There would box at the Australian Open. need to be a A further article, dealing with the reaction of Ms Clijsters to the revelation that she had significant inadvertently hosted a former drug dealer in the players’ box, appeared on 27 January. Once public again, the names of the Malkoun children were mentioned. interest Mr Malkoun has complained to the Press Council that the privacy of his children, particularly served by the his young son, has been breached. He suggested that the linking of the family to his criminal naming of the past exacerbated this breach. children and The newspaper says that the Malkouns happily posed with two of their children for the first publication of article and that the Malkoun family “willingly put itself in the public spotlight”. It saw the their image to complaint as arising from the Mr Malkoun’s displeasure at publicity adverse to him and mention justify their of his “serious criminal past”, which the newspaper saw as a matter of public record. It regarded inclusion in a the children as integral to the story about Ms Clijsters’ interest in the family. story about In the Council’s view, there would need to be a significant public interest served by the naming Mr Malkoun’s of the children and publication of their image to justify their inclusion in a story about Mr criminal past Malkoun’s criminal past. The Herald Sun was entitled to investigate and report on Mr Malkoun’s background and the links that may have existed between him and Ms Clijsters but was not entitled gratuitously to breach the children’s privacy in the stories of 26 and 27 January.

Opinions acceptable Adjudication No. 1328 (September 2006) The Press Council has dismissed a complaint about an obituary for David Pearl, a Polish-born Jewish businessman, published in The Age, Melbourne, on 26 May 2006. The complainant, Marek Swida, read the article to be an inaccurate portrayal of conditions in pre-WWII Poland and asserted that this heralded a return to what he claimed was an anti-Polish sentiment in the newspaper. He wrote to the editor seeking a retraction and qualification of the details he claims were incorrect, namely that there were Jewish pogroms in Poland before the war and institutionalised anti-Semitism in the Polish army. The article also stated that David Pearl was drafted into the Polish army where he achieved the rank of lieutenant and that he put his baby daughter into the care of a Polish family during the war, when he was living in the Polish forests and carrying out guerilla activities against the German army. The newspaper did not see the need for a retraction. Nor, regrettably, did it respond to Mr Swida’s letter of complaint. It explained that the obituary, based on the eulogy delivered by Mr Pearl’s son (a fact noted at the end of the article), “necessarily include[d] opinion as well as facts about [the] person’s life and experiences. These opinions may not accord with those held by Mr Swida but that does not mean that they contravene Press Council guidelines.” The Press Council agrees.

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Adjudications A question of informed consent 1329 Adjudication No. 1329 (September 2006) 1330 1331 The Australian Press Council has dismissed a complaint lodged by the mother of a 19-year-old woman whose photograph and comments were published in Zoo Confessional, a regular feature of Zoo Weekly magazine. A May “confessional” featured photographs of two 19-year-olds, and comments from them about their sexual activities. The complainant complained that a photograph and information were obtained when her daughter was drunk in a Sydney nightclub. The daughter signed a consent form which she later claimed she believed was only for her photo to be published in the magazine. In a letter to the parent, the editor of Zoo Weekly said he is sorry that the publication caused upset. He said that the young woman was not intoxicated, and that the magazine still has the taped conversation. He noted that the consent form had covered her “confession” as well as the In this photograph. The reporter involved had left his card with the woman in case she wished to circumstance contact him again. The magazine agreed not to republish the photograph or comments. Zoo Weekly The complaint revolves around informed consent. The Press Council acknowledges that in did have a publications of this kind the context in which consent is obtained is an important issue for process in publications to consider. In this circumstance Zoo Weekly did have a process in place. The place. The Press Council is satisfied consent was received. Press Council is satisfied consent was No basis for complaint received. Adjudication No. 1330 (October 2006) The Press Council has dismissed a complaint brought by Bill Caralis against The Australian Financial Review in relation to an article published on 20 July 2006. The article headed Reforms boost no-frill radio company canvassed the possible financial benefits to the complainant’s radio group, Broadcast Operations, arising from the federal government’s plan to de-regulate the media sector. Mr Caralis objected to the newspaper’s description of his company as a ‘no-frills’ company and said that the newspaper had misrepresented the value of his firm. In his original letter of complaint he asserted that the newspaper had stated that his company was worth $60 million. However, a careful reading of the article indicated that a value of $100 million was the sum speculated by media executives as being the current worth of the company. The newspaper also rejected the claim that the bylined journalist had been put up to make these assertions against the company. Considering that the article dealt with a matter of legitimate public interest, including the valuation of the company, and that the complainant maintained, before and since the article, his policy of declining interviews, there is no basis for the complaint.

Confronting image balanced Adjudication No. 1331 (October 2006) The Press Council has dismissed a complaint from Bill Loudon about a NewsMail, Bundaberg, front-page photograph on 10 August 2006. The photograph, showing the point of a knife blade pressed into the base of a wrist, accompanied an article highlighting an increase in teenage girls self-mutilating in Bundaberg. Mr. Loudon complained it was unethical of the NewsMail to publish an inappropriate, posed photograph about a sensitive matter and then refuse to publish any unfavourable comments from readers. Mr. Loudon was concerned that impressionable teenagers may find the photograph a “guide to mutilation”. On 11 August 2006 the NewsMail published Mr. Loudon’s letter about the “hideous” photograph, editing his comment about impressionable teenagers. In a Local View opinion column on the

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same day, the Editor explained the rationale for using the photograph, commenting any illustration Adjudications of mutilation was going to be “just as scary as the practice itself”. If this resulted in people 1331 taking the problem seriously, however, then it was justified. 1332 1333 There is a danger that such confronting images of self-destructive behaviour may encourage some young people to copy that behaviour and newspapers need to exercise caution in their use, particularly on the front page. In this case, however, the NewsMail balanced the risk in publishing There is a the knife-blade photograph with a prominently placed pointer telling young people where they danger that could get help and asking parents and teachers to take the problem of self-mutilation seriously. such confronting Headline inaccurate images of Adjudication No. 1332 (October 2006) self- destructive The Australian Press Council has upheld part of a complaint by Jacquie Thomson, representing behaviour the Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council, against the Newcastle Herald. may The complaint concerned a 15 June article on an administrator’s report on the land council under encourage the headline – $7 million legal fees - Report on land council money. The land council was some young concerned that the headline was inaccurate and that the article was unbalanced by the newspaper’s people to failure to seek rebuttal from the land council to the report’s allegations of wasted money. copy that The newspaper acknowledged the error that legal fees were only a proportion of the $7 million behaviour and and offered in correspondence with the Press Council to print a correction. The land council newspapers refused to accept this offer. Nonetheless the Press Council believes that the newspaper should need to have acknowledged in print the error in the headline as soon as it became aware of it. exercise Ms Thomson also complained the newspaper had not been thorough in seeking comment from caution in the land council to balance the report on its management of funds. their use The newspaper had contacted the land council office in good faith to seek a comment, not realising at the time that the administrator occupied the office. Two days later the newspaper published an article giving the land council’s comments on the report and three days after that published a letter from the former chairman of the land council responding to the report. The newspaper edited this letter to remove specific references to the amount spent on legal fees, but the letter addressed the land council’s other concerns with the article. The Press Council believes that the follow-up article and published letter provided the land council with appropriate balance on all its concerns except for the inaccurate headline.

Smithton crash - Mercury Adjudication N No. 1333 (October 2006) The Australian Press Council has dismissed complaints by Marian Fitzgerald, Penny Tyson and others against The Mercury, Hobart, over articles and photographs published on 27 February and a report published on 16 June. The 27 February articles were published on pages one to four and reported on the reaction of residents of Smithton, a North West Coast community, to a horrific road crash on 25 February at Round Hill near Burnie which claimed the lives of three teenage girls who were members of a Circular Head basketball team, the mother of one and the team coach. The paper carried photographs of the crashed vehicle draped in a tarpaulin, photographs of some of those who died, an interview with the father of one of the victims and comments from the local Mayor and from a Smithton Christian Fellowship member. The complainants said the coverage, particularly of the vehicle which still contained the bodies, breached the Council’s principle covering right to privacy. In its response the newspaper said the extensive photographs and articles were published because the accident was a significant news event. It was also consistent with the newspaper’s policy, re- inforced by a year-long Drive Safe campaign that published information on road crashes to educate the public about their impact and the dangers of the road.

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Adjudications The Council agrees that the coverage was of a matter of public record and, although of tragic 1333 proportions to a close-knit community, a matter of significant interest to the readers of the 1334 newspaper. For this reason the complaint against the 27 February publication is dismissed. The 16 June article reported the findings of a coronial inquest into the Round Hill crash and published pictures of four of the victims. The complainants said that the publication of the photographs so long after the event did not respect their families’ private grief. The newspaper said that the publication of the photographs with the 16 June report was appropriate in the context of meeting the test of public interest given the newspaper’s and the Tasmanian community’s focus on road safety. The Council agrees and dismisses the complaint. The Press Council, while noting the anguish expressed by communities in dealing with tragedy The Press and the ensuing media interest, also has concerns for the media’s obligation to report promptly Council, while on matters of public record, including tragedies such as this one. noting the anguish Smithton crash - Examiner expressed by Adjudication No. 1334 (October 2006) communities in dealing The Australian Press Council has dismissed complaints against The Examiner, Launceston, with tragedy concerning material in its 27 February edition. Marian Fitzgerald and Penny Tyson have complained about a series of articles and pictures published on pages one to five of the newspaper. and the ensuing The articles reported on the reaction of residents of Smithton, a North West Coast community, media to a horrific road crash on 25 February at Round Hill near Burnie that claimed the lives of three interest, also teenage girls who were members of a Circular Head basketball team, the mother of one and the has concerns team coach. for the The front page carried pictures of four of the victims, including Claire Tapson. media’s The next four pages carried a series of articles reflecting the grief of the community, including obligation to messages of sympathy and support from the Circular Head Mayor and many others, as well as report statements by the relatives and friends of some of the victims. promptly on The photos showed the accident scene, a group shot including the basketball coach and a matters of premiership winning team in 2004 and photos from a church gathering at Smithton. public record, The complainants said that the use of insensitive photographs accompanying the articles breached including the privacy and sensibilities of the victims’ families and friends. They also said that the Tapson tragedies family received a number of phone calls from the media on the day of the accident and the day such as this after requesting photos of Claire. They refused and their expectation was that no photo would one. appear until they were ready to supply one which they did once the victims’ names were officially released. When Claire’s photo was published without their permission or knowledge the Tapsons believed that Claire was being exploited for the gain of media organisations. In its response the newspaper said it sympathised with the view that media interest in such situations can intrude on the grieving process for both the families and members of a small community. It added that the fact that this small community had lost five members in an accident became an intrinsic part of the whole story. Such events happen on a scale that makes them national events and they attract matching media attention. The Council agrees that the newspaper’s coverage was not insensitive and was a matter of public record and, although of tragic proportions to a close knit community, a matter of significant interest to the newspaper’s readers. The complaints regarding the specific and general use of photographs are dismissed. The Press Council, while noting the anguish expressed by communities in dealing with tragedy and the ensuing media interest, also has concerns for the media’s obligation to report promptly on matters of public record, including tragedies such as this one.

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Smithton crash - Sunday Tasmanian Adjudications Adjudication No. 1335 (October 2006) 1335 1336 The Australian Press Council has dismissed complaints from Marian Fitzgerald and others over coverage by The Sunday Tasmanian on 25 February and 9 April of a horrific traffic accident at Circular Head near Burnie which claimed the lives of three teenage girls who were members of a basketball team, the mother of one, and the team coach. The February edition reported the accident on pages one and two, including photos of the car involved draped with a tarpaulin, pictures of two of the girls, the mother and daughter who were killed, and a photo of the coach with the 2004 premiership team. The page two coverage included an article which recalled two other tragedies that had occurred in the Circular Head municipality in 2003 and 2004. The names of some of these victims were printed. On 9 April The Sunday Tasmanian published an article on the funeral director who handled the ceremony for the 24 February victims and reprinted their names. The complainants said that the use of the photographs on 25 February exploited the relatives, did not show respect for the bereaved and failed to show regard for the sensibilities of the newspapers readers. The bodies were still in the car at the time the tarpaulin photograph was taken and this contributed to the grief of families and friends. The use of the names of the victims of the 2003 and 2004 tragedies on 25 February and in the article on the funeral contributed to the on-going grief of the relatives and friends of the victims. An event of In its response the newspaper said all photographs of the accident scene were taken in careful such gravity consultation with the accident investigators at the scene. The other photos were published because could not this was a significant news event and consistent with the newspaper’s year-long campaign to avoid links to educate the public about the impact and dangers of the road. previous An event of such gravity could not avoid links to previous events in such a small community and events in such it was appropriate to report upon them, the newspaper said. a small community While appreciating the enormous grief felt by the families and friends of the victims the Council and it was agrees that the newspaper’s reports related to matters of the public interest and the complaints appropriate to are dismissed. report upon The Press Council, while noting the anguish expressed by communities in dealing with tragedy them, the and the ensuing media interest, also has concerns for the media’s obligation to report promptly newspaper on matters of public record, including tragedies such as this one. said.

Smithton crash - Advocate Adjudication No. 1336 (October 2006) The Australian Press Council has dismissed complaints by Marian Fitzgerald and others against The Advocate, Burnie, regarding the publication of a series of articles and photographs on 27 February and its coverage of a coroner’s report on 16 June. The 27 February articles reported on the reaction of residents of Smithton, a North West Coast community, to a horrific road crash on 25 February at Round Hill near Burnie which claimed the lives of three teenage girls who were members of a Circular Head basketball team, the mother of one and the team coach. Page one and the next four pages contained articles and pictures reporting on the grief of the community, including other members of the basketball team, an interview with the family of one of the victims, a report on counselling services available and details of the police probe into the cause of the crash. The complainants said that the articles breached Council principles that relate to the privacy and sensibilities of individuals and that an article about, and picture of, members of the basketball team exploited young girls in a vulnerable situation when they were very distressed. In its response the newspaper said that all editorial staff members assigned to cover the tragedy

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Adjudications were fully briefed by both the editor and acting editor that a community in the newspaper’s 1336 region was dealing with a terrible tragedy and that the right to privacy and the wishes of the 1337 community were to be respected at all times. 1338 The newspaper said that in the specific case of the photographs of members of the basketball team the girls had agreed to be photographed and had supplied their names and ages. The Council agrees that the newspaper’s coverage was not insensitive and was a matter of public record and, although of tragic proportions to a close knit community, a matter of significant interest to the newspaper’s readers. As such the aspects of the complaints regarding the articles published and the general use of photographs are dismissed. The 16 June report carried a photograph of a roadside memorial associated with the 25 February tragedy. The complainants said the photograph failed to respect the privacy and sensibilities of the individual who had placed the material. The Council does not agree. The memorial was in a public place and it was appropriate to publish the image to accompany the report. The Press Council, while noting the anguish expressed by communities in dealing with tragedy and the ensuing media interest also has concerns for the media’s obligation to report promptly on matters of public record, including tragedies such as this one. It “chose a point at which Starting date a matter of debate the latest Adjudication No. 1337 (October 2006) fighting first intensified” The Australian Press Council has dismissed a complaint from Dr Daud Batchelor concerning an and accepted item in the Weekend Australian of 5/6 August 2006. The complaint focused on the republication that other of a time line of key events in the Middle East that had previously been published in the 22/23 people, July edition of the paper. including the Dr Batchelor said that, by starting the time line on 25 June and omitting the death of seven complainant, civilians on Gaza Beach on 9 June, the newspaper had committed a “clear abuse of responsible may have reporting under Press Council principles ... and misled its readers”. chosen a A complaint from Dr Batchelor to the newspaper about the earlier publication of this time line different start had been mediated by the Council and a letter to the editor from him, in which he clearly identified point. the 9 June event as the cause of following incidents, had been published. The newspaper said it “chose a point at which the latest fighting first intensified” and accepted that other people, including the complainant, may have chosen a different start point. It commented that it had received many letters on this subject, both supporting and attacking the time line’s starting point; in addition to Dr Batchelor’s letter on 2 August, it published a letter opposing his view on 3 August. The Australian states that it does not believe that it has breached any Press Council principles. The Press Council agrees.

Privacy standards breached Adjudication No. 1338 (October 2006) The Council has upheld complaints from Claire O’Connor and Dr James Hundertmark over an article that appeared on 21 July in The Advertiser, Adelaide. The article dealt with Cornelia Rau, a German-born Australian resident, who had previous media attention after being wrongly held in immigration detention. The article reported that she had been admitted to a psychiatric ward in Adelaide after an incident in the Northern Territory where she was on holiday. There were complaints about an invasion of Ms Rau’s privacy and about how the information in the article was obtained. The complaints were referred to the newspaper, which argued that “at best this issue appears to be the result of a series of misunderstandings or poor communication”.

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The Council finds that the report breached the print media’s privacy standards by reporting in Adjudications detail on Ms Rau’s mental state. 1338 1339 The Council has also upheld a complaint from Dr Hundertmark, the Clinical Director of the 1340 local mental health service, that the journalist apparently misrepresented himself when he repeatedly contacted the facility where Ms Rau was being held, seeking information on her condition, claiming he was a family friend.

Too little, too late ... given the Adjudication No. 1339 (October 2006) seriousness of the issue The Australian Press Council has upheld a complaint from Monica Morgan against the Riverine and the fact Herald, a Victorian country newspaper published in Echuca, about two articles published on 2 that both August and 7 August in relation to a Yorta Yorta decision on the construction of the Echuca- articles were Moama bridge across the Murray River. given front- In both articles, allegations were made that the Yorta Yorta people had acted unconstitutionally page in opposing the bridge construction. The Yorta Yorta were given no opportunity to comment in prominence, either article. the redress The complainant, the Public Officer for the Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation (YYNAC), was not said that the articles contained inaccurate statements regarding the structure and processes of the adequate. YYNAC. The complainant also said that the article of 2 August was not balanced. The newspaper did not publish a letter from the complainant, pursuant to a request from the chairperson of the YYNAC, as the newspaper said it exceeded 300 words and also contained certain unacceptable allegations. A re-submitted version was published by the newspaper on 1 September (under the heading, Yorta Yorta retorts) on page four (in contrast to the two articles, which appeared on the front page). In focusing on the 2 August article, the complainant claimed that a balanced approach would require a response from the Yorta Yorta in the same story. The article reported the proceedings of a meeting about the bridge project involving local and state government representatives and some indigenous people, in which the Yorta Yorta were not involved. In publishing the letter from the YYNAC, the newspaper has provided some belated balance. However, given the seriousness of the issue and the fact that both articles were given front-page prominence, the redress was not adequate.

Different sources identified Adjudication No. 1340 (December 2006) The Australian Press Council has dismissed a complaint by Karen Severns and Koichi Mori over a Sydney Morning Herald Spectrum Essay published on 12/13 August. The article headlined Frank Lloyd Wright’s oriental secret was an essay by Tokyo correspondent Deborah Cameron on the architect’s 1916-1922 work in Tokyo. Ms Severns and Mr Mori have produced a documentary film on Wright’s time in Japan and accused the journalist of using their scholarly conclusions and little-known facts without proper attribution. They also say that the article reproduced photographs provided by them without accreditation. The newspaper agreed that the photographic captions were omitted from the article and apologised. It published a correction in Spectrum on 2/3 September. The complainants said they provided a copy of their documentary, “Magnificent Obsession: Frank Lloyd Wright’s buildings and legacy in Japan”, to the journalist as well as a four-photo CD, and that they had also met her in Japan. They said the resulting article did not include the full title of their documentary or proper attribution, omitted photo credits and included simple factual errors.

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Adjudications They argued that they established, and built upon, the thesis that his time in Japan saved Wright 1340 and they were intellectual property owners of the idea. They said one of the aims of their 1341 documentary was firmly to establish that Wright’s chief assistant Arata Endo was of pivotal importance to Wright’s Japan work. The newspaper responded that Deborah Cameron had long had an interest in Wright, even before she was posted to Tokyo, and maintained that what was claimed as original intellectual property had been in the public domain prior to the film and her conducting the interviews. Her essay included quotes from Karen Severns. It clearly referred to her and Mr Mori by name, and to their privately funded film. The journalist included other references to books and newspaper articles in her essay. She did not claim to be the originator of any of the theories put forward on Wright. Most readers would understand that she was using a number of identified sources extensively, including the documentary, to write an essay about her long fascination with the architect, and particularly his life in Japan. The Council does not believe that her omission of any further specific attribution to the documentary or its makers breached its principles.

Magazine had every opportunity to balance Adjudication No. 1341 (December 2006) While it offered to The Australian Press Council has upheld the main thrust of a complaint from Shane Knight over publish a an article titled The Lost Daughter in New Idea on 19 August 2006. The article discussed the letter from death and its aftermath of Larry Knight, who was killed in the Beaconsfield mine disaster, totally the family, from the perspective of his daughter Lauren Kielmann. The article followed two months after an this would in earlier article in the magazine, Losing Larry, told from the Knight family’s perspective, which effect provide the family saw as a one-off attempt to finalise the media’s interest in it. it with a third The August article discussed a number of matters, including criticisms expressed by Lauren of story in what obviously sensitive matters such as her belief that, particularly compared to Larry’s wife, she the family was not receiving a proper disbursement of money from donations and the Beaconsfield fund believed to be and her belief that the rest of the family had not properly involved her in her father’s funeral a one-off arrangements. arrangement The complainant, a brother of the deceased miner, asserts that the magazine, in simply reporting with the the views of Lauren, had failed to check the accuracy of the article before its publication, despite magazine. being warned that it might be about to publish inaccurate information. The magazine did not take up the opportunity to check the material independently. Of the issues raised by the complainant, only one (the relatively minor matter of an incorrect caption on a photograph) was conceded by the magazine. It has now, belatedly, corrected that error. Another issue was the re-use of a different photo. The Council was not in a position to rule with any certainty the contractual position on this matter. The magazine argued that the article clearly relied on Lauren’s statements and, in any case, it had offered the family the opportunity to respond with their version of the events. While it offered to publish a letter from the family, this would in effect provide it with a third story in what the family believed to be a one-off arrangement with the magazine. The Press Council’s principles require publications to take all reasonable steps to check the accuracy of what they report. In the light of the previous exclusive interview with the family and two requests to check with other family members the accuracy of Lauren’s comments, New Idea had every opportunity to balance the follow-up article. It is regrettable that it did not take the opportunity.

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Hypothetical figure continually used Adjudications Adjudication No. 1342 (December 2006) 1342 1343 The Australian Press Council has upheld in part a complaint against The Courier-Mail, Brisbane, 1344 arising from a series of articles campaigning for increased legislative protection for short-term, high-risk borrowers. The newspaper’s campaign was stimulated by the Queensland Government’s failure over eight years to act on promises to cap interest rates on what are known colloquially as “pay-day” loans. The Courier- The campaign has resulted in a government promise to release a discussion paper early in 2007. Mail’s The newspaper published a series of articles beginning in June outlining the situation that allowed continued use Queensland operators to charge rates that, if projected over a year, could result in borrowers of the paying from 250 - 1300% in interest. In subsequent articles, a potential annualised interest rate hypothetical of 1600% was used, based on a claim by a consumer advocate. figure as if there were no The first article in the series was balanced by quotes from a spokesman for loan operators, who challenge did argued that the majority of loans were relatively small and short-term. Therefore, they said, the projection of rates over 12 months was unrealistic: the amount of interest actually paid by not meet the borrowers was small, and high rates were needed to meet operator costs. In states where interest newspaper’s rates were capped, operators were allowed to charge establishment fees which covered upfront obligation to costs. provide balance. The complainant, a software supplier to the industry, said that there was a complete lack of balance in the series of articles and, in particular, that follow-up articles in the series continued to use the 1600% annualised figure, unproven, also making no attempt to provide the balancing analysis the industry had provided. In the Council’s view, The Courier-Mail’s continued use of the hypothetical figure as if there were no challenge did not meet the newspaper’s obligation to provide balance. To that extent, the complaint is upheld.

No evidence of vindictiveness Adjudication No. 1343 (December 2006) The Australian Press Council has dismissed a complaint from Albert E Clark, against the Claremont-Nedlands Post relating to the positioning of his advertisement for legal services and the paper’s publishing of an article concerning his conduct as a lawyer on 2 September 2006 and a letter to the editor on 9 September 2006. Mr Clark believes that the Claremont-Nedlands Post was acting in a vindictive manner due to the placement of articles and letters speaking against him being positioned on either the same page as, or the page opposite, ads for his legal services that he had placed with the Post. While there was a rather large time delay in the publishing of the article concerning Mr Clark, there is no evidence of the paper acting in a vindictive manner towards him. The Post published in full Mr Clark’s letter on 16 September 2006, responding to the earlier article and letter. For these reasons the Press Council dismisses the complaint.

Not all the facts presented Adjudication No. 1344 (February 2007) The Australian Press Council has upheld a complaint by Mark Robinson about a report in the Daily Telegraph in which 1000 bicyclists on a Sydney protest ride, which blocked city peak- hour traffic for an hour, were described as “selfish fools”. The mobile phone number of the ride organiser was published in a headline so that motorists could complain to him personally. The headline urged readers to ring or text the phone number, as a result of which the organiser received some 200 calls, 140 of them abusive or threatening. The bicycle ride was organised by Critical Mass, a loosely structured international cycling group whose stated aim is to improve city environments through better urban transport planning.

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Adjudications Mr Robinson said the report was unfair in that the use of such phrases as “selfish fools” in a 1344 news report did not distinguish between fact and opinion and that the publication of the organiser’s 1345 phone number was a blatant breach of privacy. 1346 The newspaper agreed that an opinion had indeed been expressed in the news story but argued that this is now done routinely. It said that the justification for publishing the organiser’s phone number was that Critical Mass had no contactable head office, denying motorists the opportunity to complain to the group. The complainant told the Council that Critical Mass had a 24-hour Internet info line where anyone could leave comments. In an era of journalism where commentary increasingly trespasses upon news reports, fact and opinion need to be distinguishable. The introduction of opinion into a news report makes it essential for the report to provide all the facts necessary for readers to judge the validity of the In an era of opinion. This news article fails this test. No comment was published from government or the journalism police, who permitted the protest ride. The opinion expressed in the report is not a breach of where Council’s principles in that, by its obvious bias, it distinguishes itself as that of the authors who are clearly identified by their bylines. commentary increasingly However, the Council’s principles say that where individuals or groups are singled out for trespasses criticism, news reports must be fair and balanced. Since only the cyclists were criticised in the upon news article, without publication of a balancing response, the Council considers the report was not reports, fact balanced and upholds this part of the complaint. and opinion Regarding the second leg of the complaint, it is difficult to imagine a more grievous invasion of need to be individuals’ privacy than to print their phone number in a headline and then encourage readers to distinguishable. call and complain. That the newspaper subsequently published five letters to the editor, all critical of the bike protest, demonstrated that there was a non-intrusive avenue for complaint: in the newspaper’s own columns.

Critical reference Adjudication No. 1345 (February 2007) The Australian Press Council has dismissed a complaint by Neil Jillett against The Age, Melbourne, about an aspect of an obituary of oral historian and author Wendy Lowenstein on 26 October. The obituary written by Lowenstein’s son Richard, referred to an anecdote attributed to “The Age film critic Keith Connolly”. Mr Jillett said that he was film critic for The Age at the same time that Keith Connolly was film critic for The Herald, Melbourne. He complained that The Age’s reference to Mr Connolly in the obituary carried the implication was that he, Mr Jillett, was not The Age film critic. The newspaper said that Mr Jillett was a former Age journalist who served the paper with distinction over a long period. It noted that it used a variety of writers to review films. Given that the first word in the phrase complained of was part of the title of the newspaper, it would be wrong to assume that the use of the definitive article implied that Mr Connolly was the paper’s only film critic or indeed its senior critic. Mr Connolly spent 11 years writing reviews for both The Age and The Sunday Age after his retirement from The Herald, the newspaper said. Mr Jillett acknowledged this but said that Mr Connolly had never held the position as “film critic”. The Council believes that the reference to Mr Connolly in the obituary does not breach its principles and dismisses the complaint.

Both sides of the story Adjudication No. 1346 (February 2007) The Australian Press Council has dismissed a complaint about an article published in The Weekend Australian Magazine on 23 September 2006 headed The Untouchables. This was a long feature on Liz Mullinar, a high-profile campaigner on matters of childhood trauma, and Mayumarri, her centre for the healing of survivors of child abuse.

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The complainant, Rod Phillips, a director of Mayumarri (and Ms Mullinar’s husband), considered Adjudications that the article breached two of the Press Council’s principles: the right of readers to have news 1346 and comment presented to them honestly and fairly; and the obligation on the part of publications 1347 to ensure fairness and balance. Most of the points he raised concerned the issue of balance. Mr Phillips asserted that the article was a ‘malicious attack’ on Mayumarri. He said the article erred in ‘using only the words of disgruntled former staff and volunteers’. He said that the article misrepresented Mayumarri as being a health care facility and stated that the centre did not offer counselling but rather was a ‘community in which childhood abuse survivors help and support each other, much like AA’. Citing an entry and exit survey of the centre’s visitors, Mr Phillips said that 90 per cent had very good experiences of their healing week. He also pointed out that the journalist did not contact or quote any of the 35 people who got in touch with the magazine, at Ms Mullinar’s request, to give their positive views of the program. In fact, the article not only mentions that there had been such contact but also quotes one of the callers, Barbara Biggs, author of the abuse memoir, In Moral Danger, who said the work done at Mayumarri was ‘unique and invaluable.’ In response to the complaint the newspaper argued that the article was neither inaccurate nor The Press distorted, and that it was in the public interest. At the time of its publication there was significant Council debate about whether unqualified counsellors and healers should be regulated. A central point of considers the article was that complaints made against Mayumarri, which had received substantial amounts that the of taxpayers’ money, were not followed up because the centre ‘operate[d] in a regulatory void’ article The and that Mullinar was not a registered health practitioner. Untouchables, Ms Mullinar’s refutation of various allegations was recorded in the article, as was the support of and the prominent Australian individuals and companies. Indeed, publication was delayed in order to letters ensure that her point of view was properly incorporated into the article. The week after the published article appeared, the Weekend Australian Magazine published a letter from Ms Mullinar, in subsequently, which she rejected the picture of herself as enjoying a wealthy lifestyle, and defended the way presented the centre operated. Other letters, both supportive and critical, were published later. Thus, Ms two sides of Mullinar had ample opportunity to comment on criticism of her activities and to correct any the story. perceived errors of fact. The Press Council considers that the article The Untouchables, and the letters published subsequently, presented two sides of the story. In finding no breach of its principles, the Council’s decision is not a comment on the legitimacy, or otherwise, of alternative healing centres.

Fair coverage of a sensitive matter Adjudication No. 1347 (February 2007) The Australian Press Council has dismissed a complaint brought by the Tiwi Islands Local Government (TILG) against The Australian over an article (Days of promise in Tiwi plan) published in its 19 August 2006 edition. The article sought to present, in the newspaper’s words, “in a completely non-judgmental fashion, a portrait of the group politics of the Islands, and the significance of that area of Tiwi life for the large economic development now under way”. The complainant took strong objections to a number of “offensive” statements in the article because of their “divisive and discriminatory tone” and also because the article “misrepresents the Tiwi Islands Local Government and the aspirations of the Tiwi people as a whole”. Among the many statements listed by the complainant were references to the tensions between the TILG and the Tiwi Land Council (TLC). The complainant disputed the veracity of the statement that the TILG and the TLC “have long been at loggerheads”. The article discussed “an ethnic-flavoured division” running through Tiwi society and described the social map as including “full-blood Tiwi families”, “mixed-race and part-Aboriginal people born on the islands”, “incoming part-Aborigine people” and “part-Tiwis”. Other statements in the article referred to the TLC as the basic instrument of “the old establishment Tiwi families” and the TILG as “the

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Adjudications kingdom of the part-Tiwi”. The explanation of the distinctions, an essential aspect of the article, 1347 unintentionally raised sensitivities among Tiwi Island readers. 1348 The complainant said that the Tiwis “see themselves as one people”, and that the reference to “conflicting visions” created a wrong impression of division among the Tiwis. The complainant also objected to the use of the word “unruly” to describe the main Tiwi town of Nguiu. It was also said that the notion of “part-Tiwi” was contrary to the legal definition of Aboriginality as The Press propounded by the Federal Court of Australia. Council The newspaper stated that the article was the product of a year of researching and many interviews believes that and discussions. It also pointed out that one of the signatories on the complaint was also ‘a the principal source’ for the article. newspaper, The Press Council believes that the newspaper, indeed all newspapers in Australia, is entitled to indeed all analyse any aspect of Australian society, provided it is done in a reasonable and fair manner. newspapers The existence of a legal definition of Aboriginality does not preclude a newspaper from engaging in Australia, in an analysis of the ‘group politics of the Islands’. A newspaper is also not precluded from is entitled to touching on an issue even though it is regarded as sensitive. The newspaper published on 21 analyse any August 2006 a letter from a reader and a letter written by the President of TILG and the Chairman aspect of of TLC in its 8 September 2006 edition. Both letters addressed concerns with the article. Australian In the Press Council’s view, the article does not breach the principles. society, provided it is done in a Failure to check information reasonable Adjudication No. 1348 (March 2007) and fair The Australian Press Council has upheld in part a complaint from Michelle Downes over an manner. item headed A bad option in The Age on 13 December 2006. The item was contained in The Diary segment of the newspaper. This is essentially a gossip column where opinion plays a major part in many of the articles. The article discussed (substantially from the perspective of a friend of the late Peter Brock) the fact that Peter Brock’s ex-wife (Michelle Downes – the complainant) had claimed in an article in New Idea magazine that Peter Brock had engaged in domestic violence during their marriage. The exercise of making complaints about deceased persons was criticised by the friend of the late Peter Brock. Outside of direct quotes from the friend of Brock, the article in its editorial commented that the complainant was “odd” and that she had “rushed to [New Idea] magazine to make tacky claims”. These references are the subject of the complaint. In a number of adjudications, the Council has acknowledged that there is often a fine line between the issue of fact and opinion in gossip columns or opinion pieces. The Council’s principles require that readers must be readily able to recognise what is fact and what is opinion. When information is presented as fact (whether in a gossip column, opinion piece or any other article) the publication must take reasonable steps to check the accuracy of what they report. The The Council determines that use of the words “odd” and “tacky” are clearly opinion and would newspaper be so discernable to a reader. To that extent the complaint is dismissed. failed to check However, the article contained a reference that the complainant, after the death of Peter Brock, information “rushed off” to the magazine. This was presented as fact, which is contested by the complainant that it who claims that her provision of the information to the magazine had been planned before the presented as death of her ex-husband and was to be published to coincide with White Ribbon Day (the United fact. To this Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women). White Ribbon Day is commemorated on 25 November each year. The New Idea article was published on 17 extent the November 2006. The complainant says the newspaper would have verified these facts if it had complaint is checked with the White Ribbon Day officials, New Idea or the complainant herself. upheld. The newspaper failed to check information that it presented as fact. To this extent the complaint is upheld.

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Premier’s view misrepresented Adjudications Adjudication No. 1349 (March 2007) 1349 1350 The Western Australia Department of Premier and Cabinet has complained to the Press Council about a report in The West Australian of an interview with Premier Alan Carpenter about Government policy on global warming, and against the newspaper’s treatment of a correction sought by the Government’s media office. The headline on the 4 November article read: Global warming is good for WA, says Premier. ... the casual The lead sentence said: “Global warming would prove a good thing for WA, Alan Carpenter said yesterday.” The rest of the article included comments the Premier was optimistic the world reader would find solutions to global warming, and WA would play a central role. The article was scanning only accompanied by an illustration of a salt-affected dam in WA, with a caption that said Premier the headline Carpenter believed climate change would be good for WA. and lead sentence of Two days later in response to the Premier’s complaint that he had not said global warming was the first good for WA, The West Australian reported that Mr Carpenter had performed “a back-flip”, in article, an article headed Premier goes cold on global warming bonus. Together with the Premier’s particularly in denial, the newspaper published in full the question that led to the Premier’s comments, and published his reply in full. The report also included criticism of the Premier by conservation conjunction leaders. with the photograph, The WA Department of Premier and Cabinet claims a breach of Press Council principles relating would be led to accuracy; checking facts; and making amends by publishing a suitable retraction. The to a different Department argues that the interview was clearly in the context of fighting global warming, but view the headline and comment on which the lead sentence was based, taken out of this context, were misleading and harmful in that they implied the Premier thought global warming was good for WA. In response, The West Australian says the over-riding theme in the interview was that demand for clean energy would provide a boost to WA’s economy, and there would have been no complaint if the heading on the first article had said Global warming is good for WA economy, says Premier. This goes to the nub of the matter. A reader of the full report would understand that the headline and comment refer to the fact that WA might benefit from world actions taken to fight global warming, but the casual reader scanning only the headline and lead sentence of the first article, particularly in conjunction with the photograph, would be led to a different view. This complaint is upheld. The complaint against the second article is also upheld because it essentially repeats the initial misrepresentation of the Premier’s response. The Council has consistently Reliance on court transcript supported the Adjudication No. 1350 (March 2007) right of The Australian Press Council has dismissed a complaint from Janet Mullins about a report newspapers published in The Canberra Times on 2 December 2006. to report open The report concerned court proceedings in which a bank sought to seize property on which Ms court Mullins and her husband Mark Mullins owed money. hearings. It is Ms Mullins said that the report inaccurately reported the judgment of the court, unfairly linked not a breach her with criminal charges facing her husband and invaded her privacy. of privacy The newspaper said its report was a fair summation of the proceedings and that Ms Mullins was standards for a named party in the case and gave evidence to the court. a newspaper to report The newspaper’s rebuttal of Ms Mullins’s criticisms is supported by the transcript of the judgment accurately of the court, which found against the couple. The report clearly relies to a great extent on the transcript of the judge’s decision and fairly reflects judge’s summation of the evidence given in matters on the case. the public record. The Council has consistently supported the right of newspapers to report open court hearings. It is not a breach of privacy standards for a newspaper to report accurately matters on the public record. 35 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

Adjudications Too Kiama for the goths 1351 Adjudication No. 1351 (March 2007) 1352 The Press Council has dismissed a complaint about a front-page article in the Kiama Independent of Wednesday 31 January. The article, headlined Rock Bands Blasted, with a subsequent headline on the continuation of the article on page two, Too Gothic for Kiama, concerned a rock concert featuring local youth bands held in a park on Australia Day. Two local business owners and a councillor were quoted, citing complaints about excessive noise and aggressive behaviour causing a severe downturn in business. The suitability of the venue for such an event was questioned, as was the role of council in the presentation. The complainant, local resident Ursula Pearson, who stated that she had no connection with the organisers or performers, described the article as “discriminatory, inaccurate and without facts” The Press and as presenting “a one-sided view”. She also believed that the headlines were inflammatory Council does and discriminating and “sensationalised the story”. not believe In its response the newspaper defended its decision to make this a front-page article as this was either the “not the first time this annual concert by local bands has attracted criticism but this was the first original time it was so strong with several willing to put their names to the comments”. It believed that it article or its would be clear to readers that the comments quoted were the opinions of the individuals named headlines and that it had raised serious issues of public concern. breached its The article concluded with a statement from the concert organiser saying that he had been unaware principles of any complaints at the time. and, in any The next edition of the paper, the following Wednesday, carried a front-page article, Bands case, the Backlash – Youth speaks out, which contained comments from a number of the concert newspaper participants. On the same day the newspaper also published eight letters on the issue. An editorial provided note stated that they had been “inundated with letters in support of the Rock in the Park concert”. prompt The Bands Backlash article also contained further comments from two of the people quoted in balance by the original article. publication of The Press Council does not believe either the original article or its headlines breached its principles the second and, in any case, the newspaper provided prompt balance by publication of the second article article and and the letters. the letters.

Error of fact in editorial Adjudication No. 1352 (March 2007) The Australian Press Council has upheld a complaint by the Medical Board of Queensland over an editorial in the Gold Coast Bulletin of 15 February 2007 relating to the Board’s attempts to have Dr Jayant Patel deregistered. A warrant for Dr Patel, who worked at Bundaberg Base Hospital for two years from 2003, was issued last November on counts of manslaughter, grievous bodily harm and fraud over his treatment of eight patients at Bundaberg Base Hospital. The Board objects to statements in the editorial that the Board “wants Patel’s medical negligence hearing held in secret”. The Board points out that the request for a closed hearing was made by the Queensland Attorney- General for the Director of Public Prosecutions; that, while it said it would not oppose the DPP’s motion, the Board requested that the application should be made public; and that it also retained the option, on receipt of the DPP’s submission in the following two weeks, to oppose the DPP’s request for a non-publication order. The Press Council notes that while the Gold Coast Bulletin reported correctly on the Board’s case against Dr Patel before the Health Practitioners Tribunal on 13 February in an article the next day, Push for Dr Death secrecy, and later sought to clarify the situation in an editorial Secrecy claim on 21 February. But the Board is correct in its claims of errors of fact in the newspaper’s 15 February editorial More secrecy.

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Proper balance undertaken Adjudications Adjudication No. 1353 (May 2007) 1353 1354 The Australian Press Council has dismissed a complaint brought by Narrabri businessman and 1355 funeral director, Tim Logan, against The Sydney Morning Herald as a result of a 17 February article containing criticisms of his performance as an undertaker. The article contained complaints by relatives of deceased persons about the manner in which Logan & Co. conducted the collection, transport and handling of bodies. The story also reported criticisms made of the Logan business by the Executive Secretary of the Funeral Directors Association of NSW, who questioned the renewal by the government of a three-year contract. Mr Logan complained to the Press Council that the article was unfair in that it did not sufficiently distinguish fact from opinion or conjecture. He also said that some of the claims were simply not true, and that a more detailed knowledge of the incidents complained of would have cast a different light on the matter. Given the complainant’s explanation of the circumstances applying to the operation of a funeral director in a rural environment, the Council acknowledges the difficulties faced by Mr Logan. The Herald responded that the newspaper had gone to considerable efforts to contact Mr Logan in order to get his side of the story. The reporter had conducted an extended phone interview with Mr Logan, and his views and explanations had been included in the article in question. The article had been extensively researched; it reported allegations made almost exclusively by named sources using direct quotes from people with knowledge of the incidents or from people in positions of relevant authority.

The Council is not in a position to independently confirm the veracity of the statements and To the extent claims reported in the article and Mr Logan’s counterclaims. To the extent that the newspaper that the reported claims from mostly named sources, and included responses from Mr Logan, it has met newspaper the requirements of balance. reported claims from No editorial cabal mostly named Adjudication No. 1354 (May 2007) sources, and included The Press Council has dismissed a complaint brought by a Hawkesbury City Councillor Trevor responses Devine against the Hawkesbury Gazette regarding a letter published in its 10 January 2007 from Mr edition. Logan, it has The complainant said, first, that the use of the term ‘junta’ in the letter to describe a group of met the councillors of which he is a part is ‘highly offensive and derogatory’ and, secondly, that another requirements statement in the letter about a mayor (Councillor Bassett) refusing to hand over the position to of balance. another councillor was inaccurate. It was further claimed that the newspaper was aware of this inaccuracy as it had been supplied with a copy of an agreement between certain councillors regarding the filling of the positions of mayor and deputy mayor. The complainant rejected an invitation from the newspaper to submit a letter that it would publish. His reason was that writing a letter in reply was not a satisfactory outcome. The Council does not agree. The newspaper said that the letter complained of was ‘a matter of (albeit colourful) personal opinion’ and ‘reflected the variety of public opinion held about the Hawkesbury City Council and its councillors’. The Press Council finds the newspaper’s actions were not unreasonable.

Context omitted Adjudication No. 1355 (May 2007) The Australian Press Council has upheld in part a complaint from Malcolm Hazell, the official secretary to the Governor-General Michael Jeffery, against the Sunday Telegraph. Mr Hazell’s complaint related to two articles by Glenn Milne. Both discussed the role of the

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Adjudications Governor-General and quoted a number of unnamed sources. The first, on 19 November 2006, 1355 reported the Governor-General had become a victim of a “vicious whispering campaign” that 1356 attacked his performance in the office. The second, a week later, claimed the South Australian 1357 Premier’s office had been warned the Governor-General was planning to lobby on behalf of a colleague to have him appointed Governor of South Australia. The headline In particular Mr Hazell was concerned that the second article, dated 26 November, headed G-G and balance embroiled in new controversy, contained allegations specifically denied by the Governor-General of the second and by the South Australian Premier, and that these denials were not reflected in the headline or article, early paragraphs. Mr Hazell said that the headline also linked the article to the earlier report of without the controversies involving the Governor-General, without noting that the earlier report was based context of the on a “vicious whispering campaign”. “whispering The Sunday Telegraph stood by both stories, noting that they were adequately sourced and campaign” related to matters of public interest. The office of Governor-General was quoted in both articles, and in the commenting on the matters raised. light of the The Council is of the view that the articles dealt with a number of matters of public interest. The denials from newspaper is confident that the information received from its sources is accurate and it gave the the Premier Governor-General’s office an opportunity to comment on all matters raised. and the However, the headline and balance of the second article, without the context of the “whispering Governor- campaign” and in the light of the denials from the Premier and the Governor-General’s office, General’s were unfair to the Governor-General. To this extent the complaint is upheld. office, were unfair ... A gratuitous reference Adjudication No. 1356 (May 2007) The Australian Press Council has upheld a complaint by William Moss against The Sydney Morning Herald. In a 7 February article that appeared in the CBD column about a court case in which Mr. Moss was a party, the paper referred to the manner in which Mr Moss, who has muscular dystrophy, was assisted from the witness box. Mr Moss contended that the reference to his disability breached the Council’s Statement of Principles in that it placed gratuitous emphasis on the disability of an individual. The newspaper apologised to the complainant through a voicemail message to Mr Moss’ assistant and in an email to the assistant that was forwarded to Mr Moss. The editor invited Mr Moss to contact him to discuss the matter. Mr Moss did not respond to these overtures. The paper argued that Mr Moss’ disability is a matter of public knowledge and that its actions in making a private apology and seeking to help Mr Moss redress his concerns should have resolved the matter. They did not. The Press Council is of the view that the newspaper’s description of Mr Moss’ Although condition was indeed gratuitous. there is a need to capture the Headline unfair essence of a Adjudication No. 1357 (June 2007) story within a The Press Council upholds in part a complaint from James Saleam and John Moffatt about an limited scope, article in The Australian on 5 February 2007 headlined Party defends Klan sales. headlines Dr Saleam and Mr Moffatt say the headline and article distort the facts by suggesting there is a should connection between Mr Moffat and the Australia First Party with the ideology and politics, as accurately expressed in a symbol and slogan, of the Ku Klux Klan. reflect the The article does link the Party’s use of the Celtic Cross and slogan “Our Race is Our Nation” substance of with the Ku Klux Klan. However it includes comment from Mr Moffat that he is unconcerned articles they about this association as “a lot of people are using that slogan today”. As such the article provides head. the reader with a balanced point of view. On the other hand the headline invites the reader to conclude the Party is involved in the sale of

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Klan goods. In this respect it is misleading as there is no evidence that the Australia First Party Adjudications sells goods sourced from the Ku Klux Klan. 1357 1358 Although there is a need to capture the essence of a story within a limited scope, headlines 1359 should accurately reflect the substance of articles they head.

Strong comments in news report Adjudication No. 1358 (June 2007) The Australian Press Council has upheld in part a complaint against Queensland Country Life. The complaint by the Australian Beef Association (ABA) followed a series of news reports, letters and an editorial in the weekly rural newspaper, all based on ABA press releases and comments. While the The press releases included strongly worded criticism of the Cattle Council of Australia and its remainder of policies. The Queensland Country Life, which in its editorial strongly supported the Cattle Council the report of Australia and was critical of ABA actions, fully reported the press releases with comment goes on to from the Federal Agriculture Minister and the Cattle Council. It also published letters critical of present the the ABA, and in support of it. views of all The ABA’s complaint to the Press Council claims bias and breach of a number of Press Council parties, it is principles. The newspaper has every right to take a strong stance in its editorials against the unbalanced ABA, which is not the beef industry’s mainstream body. Robust debate and at times strong by the language is to be expected in an industry that features outspoken personalities and opposing introduction views. But the Press Council can find no evidence of bias in the newspaper’s coverage of the of such issue. strong However the newspaper crosses the fairness line by introducing strong comment into the two comments lead paragraphs of its news report on one ABA statement. The 18 January report on an ABA into the press release starts: “[The ABA] appears hell-bent on swinging a wrecking ball through the opening Australian red meat industry.” While the remainder of the report goes on to present the views of paragraphs. all parties, it is unbalanced by the introduction of such strong comments into the opening paragraphs. To this extent, the complaint is upheld.

Wide coverage provided balance Adjudication No. 1359 (June 2007) The Australian Press Council has dismissed a complaint from Timber Communities Australia against the Mercury, Hobart, relating to their reporting of the resignation of Dr Warwick Raverty from the Resource Planning and Development Commission’s advisory panel on the Gunn’s Pulp Mill proposal. On 16 January, in an article titled Scientist hits out at claims, the Mercury stated that Dr Raverty ‘was forced to resign from his role on the Resource Planning and Development Commission panel assessing the pulp mill proposal following actions of the Government’s pro-pulp mill task force website.’ Timber Communities Australia says that this reporting is false as Dr Raverty’s letter to the editor published on 10 January states, “I have decided to withdraw as a member of the panel with immediate effect…. I do so only because of the paramount importance of protecting the panel’s assessment process and avoiding my membership of the panel becoming an issue which causes delays or disruptions to the work of the panel”. In the light of the Mercury’s wide coverage of the issue over a ten-day period, and in the absence of a complaint from Dr Raverty on the report, the Press Council dismisses the complaint.

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Adjudications Not promptly balanced 1360 1361 Adjudication No. 1360 (June 2007) The Australian Press Council has upheld a complaint from Timber Communities Australia against the Mercury, Hobart, over a front page lead article on Saturday 31 March and a subsequent correction on Saturday 7 April. The March 31 article headlined Truck logjam was accompanied by an editorial cartoon and a Street Talk column on the same subject, both on the Letters page.

Neither the The article stated that about 122 log trucks would travel down Macquarie Street, Hobart’s busiest thoroughfare, during daylight hours if a new pulp mill went ahead. It said a log truck would article nor the travel down the street every eight minutes between 6 am and 6 pm according to information 7 April supplied to the Resource, Planning and Development Commission by a consultant. A photograph correction of a fully laden log truck on the thoroughfare taken the previous day was published on the front met the page with the lead article. Council’s On Wednesday 4 April the Mercury published a follow-up report as the main story on page 7 requirement headlined Jump in city trucks denied quoting forest industry officials who said there would be that harmful no increase in truck movements to the present situation. inaccuracies should be On 7 April, one week after the original report, the Mercury published a single column correction corrected on the bottom of Page 4 headlined GETTING IT STRAIGHT saying it regretted the error. The paper said the statement about a log truck travelling down the street every eight minutes was promptly and wrong and did not appear in any report. It said the calculation made by the Mercury had now with been shown to be wrong. appropriate prominence. While the Mercury took some steps in its follow-up report on 4 April to try to redress the original errors, neither the article nor the 7 April correction met the Council’s requirement that harmful inaccuracies should be corrected promptly and with appropriate prominence.

Underworld link denied by police Adjudication No. 1361 (June 2007) The Press Council has upheld a complaint by Helen Robinson against The Herald Sun, Melbourne, in relation to articles published on 12 July and 13 July 2006. The articles pertain to the killing of the complainant’s husband (David Robinson) who had returned to his office at night with his son to use the photocopier. He was confronted by a man at the back of his office and was fatally shot in an ensuing argument. In its first report on the shooting, in an 11 July article, the newspaper gave a brief factual account of the incident. In a 12 July article, headed Gangland links to lawyer, the newspaper reported that the complainant’s late husband had “close links to underworld figures”. The article also When the asserted that the deceased had been bankrupt and had “left a tangled web of broken-down police made it companies when he was gunned down”; that his associates “included criminals”; and that he had clear that the “fallen out several years ago with a criminal seeking a huge financial bail-out to ward off an killing had no interstate drug lord”. Towards the end of the article, there was a reference that “[d]espite Mr nexus to Robinson’s past, police said they suspected he’d been killed by a disgruntled legal client”. alleged The 13 July edition reported the arrest of a man over David Robinson’s killing. A front-page criminal links, article, which reported the arrest, recounted aspects of the deceased’s past and, after stating that the the police had said that the shooting “had no links to gangland crimes”, went on to assert that the newspaper newspaper itself “has established links between Mr Robinson, a one-time criminal lawyer, and a should have criminal network operating in Melbourne”. A page nine article, also in the 13 July edition, refrained from headlined Business deal rift: Slain lawyer link to crime figure, again mentioned the deceased’s continuing to “links to members of a Melbourne crime network that specialised in fraud and money laundering”. assert that It referred to the claim by the police that “there was no evidence the dead lawyer was involved link. with ‘any underworld figure’”, but reiterated the deceased’s links to a criminal network “despite the police claims”. Mrs Robinson complained that the articles breached Council principles that refer to accuracy; to honesty and fairness with respect for the privacy and sensibilities of individuals; to a need to

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distinguish fact from opinion; and to balance in published articles. Adjudications 1361 In its response the newspaper said it did not say Mr Robinson was himself engaged in any Publication details criminal or violent activity. The claim was that he was associated with, or linked to, people who have been engaged in such activity. This claim, said the newspaper, was substantiated by the newspaper’s extensive investigation over the previous two years. The Council is of the view that the articles of 12 and 13 July leave the impression that the killing was somehow linked to the deceased’s “close links to underworld figures”. This was despite a refutation of such a connection by the police. The articles dealt with the shooting episode in a manner that reflected unfairly on the deceased and that failed adequately to respect the sensibilities of his family. When the police made it clear that the killing had no nexus to alleged criminal links, the newspaper should have refrained from continuing to assert that link. The newspaper breached the Council’s principles in unjustifiably failing to distinguish between fact and unconfirmed reports in continuing to assert links repudiated by the police.

Publication Details Of the 40 adjudications issued by the Council, all were printed by the publication concerned. The following table lists the Council’s adjudications, together with the date of their printing by the publication. Some were printed in other publications as well and the Council notes those of which it is aware. Each meeting the Complaints Committee looks at the adjudications from the previous month and ensures that they have been published “with appropriate prominence” by the publication concerned.

ADJ NAME OF PUBLICATION DATE DATE PAGE ISSUED PUBLISHED 1322 The Courier-Mail 28.7.06 3.8.06 20 1323 Cosmopolitan 28.7.06 10.06 240 1324 Yarram Standard News 28.7.06 16.8.06 3 1325 Sunshine Coast Daily 28.7.06 3.8.06 10 1326 The Advertiser, Adelaide 15.9.06 10.10.06 25 1327 Herald Sun 15.9.06 22.9.06 26 1328 The Age 15.9.06 23.9.06 12 1329 Zoo Weekly 15.9.06 6.11.06 79 Aus web 22.9.06 SMH web 22.9.06 Herald Sun web 22.9.06 1330 Aust Financial Review 27.10.06 7.11.06 10 1331 NewsMail, Bundaberg 27.10.06 4.11.06 5 1332 Newcastle Herald 27.10.06 9.11.06 22 1333 The Mercury, Hobart 27.10.06 6.11.06 6 1334 The Launceston Examiner 27.10.06 2.11.06 21 1335 The Sunday Tasmanian 27.10.06 5.11.06 16 1336 The Burnie Advocate 27.10.06 11.11.06 16 1337 The Australian 27.10.06 3.11.06 2 1338 The Advertiser, Adelaide 27.10.06 19.12.06 24 1339 Riverine Herald 27.10.06 3.11.06 4 1340 The Sydney Morning Herald 8.12.06 29.12.06 4 1341 New Idea 8.12.06 6.1.07 86 1342 The Courier-Mail 8.12.06 19.2.07 12 Editorial 20.2.07 20 1343 Claremont-Nedlands Post 8.12.06 28.4.07 1344 The Daily Telegraph 9.2.07 17.2.07 4 Editorial 17.2.07 18 SMH 19.2.07. Guardian Unlimited 19.2.07 41 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

Adjudications 1345 The Age 9.2.07 23.2.07 6 Publication details 1346 The Australian 9.2.07 16.2.07 8 1347 The Australian 9.2.07 15.2.07 2 Complaints 1348 The Age 26.3.07 26.4.07 2 year by year 1349 The West Australian 26.3.07 9.4.07 14 The Sunday Times 10.4.07 1350 The Canberra Times 26.3.07 5.4.07 2 1351 Kiama Independent 26.3.07 4.4.07 25 1352 Gold Coast Bulletin 26.3.07 29.3.07 54 1353 The Sydney Morning Herald 11.5.07 21.5.07 6 1354 Hawkesbury Gazette 11.5.07 16.5.07 8 1355 The Sunday Telegraph 11.5.07 20.5.07 31 1356 The Sydney Morning Herald 11.5.07 21.5.07 6 1357 The Australian 22.6.07 2.7.07 2 1358 Queensland Country Life 22.6.07 28.6.07 6 1359 The Hobart Mercury 22.6.07 29.6.07 14 1360 The Hobart Mercury 22.6.07 29.6.07 14 1361 The Herald Sun 22.6.07 28.6.07 11 Media Watch, ABC TV 2.2.07

Complaints and adjudications 1976 - 2007 Year complaints complaints complaints adjudi- received mediated or adjudicated cations withdrawn issued 1976-7 78 32 23 19 1977-8 135 67 18 17 1978-9 164 67 28 25 1979-80 216 126 30 23 1980-1 233 114 25 19 1981-2 251 97 31 30 1982-3 307 108 40 28 1983-4 310 80 39 37 1984-5 323 47 60 41 1985-6 305 83 97 49 1986-7 298 85 73 49 1987-8 184 65 48 35 1988-9 205 54 45 34 1989-90 233 89 49 40 1990-91 345 134 59 57 1991-2 421 115 85 68 1992-3 429 122 126 79 1993-4 406 165 113 84 1994-5 416 167 86 65 1995-6 413 164 95 71 1996-7 399 164 82 61 1997-8 434 179 76 49 1998-9 410 166 77 58 1999-2000 403 176 66 47 2000-1 413 177 65 42 2001-2 390 184 70 44 2002-3 367 169 51 32 2003-4 417 189 75 40 2004-5 426 205 88 48 2005-6 420 218 61 30 2006-7 421 191 74 40 Total 10172 3999 (39.3%) 1955 (19.2%) 1361

Of the 1361 adjudications issued to the end of the reporting year, 574 (42.1 per cent) have upheld the complaint in whole or part, 739 (54.4 per cent) have dismissed the complaints, and 48 (3.5 per cent) have neither upheld nor dismissed the complaint or were a statement of general principles 42 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

Adjudications Index to Complaints Adjudicated subject index

Bias: 1324, 1358 Complaints stats number received Distortion: 1352, 1359 state of origin Ethical standards breached: 1329, 1333, 1336, 1338, 1340 False reporting: 1334, 1335, 1348, 1361 Headline, false or misleading: 1332, 1349, 1351, 1357 Imbalance, inadequate coverage: 1326, 1332, 1339, 1340, 1342, 1344, 1346, 1349, 1351, 1356, 1360, 1361 Inaccuracy, misrepresentation: 1322, 1323, 1325, 1337, 1339, 1341, 1345, 1350, 1353, 1354, 1355, 1357 Invasion of privacy: 1327, 1338, 1344, 1350 Irresponsibility: 1327 Letters and statements, non-publication or editing: 1331 Offensive coverage: 1323, 1331, 1347, 1354, 1356 Racism, religious disparagement: 1328, 1347 Sensationalism: 1342 Unfair treatment: 1324, 1325, 1326, 1328, 1329, 1330, 1341, 1343, 1344, 1346, 1348, 1353, 1355, 1358, 1361

Complaints and adjudication statistics 2006 - 2007

Complaints received 2006/7 2005/6 Total 1988/2006

Carried forward from previous period 49 51 36 Complaints 421 420 7003 Letters 316 328 6012

From complainants in 2006/7 %age 2005/6 %age 1988/2006 %age 2006/7 2005/6 1988/2006

New South Wales 102 32.3 95 29 2094 34.8 Victoria 62 19.6 76 23.2 1417 23.6 Queensland 57 18 58 17.7 1029 17.1 Western Australia 35 11.1 32 9.8 484 8.1 South Australia 20 6.3 28 8.4 422 7 Tasmania 18 5.7 19 5.8 224 3.7 ACT 12 3.8 11 3.4 192 3.2 Northern Territory 4 1.3 4 1.2 111 1.8 Overseas 6 1.9 5 1.5 39 0.7

Total 316 100 328 100 6012 100

43 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

Complaints stats Made by made by 2006/7 %age 2005/6 %age 1988/2006 %age about 2006/7 2005/6 1988/2006

Individuals 173 54.7 216 65.9 3662 60.9 Professionals 28 8.9 14 4.3 420 7 Associations/Organisations 16 5.1 21 6.4 508 8.5 Companies/Businesses 16 5.1 9 2.8 191 3.2 Institutions/Public Bodies 3 0.9 5 1.5 78 1.3 Government Departments/Agencies 15 4.7 9 2.8 159 2.6 Local Councils/members 18 5.7 15 4.6 235 3.9 Religious groups 5 1.6 4 1.2 91 1.5 Aboriginal support groups/legal services 7 2.2 8 2.4 82 1.4 Ethnic Community Groups 2 0.6 7 2.1 93 1.5 Other lobby groups^ 11 3.5 0 Election Candidates/Politicians 10 3.2 8 2.4 205 3.4 Political parties 5 1.6 6 1.8 67 1.1 Unions 3 0.9 2 0.6 56 0.9 Solicitors (for clients)* 0 - 0 - 119 2 Publications 4 1.3 4 1.2 29 0.5 Anonymous 0 - 0 - 17 0.3

Total 316 100 328 100 6012 100

* Under new guidelines adopted by the Council in 1996, most complaints made by solicitors for clients are now dealt with as if they had been submitted by the client. ^ This new category was introduced in 2006-7 to distinguished those individuals who represent a community-based campaign groups, including anti-vaccination and anti-fluoride campaigners.

About 2006/7 %age 2005/6 %age 1988/2006 %age 2006/7 2005/6 1988/2006

Abuse of press freedom 7 1.7 4 1 67 1 Advertising; advertorials 3 0.7 8 1.9 207 3 Bad Taste 7 1.7 4 1 96 1.4 Bias 13 3.1 21 5 374 5.3 Censorship; suppression of facts 5 1.2 14 3.3 242 3.5 Distortion 12 2.9 9 2.1 255 3.6 Ethical standards breached 28 6.6 25 6 435 6.2 False Reporting 13 3.1 15 3.6 370 5.3 Freedom of the press threatened 0 - 0 - 29 0.4 Headline, false or misleading 16 3.8 11 2.6 254 3.6 Imbalance; inadeq cover (inc no reply) 50 11.9 42 10 643 9.2 Inaccuracy; misrepresentation 72 17.1 69 16.4 974 13.9 Invasion of privacy 26 6.2 23 5.5 377 5.4 Irresponsibility 17 4 19 4.5 262 3.7 Letters: non publication or editing 13 3.1 18 4.3 331 4.7 Offensive cartoons 5 1.2 9 2.1 113 1.6 Offensive coverage 30 7.1 35 8.3 523 7.5 Racism; religious disparagement 22 5.2 36 8.6 412 5.9 Sensationalism 11 2.6 11 2.6 118 1.7 Sexism 10 2.4 2 0.5 116 1.6 Unfair Treatment 61 14.4 45 10.7 724 10.3 Other (unclassifiable) 0 - 0 - 81 1.2

Total 421 100 420 100 7003 100

44 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

Against (type of publication) Complaints stats 2006/7 %age 2005/6 %age 1988/2006 %age against 2006/7 2005/6 1988/2006 how disposed of adjudications Metropolitan newspapers 210 50 171 40.7 3371 48.2 Regional daily newspapers 67 15.9 87 20.7 974 13.9 Country newspapers 41 9.7 51 12.2 709 10.1 Suburban newspapers 28 6.6 29 6.9 542 7.7 National newspapers 35 8.3 39 9.3 480 6.9 Magazines (general interest) 11 2.6 22 5.2 405 5.8 Ethnic community press 3 0.7 5 1.2) ) 234 3.3 Special interest publications 10 2.4 6 1.4) Rural publications 3 0.7 1 0.3 14 0.2 Non-specific; other 13 3.1 9 2.1 274 3.9

Total 421 100 420 100 7003 100

* Until 1994/5, the ethnic press and special interest publications were considered as one group for statistical purposes. They are now considered separately.

Complaints were disposed of 2006/7 %age 2005/6 %age 1988/2006 %age 2006/7 2005/6 1988/2006

Refused as inappropriate 82 18.7 62 14.7 982 14 Referred to other organisations 16 3.6 13 3.1 355 5.1 Withdrawn for legal action 23 5.2 29 6.9 327 4.7 Not followed up 53 12.1 35 8.3 1045 14.9 Withdrawn after correspondence 97 22.1 120 28.4 1462 20.9 Mediation 94 21.4 98 23.2 1378 19.7 By press release 0 - 0 - 9 0.1 By adjudication 741 16.9 612 14.5 13693 19.6 Other action 0 - 4 0.9 66 1

Total disposed of 439 100 422 100 6990 100

Carried forward to next period 31 49 49

NOTES FOR 2006-2007: 1. 25 upheld; 16 upheld in part; 33 dismissed; 0 other. NOTES FOR 2005-2006: 2. 23 upheld; 21 upheld in part; 17 dismissed; 0 other. NOTES FOR 1988-2004: 3. 378 upheld; 194 upheld in part; 710 dismissed; 26 other

Adjudications 2006/7 %age 2005/6 %age 1988/2006 %age 2006/7 2005/6 1988/2006

Complaints upheld 11 27.5 8 26.7 242 25.5 Complaints upheld in part 8 20 9 30 144 15.1 Upheld in whole or part 19 47.5 17 56.7 386 40.6 Complaints dismissed 21 52.5 13 43.3 541 57 Neither upheld nor dismissed 0 - 0 - 23 2.4

Number of adjudications 40 100 30 100 950 100

Note: The Council issued 40 adjudications which dealt with 74 separate complaints as noted immediately above. Some of these adjudications dealt with complaints from more than one party about the same material and, in some cases, one complainant made complaints about two or more newspapers and these were dealt with by the Council in the one adjudication. A third case is where an adjudication dealt with two separate complaints (say, invasion of privacy and offensive coverage) in the same determination.

45 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

Jack R Herman Executive Complaints not adjudicated Secretary On page 20, in discussing adjudications, this report noted a small percentage of complaints, only 16.9 per cent, progressed through the complaints procedures (published in the Council’s Complaints not information booklet, Objects, Principles and Complaints Procedure, available from the office adjudicated and posted on the Council’s website at: http://www.presscouncil.org,au/pcsite/complaints/ time process.html) to the adjudication stage in 2006-2007. This figure can be compared with previous letters years, in the table on page 42 of this report. Of the remaining complaints, some were refused, some referred to another body and others withdrawn for legal action. Details of the number in each category can be found in the statistics on page 45. 12.1 per cent of complainants did not follow-up a request from the Secretariat for more detail on their complaints. And then there are those complainants who were happy to let their complaint rest after receiving the publication’s response to the complaint and those whose complaints were conciliated either by the Council Secretariat or by an independent member of the Council. 43.5 per cent of all complaints ended in this way - to the satisfaction of all parties.

The Council’s The complaints process gives to the Executive Secretary a discretion to refuse a complaint in a procedures number of circumstances. In previous annual reports, there has been discussion of some of these. Complainants who feel aggrieved can appeal the decision to the Council’s Complaints allow for Committee, which decides whether to accept the matter for processing. In exceptionally rare complaints to circumstances, publications can appeal the acceptance of what they see as an unfair complaint. be lodged Below are a number of complaints where the discretion to refuse was exercised in 2006-2007. within 60 days of initial publication. The effluxion of time Some leeway The Council’s procedures allow for complaints to be lodged within 60 days of initial publication. is allowed and Some leeway is allowed and the guideline can be waived in rare special circumstances, and the guideline especially where the complaint raises important issues of press ethics. The most egregiously late can be waived case in the last year involved a complaint against The West Australian that dealt with a report in rare special published in February 1997 and dealing with a family law matter. Even allowing for some circumstances, sympathy with the complainant, a ten-year delay was seen as excessive. More typical was the and case of a lobby group that sought to lodge a complaint five months after the article in question especially was published. In this case, it concerned an issue on which the Council has previously adjudicated, where the so no matter requiring the Council’s attention was raised. complaint Once the process has been commenced, parties are asked to respond to correspondence within raises two weeks. Again some leeway is allowed in cases where the time limit would be unfair. In one important case involving The Australian, a complaint was lodged in late December about an article published issues of in September. Due to the circumstances of the case, the complainant had been out of the country, press ethics. the matter was not rejected immediately. Instead the secretariat sought further information from the complainant. When it had not heard back from him until late March, and judging that there was no egregious breach of the principles involved, the office refused to process the matter, a decision endorsed by the Complaints Committee.

Letters The Council says that editors can edit letters from readers for publication. The general rule is that newspapers can edit letters for space or grammar reasons but that such editing should not change the meaning or tenor of the letter. When he receives a complaint alleging that the editing had changed the meaning, the Executive Secretary seeks copies of both the submitted and the published letter. Quite often he does not agree with the complainant’s assertion that the editing changed the letter’s meaning. The case of a letter published by a regional paper where the editor had cut the opening and closing remarks but left the main thrust intact was typical of the sort of complaint not accepted for processing. Letter writers can, of course, specify that they want their letter published without editing, or not at all, but in doing so they increase the risk of having nothing published.

46 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

In most cases the Council does not attempt to instruct a newspaper which letters it should publish. Complaints not It says that newspapers have a greater onus on them to publish letters that meet the requirements adjudicated of principles 2 and 8 (to provide balance for harmful inaccuracy or to someone singled out for letters criticism, respectively). Newspaper receive many more letters than it can publish and it has to advertorial select from among these those that it believes most appropriate to publish. Not every letter has to images be published and often complaints about non-publication will be rejected because there is no third party onus on the newspaper to publish. Such was the case with a complaint about non-publication of a letter to Perth’s Sunday Times about hotel closing hours. It didn’t seek to correct any error, but the letter-writer thought his words of wisdom should have been printed. The editor disagreed, as The editor is his privilege. rejected a In the case of at least one complaint this year, the editor rejected a letter because his legal advice letter was that it carried a substantial defamation risk. In such cases, the office might suggest redrafting because his to remove the offending section, and reject the complaint if this action is not taken. legal advice was that it Advertorial carried a substantial A newspaper is entitled to report on matters of interest to its readers. Sometimes those matters defamation are of a commercial nature: the opening of a new business; the development of a new industry; risk. In such the expansion of an existing employer in the region. The Council would not, in normal circumstances, seek to condemn a newspaper for such reports where the editor believes that the material is of interest to the readers. The Council is less sanguine about ‘advertorials’, the term for newspaper and magazine content that looks like editorial content but is published under a commercial arrangement between an advertiser, promoter or sponsor of goods and/or services and the publisher. Most allegations about advertorials turn out just to be articles about new businesses, published without any contingent advertising and meant to inform readers. One borderline case in 2006-2007 was in a regional newspaper, which ran an article about a new online service owned by newspaper’s publisher. It was legitimate story and the conflict of interest was prominently noted, so the Council refused the complaint.

Use of images The Council Many newspaper now access material from Internet sites to illustrate news stories. With so has to be many people having their own pages on various social sites, images in the public domain are wary that, more readily available. The Herald Sun printed an image taken from a MySpace page. The when complaint in this case was not just about the publication of the image but that it showed the nipple of a 15 year-old girl. The newspaper was entitled to use material in the public domain - processing a put there by the girl herself, and it was not clear whether it was a nipple or a shadow that the complaint, if reader saw. There was no matter that the Press Council could deal with. the newspaper was the Third Parties and privacy subject of an One of the Council’s recent rulings on when the Executive Secretary should exercise his discretion adjudication, to reject complaints deals with the question of ‘third party’ complaints. The Council decided that or asked to he would, as a rule, reject as complaints matters from disinterested parties: publish • which raise matters likely to lead to the further invasion of the privacy of those reported on; further • which appear to the Executive Secretary to raise largely trivial or frivolous concerns; or material, the ‘first parties’ • which do not raise a significant breach of the principles. might have In the wake of the publication of a book about Alan Jones, the Sunday Telegraph published an their privacy article that detailed a public figure’s memories of his time as Jones’ pupil. A third party complained. unwillingly The Council noted that, if the article were defamatory, Jones could sue; if not, he would to bring the complaint himself. invaded, outside the The Age published an article about the Jaidyn Leskie case that was allegedly unfair to one of context of the those involved. The matter was refused for two reasons: the article was clearly based on matters matter of on the public record and the handling of the complaint could lead to an invasion of the privacy of public record. the named person (who was not the complainant). The Council has to be wary that, when

47 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

Complaints not processing a complaint, if the newspaper was the subject of an adjudication, or asked to publish adjudicated further material, the ‘first parties’ might have their privacy unwillingly invaded, outside the third party context of the matter of public record. While the Press Council administers the Print Media errors Privacy Standards for the press, under the media exemption to the federal Privacy Act, the non-coverage Council itself is not a ‘media organisation’ as defined in the Act and therefore not covered by the exemption. The privacy issues can be involved even when the complainant is directly involved. In the case of one country newspaper, it published an article based on a named source. The man’s former de facto was upset because the story mentioned her son and, in her view, was inaccurate. Because the quotes were from a named source and any Press Council action would lead to privacy invasion, the Council declined to take up the matter. Another third party complaint that was refused arose from a report in The Australian about David Hicks, during his last weeks at Guantanamo Bay. The article was based on public testimony and properly sourced. It was printed at the time when Mr Hicks had entered his plea. In the view of the office, it was a third party complaint that did not raise a significant breach of the principles.

‘Erroneous’ reporting A regional newspaper referred to a commercial television newsreader being dismissed but, said A reasonable the complainant, she’s still on air. The office looked at news reports of the situation: the newsreader settlement had been given four weeks’ notice that her contract would not be renewed on 31 December. In would have all major respects, the original report was accurate and there was no matter for complaint. been the The Daily Telegraph printed an article with the by-line of an RTA expert on car-stopping distances submission of at different speeds. A reader disagreed with his calculations. The newspaper had published the a publishable views of an expert in good faith. A reasonable settlement would have been the submission of a letter. The publishable letter. The complainant had submitted a strongly worded missive that was complainant unpublishable and would not consider a re-write. had submitted a strongly worded Non-coverage of newsworthy stuff missive that The Council has ruled frequently on the question of the non-publication of material thought was newsworthy by its contributor. The Council is loath to interfere in the editorial judgment of a unpublishable newspaper as to what is newsworthy to its readership. But it does consider such cases and can and would not rule that the paper was wrong not to publish material where there appears to be a public consider a re- interest in doing so. Newspapers only have limited space and cannot cover every story write. thought by a reader to be the important event. Opponents of fluoridation are often convinced that newspapers are not covering their concerns. One such complaint was made against The Courier-Mail, with the usual rider that the alleged inadequate coverage of debate was the equivalent of suppression. The newspaper has been covering the debate for a generation or two, so it is difficult to see how the non-publication of a particular article would be worthy of handling as a complaint. In the case of sports coverage, the local newspaper has to determine which sports to cover, from a wide variety of possibilities. There was a complaint that Adelaide’s Advertiser was not covering local football leagues. Nonetheless, Adelaide United continues to receive strong coverage and international football, including the English Premier League and the European Championships were covered in the week of the complaint on the newspaper’s website. There didn’t seem to be a breach of the principles in the newspaper’s actions. In a not-dissimilar case, a reader complained that The Australian reported the court appearance of a female teacher charged with sexual offences on page 5. The reader asserted that a male teacher in a similar case would be on page one. Given that the article was published the same day as Ian Thorpe’s retirement, and many other newsworthy stories, it would be hard for the Council to rule that the choice of where to publish the article was based on gender, and not on normal editorial decision-making, involving a choice determined by newsworthiness.

48 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

Commercial matters Complaints not adjudicated The Council does not deal with advertising or the commercial operations of newspapers. Its remit is the maintenance of press responsibility through recognition of high journalistic standards. commerce So when a lobby group complains of bias because its ad is printed on page 5, and not page 3, the websites cartoons Council can take no action. When a newspaper publishes a world map as an insert giveaway, and cyclists certain choices made by the cartographer upset a complainant, the Council sees it as part of the newspaper’s commercial operations, not a product of newspaper editorial processes. The conciliated complainant’s beef was with the cartographic firm, not the newspaper. An inaccuracy in a clearly marked advertising feature is again not a concern of the Council. Nor is the fact that, after his subscription had expired, a magazine kept sending the complainant marketing junk. An inaccuracy in a clearly Websites marked The Council will deal with the news websites of member publishers (and is now planning to advertising offer similar services to news media organisations that publish purely on the Internet). And it feature is applies similar standards to accepting complaints, even when the medium may be different. again not a When The Sydney Morning Herald streamed an alleged killer’s home video on its website, the concern of Council noted that the material was clearly in the public domain, related to a US case (and was the Council. therefore not likely to adversely influence a local jury) and was clearly labelled, with a warning Nor is the fact about the content. that, after his Another The Sydney Morning Herald website complaint referred to pop-up ads that seemed subscription related to stories (eg, a loan business pop-up on a credit card shark story). This was a commercial had expired, a matter and outside the Council’s remit, even if a pattern of such behaviour could be established. magazine kept sending the Cartoons complainant The Council accepts very few complaints about cartoons.The Council believes that cartoonists marketing should have a wide licence to comment on the day’s events, and that the use of exaggeration, junk. caricature and humour to express those opinions are ethically legitimate. It generally recommends the submission of a letter for publication in response to a cartoon. This was the view of the office when confronted with a complaint that a regional newspaper was “anti-Christian” after its cartoonist used religious themes in three successive cartoons published during Easter. But the cartoonist’s targets were elsewhere, including politicians, and the religious theme was related to the season, not a disparagement of Christians.

Cyclists Every year there seems to be a group that finds a number of occasions to be offended by press If the Council coverage. This year is was cyclists. Adjudication No. 1344 (page 31) was one such complaint stepped in that went to adjudication. In that case there were other elements, including invasion of privacy. and On the same day as the article adjudicated on was published in the Daily Telegraph, there was adjudicated also an opinion column that dealt off-handedly with cyclists, in what appeared to be a humorous every time way. There were a number of complaints about the column. Similarly, a street magazine had a there was a brief article (obviously tongue-in-cheek) urging drivers to turn on cyclists when they encounter light-hearted them. jibe about this The Executive Secretary noted in both cases that, if the Council stepped in and adjudicated group or that every time there was a light-hearted jibe about this group or that in the press, there would be no in the press, end of determinations it would issue. The Council has consistently said that the best response to there would such matters is the submission of a contrary view for publication. be no end of determinations it would Conciliated complaints issue. A number of the complainants mediated successfully by the secretariat or by an independent member of the Council, and the sorts of settlements arrived at, are outlined in each edition of the APC News, and these are published on the Council’s website.

49 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

Jack R Herman Executive Changes in Principles and Procedures Secretary The major change in the year 2006-2007 was the change to the Council’s Constitution, occasioned by the decision to incorporate. To comply with the relevant Act governing incorporated associations, the Council need to alter, or add, sections relating to general meetings, public officers and record keeping. After extensive debate and consultation with its Constituent Bodies, the Council adopted a revised Constitution (which has now been posed to the website). There will be no overt change in the way in which the Council operates as a complaints-handling body.

Procedures On-line complaints The Press Council accepts complaints about the news websites of its publisher members, and is intending to offer its good offices as a self-regulatory body to other providers of on-line news and commentary on the news. In the case of its Constituent Bodies, the Council has for five The website years dealt with complaints irrespective of the medium used to carry that news. During the year publisher is it adopted some further guidelines on the handling of complaints about newspaper and magazine websites. advised that a complaint has The Council suggests that it is reasonable to expect that someone complaining about something been on a newspaper or magazine website would contact the website (or its publisher) first, particularly accepted and if there is a degree of urgency. In the event that the complaint has not been addressed satisfactorily, has the option because of the speed at which Internet publication is achieved, a procedure slightly varied from of removing that applied to the print press will be applied: the item, The Council will notify the relevant website immediately it receives a complaint. affixing an The website publisher is advised that a complaint has been accepted and has the option of removing indicator on the item, affixing an indicator on the item to the effect that it is disputed, or taking no action pending processing of the complaint if it is accepted by the Council. the item to The complaint, if accepted, is then processed according to usual procedures. the effect that it is disputed, Any action taken by the website upon notification of the complaint can be taken into account if the Council adjudicates the complaint. or taking no action This process and the need for prompt attention may reduce the scope for mediation or negotiated pending settlements. However these options would be offered if appropriate if the complaint is accepted. processing of the complaint How should confidential sources be treated in complaints if it is Arising from specific matters with which it has recently dealt, the Council is discussing the accepted by handling of complaints where the publication has relied on confidential sources for the material the Council. published. Generally, the Council believes that an approach that would see the publication itself take some responsibility for ensuring the credibility of cited sources is the best one, especially as most companies have existing in-house standards governing the use of confidential sources. The Council has consulted a number of editors on the question, before it finalises any guideline on the matter.

Guidelines The Council issues guidelines from time to time. These are, in essence, amplifications on particular issues arising from the Council’s Statement of Principles. The guidelines apply the Principles to the practice of reporting and are intended to guide the press on how it should report certain matters. These guidelines are not intended to be prescriptive instructions to the press but act as a series of advisories on the application of the Principles that the Council seeks the co-operation of editors in maintaining. A list of the extant guidelines (and links to them) can be found on the Council’s website at http://www.presscouncil.org.au/pcsite/activities/gprguide.html. No alterations were made in 2006-2007 to the existing guidelines, nor were any new guidelines issued. 50 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

Arising from Adjudications 1333-1336 (see pages 25-29), the Council decided against issuing Changes in specific guidelines about the behaviour of newspapers and other outlets and of journalists during principles/process the coverage of horrific car accidents and other traumatic events in small communities. Instead, it has asked the Executive Secretary to seek access to the codes for dealing with such matters from the publishers who are the Constituent Bodies of the Council. Advice on dealing with complaints about such matters will be based on those codes.

The current Statement of Principles follows, together with the Privacy Standards for the Print Media and a summary of the Council’s Complaints Procedures. The principles are posted on the Council’s website at: http://www.presscouncil.org.au/pcsite/complaints/sop.html; the Standards are at: http://www.presscouncil.org.au/pcsite/complaints/priv_stand.html; and the Complaints Procedures are at: http://www.presscouncil.org.au/pcsite/complaints/process.html.

51 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

Statement of Principles

To help the public and the press, the Australian Press Council has laid down the broad principles to which it is committed. First, the freedom of the press to publish is the freedom of the people to be informed. This is the justification for upholding press freedom as an essential feature of a democratic society. This freedom, won in centuries of struggle against political and commercial interests, includes the right of a newspaper to publish what it reasonably considers to be news, without fear or favour, and the right to comment fairly upon it. Second, the freedom of the press is important more because of the obligation it entails towards the people than because of the rights it gives to the press. Freedom of the press carries with it an equivalent responsibility to the public. Liberty does not mean licence. Thus, in dealing with complaints, the Council will give first and dominant consideration to what it perceives to be in the public interest. The Council does not lay down rules by which publications should govern themselves. However, in considering complaints, the Council will have regard to these general principles. 1. Newspapers and magazines (“publications”) should not publish what they know or could reasonably be expected to know is false, or fail to take reasonable steps to check the accuracy of what they report. 2. A publication should make amends for publishing information that is found to be harmfully inaccurate by printing, promptly and with appropriate prominence, such retraction, correction, explanation or apology as will neutralise the damage so far as possible. 3. Readers of publications are entitled to have news and comment presented to them honestly and fairly, and with respect for the privacy and sensibilities of individuals. However, the right to privacy should not prevent publication of matters of public record or obvious or significant public interest. Rumour and unconfirmed reports, if published at all, should be identified as such. 4. News obtained by dishonest or unfair means, or the publication of which would involve a breach of confidence, should not be published unless there is an over-riding public interest. 5. Publications are free to advocate their own views and publish the views of others on controversial topics, as long as readers are readily able to recognise what is fact and what is opinion. Relevant facts should not be misrepresented or suppressed, headlines and captions should fairly reflect the tenor of an article and readers should be advised of any manipulation of images and potential conflicts of interest. 6. Publications have a wide discretion in publishing material, but they should have regard for the sensibilities of their readers, particularly when the material, such as photographs, could reasonably be expected to cause offence. Public interest should be the criterion and, on occasion, explained editorially. 7. Publications should not place any gratuitous emphasis on the race, religion, nationality, colour, country of origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, illness, or age of an individual or group. Nevertheless, where it is relevant and in the public interest, publications may report and express opinions in these areas. 8. Where individuals or groups are singled out for criticism, the publication should ensure fairness and balance in the original article. Failing that, it should provide a reasonable and swift opportunity for a balancing response in the appropriate section of the publication. 9. Where the Council issues an adjudication, the publication concerned should prominently print the adjudication. The Council strives to ensure that its adjudications on complaints reflect both the conscience of the press and the legitimate expectations of the public. Note: For the purposes of these principles, ‘public interest’ is defined as involving a matter capable of affecting the people at large so they might be legitimately interested in, or concerned about, what is going on, or what may happen to them or to others.

52 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

Print Media Privacy Standards

Underlying Principles Principle 3 of the Press Council’s Statement of Principles states, with respect to privacy: Readers of publications are entitled to have news and comment presented to them honestly and fairly, and with respect for the privacy and sensibilities of individuals. However, the right to privacy should not prevent publication of matters of public record or obvious or significant public interest. The need to balance respect for privacy with standards that recognise freedom of speech and of the press is recognised by the Privacy Act 1988. The Privacy Act provides an exemption for acts done or practices engaged in by a media organisation in the course of journalism, if the media organisation is publicly committed to observing standards that deal with privacy in the context of the activities of a media organisation, and those standards have been published in writing either by the organisation or a body representing a class of media organisations. These Standards deal with privacy in the context of the activities of media organisations. They elaborate on the Press Council’s Statement of Principles, and are published by the Press Council for the purposes of the Privacy Act exemption.

Application of these Standards These Standards apply to ‘personal information’, which is information or an opinion (including forming part of a database) whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, about an individual whose identity is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained from the information. These Standards also recognise, as does the Privacy Act, that the media have a duty to inform the public on matters of significant public interest. For the purposes of these Standards, ‘public interest’ is defined as involving a matter capable of affecting the people at large so they might be legitimately interested in, or concerned about, what is going on, or what may happen to them or to others. The media organisations, and the relevant publications, which are committed to these Standards are listed in the Schedule found on the Council’s website.

1. Collection of personal information In gathering news, journalists should seek personal information only in the public interest. In doing so, journalists should not unduly intrude on the privacy of individuals and should show respect for the dignity and sensitivity of people encountered in the course of gathering news. In accordance with Principle 4 of the Council’s Statement of Principles, news obtained by unfair or dishonest means should not be published unless there is an overriding public interest. Generally, journalists should identify themselves as such. However, journalists and photographers may at times need to operate surreptitiously to expose crime, significantly anti-social conduct, public deception or some other matter in the public interest. Public figures necessarily sacrifice their right to privacy, where public scrutiny is in the public interest. However, public figures do not forfeit their right to privacy altogether. Intrusion into their right to privacy must be related to their public duties or activities.

2. Use and disclosure of personal information Personal information gathered by journalists and photographers should only be used for the purpose for which it was intended. A person who supplies personal information should have a reasonable expectation that it will be used for the purpose for which it was collected. Some personal information, such as addresses or other identifying details, may enable others to intrude on the privacy and safety of individuals who are the subject of news coverage, and their families. To the extent lawful and practicable, a media organisation should only disclose sufficient personal information to identify the persons being reported in the news, so that these risks can be reasonably avoided. 53 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

Privacy standards 3. Quality of personal information A media organisation should take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information it collects is accurate, complete and up-to-date.

4. Security of personal information A media organisation should take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information it holds is protected from misuse, loss, or unauthorised access.

5. Anonymity of sources All persons who provide information to media organisations are entitled to seek anonymity. The identity of confidential sources should not be revealed, and where it is lawful and practicable, a media organisation should ensure that any personal information which it maintains derived from such sources does not identify the source.

6. Correction, fairness and balance In accordance with Principle 8 of the Council’s Statement of Principles, where individuals are singled out for criticism, the publication should ensure fairness and balance in the original article. Failing that, the media organisation should provide a reasonable and swift opportunity for a balancing response in the appropriate section of the publication. A media organisation should make amends for publishing any personal information that is found to be harmfully inaccurate, in accordance with Principle 2 of the Council’s Statement of Principles. The media organisation should also take steps to correct any of its records containing that personal information, so as to avoid a harmful inaccuracy being repeated.

7. Sensitive personal information In accordance with Principle 7 of the Council’s Statement of Principles, media organisations should not place any gratuitous emphasis on the categories of sensitive personal information listed in Principle 7, except where it is relevant and in the public interest to report and express opinions in these areas. Members of the public caught up in newsworthy events should not be exploited. A victim or bereaved person has the right to refuse or terminate an interview or photographic session at any time. Unless otherwise restricted by law or court order, open court hearings are matters of public record and can be reported by the press. Such reports need to be fair and balanced. They should not identify relatives or friends of people accused or convicted of crime unless the reference to them is necessary for the full, fair and accurate reporting of the crime or subsequent legal proceedings.

8. Complaints The Council will receive and deal with complaints from person or persons affected about possible breaches of these Standards in the same way as it receives and deals with complaints about possible breaches of its Statement of Principles. Where the Council issues an adjudication in relation to these Standards, the publication concerned must prominently print the adjudication.

These procedures apply to those media organisations listed in the Schedule on the Council’s website.

54 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

Complaints Procedure

If you have a complaint against a newspaper or periodical or the news reporting on a website of a Council member, which appears to have breached the Council's Statement of Principles or the code of privacy standards, you should first take it up with the editor or other senior representative of the publication concerned. If the complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction, and it involves the editorial or article sections of a periodical or website (and does not deal with advertising or the commercial operations of the publication), you may refer it to the Australian Press Council. A complaint must be specific, in writing, and accompanied by a cutting, hardcopy print, clear photostat or html attachment of the matter complained of, with supporting documents or evidence, if any. Complaints must be lodged within 60 days of initial publication. The Council provides a complaint form for complainants to use. The Council asks that complainants summarise the main thrust of their complaints in about 300 words, and then supply other supporting material that will assist the Council in understanding all their concerns. The Council will not hear a complaint subject to legal action or possible legal action, unless the complainant is willing to sign a waiver of the right to such action. On receipt of the complaint, the Council secretariat will first try to arrange an amicable settlement of the matter. Over 40 per cent of complaints are settled in this way at an early stage of the process. If such a settlement is not possible, and the complaint is accepted, a formal response from the publication will be sought and sent to the complainant. If not satisfied by the response, the complainant can, with the agreement of the newspaper, seek a conciliation hearing conducted by a Public Member of the Council or can immediately refer the matter to the Press Council for adjudication. If a matter is sent to the Council, the complainant and publication have the option of attending a hearing of the Complaints Committee which makes a recommendation to the Council on the matter. The Complaints Committee consists of seven members of the Council, with a majority of public members (including the Chairman). The recently revised and reprinted guidelines on the complaints procedures are available in the form of a booklet and on the Council’s website. They include information on the Council’s preference that lawyers not be involved and on the very limited situations in which the Council will consider appeals. The procedures were rewritten in July 2002 to enforce shorter response times and a few other matters, such as the Council's oversight of its members' news reporting websites. They were again reviewed following the Council’s 2005 Planning Day.

Address complaints or inquiries to: The Executive Secretary The Australian Press Council Suite 10.02, 117 York Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 For information or advice telephone (02) 9261 1930; callers from outside Sydney can ring on Free Call (1800) 025 712.

Information and advice is also available via the Internet. The Council’s website is at http://www.presscouncil.org.au

The Council’s email addresses are: [email protected] or [email protected]

The booklet, Objects, Principles and Complaints Procedures, which also sets out the Privacy Standards for the Print Media, is available free from the office or through the website, where it is posted as a pdf.

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Jack R Herman & Deborah Kirkman Other Council activities Administration and activities

Administration The day-to-day affairs of the Council are handled by the Secretariat. This is headed by the Executive Secretary who is responsible to the Council and, between meetings, to the Chairman. The current Executive Secretary is Jack Herman who has been in the position since April 1994. He is ably assisted by Deborah Kirkman, the Office Manager, who handles many aspects of the complaints process, including some conciliation work. This year Deb again co-ordinated the Council’s Case Studies Seminars, both at universities and with newspaper companies, and is the office’s representative on the Council’s Promotions Committee. After two and a half years of employment, Helen Tyreman received an offer of alternative appointment. Helen was a pleasure to work with. The Council was sorry to lose her but recognised that she needed to seek a position where there are advancement possibilities. Subsequently, Emma Boreland was employed as the At the time of Assistant to the Executive Secretary and is likely to be the first point of contact in the office for most inquiries. In addition to her administrative role, Emma has some responsibility for a range writing, as it of the Council’s public activities. The Council employs a Policy Officer, Inez Ryan, who worked ends its four days a week during the reporting period, and went to full-time employment on 1 July 2007. thirty-first Inez is primarily a researcher in areas of media law and freedom of speech issues, as well as year, the ethical issues pertaining to the news media. Inez also acts as the administrative aid to the Council’s Council has Policy Development Committee. The Executive Secretary again acknowledges the contribution formally dealt made by the Council’s staff to the success of the Council’s operations. with over 10,000 The Council office tries speedily to deal with inquiries from students. It receives many of these a week and makes its Library available to those who can get into the Sydney office. The Council’s complaints Internet site has facilitated easier access to information for many students and it is to this site (10,172 to be that most are now directed in the first place. exact), of which 3,999 Complaints about the ethical behaviour of newspapers and magazines continue to keep the office have been staff busy. At the time of writing, as it ends its thirty-first year, the Council has formally dealt mediated or with over 10,000 complaints (10,172 to be exact), of which 3,999 have been mediated or otherwise otherwise settled to the satisfaction of the complainant. It has adjudicated 1,955 of the complaints, issuing settled to the 1,361 adjudications, of which over 42 per cent have upheld the complaint in whole or part. Additionally it has sent out 279 press releases or reporting guidelines, published 30 annual satisfaction reports and 78 issues of the APC News. Additionally, in 2006-2007, it published the first State of of the the News Print Media in Australia report, both in hardcopy and as a part of the Council’s website. complainant. That website now maintains over 1,300 separate files, searchable by keyword, and is linked to the AustLII database, which archives all Press Council adjudications, including early ones not yet posted to the website.

Complaints times The Council has made it a priority to speed up the processing of complaints. In 2006-2007, it averaged 28 days between receipt and closing of those files that were dealt with other than by adjudication. The means by category were: Closed by average Refused 10.28 days Referred 7.6 days Withdrawn/Legal 40.64 days Not followed up 28.11 days Withdrawn after correspondence 43.62 days Mediated 47.82 days 56 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

For complaints that went through the process to adjudication by the Council, the average time Admin and from receipt to adjudication (remembering that the Council meets every six weeks) was 96.74 activities days.

Complaints against the Press Council The Council has not had any of its decisions challenged in the courts. At the time of the writing of Annual Report 30, the Unity Party of Western Australia had written to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission registering a complaint about the rejection of a concern it had raised with the Council. It alleges that the rejection was unfair and based on racist motives. The HREOC decided to take no action over the matter. The Council has defended itself against such accusations when they have been lodged. It does reject complaints (see Complaints Not Adjudicated on page 46) but does so, not on the basis of who the complainant is, but on the basis of whether an a priori breach of the Council’s principles has been established.

The Internet Site The Council maintains a website (http://www.presscouncil.org.au) primarily as an information site, although it also allows for the submission of on-line complaints direct to the Council through a form available on that site. The site is searchable by keyword. During the year, the Council The Council changed its Internet Service Provider and its web host. There were some minor hiccoughs during was this process but the site is now operating smoothly again. registered as an Incorporation incorporated The Council has acted as an unincorporated association since its inception. On the recommendation association of the Secretariat, the Council determined to incorporate, preferably under the NSW Associations under the Incorporation Act, because the Council’s offices are in Sydney. At the Council’s request, the NSW Act. Chairman, Executive Secretary and Policy Officer developed a redrafted Constitution to include There will be the changes required to prepare the Council for incorporation. After discussions with its no overt Constituent Bodies (as required under the extant Constitution), and extensive debate, the Council change in the adopted the redrafted document (which has now been posed to the website). The Executive way in which Secretary and Policy Officer were asked to seek to register the Council for incorporation in the Council NSW. operates as a The Department of Fair Trading ejected the Council initial approach for incorporation on the complaints- grounds that the Council’s income exceeded the nominal limit the department had set. The Council handling body. lodged an appeal to the Minister. Following a review the Council was registered as an incorporated association under the NSW Act. There will be no overt change in the way in which the Council operates as a complaints-handling body.

Trademarks One reason for incorporation is the proposed registration of the Press Council trademark. Now that the Council is registered as an incorporated association it will seek registration of its mark.

Council Meetings The Council held seven Council meetings in Sydney in 2006-2007 and one meeting in Perth. The Press Council held its meetings in Perth on 22 and 23 March 2007 (GPR 277 on page 65). While there, the Council hosted a public meeting at which WA Chief Justice Wayne Martin spoke on Access to Justice - The Media, the Courts and the Public Record. Chief Justice Martin spoke about public and media access to the Courts and their records, and the principles governing that access, and the benefits to the community generally from the widest possible public and media access to the workings of their Courts. He also addressed particular aspects of access arising from the availability of new technologies, such as the Internet, and the prospect of web-

57 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

Admin and based broadcasting of court proceedings. A report of his speech is the May APC News and the activities complete address has been posted to the Council’s website. This was the Council’s third visit to Perth. The previous one was in 1996. At a number of the meetings, the Council invited guest speakers to address it on issues of interest to the print media. Among its guests were: • Michael Gill, editor in chief of The Australian Financial Review; • Simon Dulhunty, editor of The Illawarra Mercury; • Rick Snell from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tasmania, an FoI expert; and • Tim Palmer, the Executive Producer of Media Watch.

Other meetings The Chairman and Executive Secretary met with the Chair and Manager (Inputs to Industry) of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) on 13 October to discuss newspaper websites and issues around convergent media. ACMA seems primarily concerned with licensed media and less interested in the Internet and news websites. They expressed an interest in Press Council adjudications and guidelines in relation to journalistic standards. It was agreed that ACMA and the Council would engage in a continuing dialogue with regard to intersecting areas of interest. Later the same week, they met with the Minister for Communications, Senator Helen Coonan, on 17 October in Canberra to discuss cross-media ownership changes. The proposals were then before the Parliament and the Council had expressed some concern at the impact of the changes The Chairman on press self-regulation. One aspect that emerged from the meeting was the Minister’s expressed expressed commitment to continuing self-regulation of the press, and her assurance that she saw no regulatory concern that role for ACMA in regard to the print media. There was also discussion about the use of “rip and the read” reports from regional newspapers on local radio (an issue that has been raised with the requirement Council by regional editors and subsequently raised with ACMA), and the new legislation’s for increased references to greater local content. The Chairman expressed concern that the requirement for local content increased local content in news would just lead to more ‘rip and read’. The Minister said that she was intending to look further at this issue before introducing the new guidelines in 2008. in news would just lead to Several months later, the Chairman and Executive Secretary had a meeting with the ALP’s then more ‘rip and Shadow Attorney-General, Kelvin Thomson, in Canberra, to discuss issues related to freedom read’. of communication, particularly, the ALP’s commitment to reform of Freedom of Information law and practice and to the protection of journalists’ confidential sources. On 17 and 18 April the New Zealand Press Council Review panel, Sir Ian Barker and Professor Lewis Evans, visited the Australian Press Council to discuss with the Chairman and Executive Secretary the way in which the Australian Press Council operates. The reviewers were particularly interested in the Council’s use of conciliation techniques, in its take up of complaints about matters posted to newspaper websites, and in its role as a protector of the freedom of the press, as well as of the press’ responsibilities. The Executive Secretary: • chaired a session on media coverage of drugs and drug-related issues at the Australasian Amphetamines Conference in Sydney on 12 October 2006. The session involved 5 journalists and 5 community representatives, and went over about 90 minutes. • had the pleasure of talking about the Press Council to a group of 12-year-olds at the International Grammar School. The sixth grade at the International Grammar School at Broadway invited him to address them. He used a few ‘cases’ to interest them in our work. • on 18 January 2007 met with 15 students from Pacific Lutheran University of Tacoma, Washington, here as a part of their study of a comparative foreign media. This is the fourth such visit from such a group of students. • attended the 2007 Awards Ceremony at the University of Sydney School of Letters Art and Media to present the APC prizes to the winners of the undergraduate and post-graduate awards • addressed the ATO Marketing Communications capability leadership conference, in Canberra,

58 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

about openness and transparency in the media to the ATO officers mainly responsible for press Admin and liaison. activities • during the Perth visit, met with the journalism staff at Murdoch University better to establish relations with that university and involve it in the case Studies, research and Press Council prize programs. Industry member, Chris McLeod, visited Fiji, to speak at World Press Freedom Day events. More details are in the Report on free speech issues. Industry member, Sharon Hill, and the Council’s Policy Officer attended a forum on 20 June, organised by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, to formulate ‘protocols’ for the conduct of the media in event of a terrorism event in Australia. The forum has led to some fruitful discussions between the institute and the media and to cooperation in developing a way forward.

Articles Professor Ken McKinnon wrote an op-ed piece for The Sydney Morning Herald on the 2006 State of the News Print Media in Australia report. It was published, under the headline Daunting Challenges for Newspapers, on 11 October 2006. Other articles published on behalf of the Council included: The Executive Secretary had been asked to provide an op-ed piece for the Herald Sun to coincide with the start of the Council’s ‘come clean’ campaign. The article, Fight for Freedom, was published on 14 May 2007. At the request of the Institute of Arbitrators & Mediators Australia, Deborah Kirkman wrote a 1000- word article on the Council’s use of ADR. It was posted to the Institute’s on-line journal. The article’s URL is http://www.iama.org.au/pdf/nat0612.pdf Journalist member Adrian McGregor wrote a feature profile on the Council’s Chairman, Professor Ken McKinnon, which was published in The Bulletin on 27 March 2007. Inez Ryan had an article on the Jane Doe case published in the Privacy Law Bulletin.

Promotions Committee The reconstituted Promotions Committee has been working on a number of ideas: The Council has been running a pilot program with local Rotary Clubs in western Sydney and in Perth. The Council has offered the clubs speakers for their monthly meetings and Council members and office staff have presented about a dozen talks in the last six months. These talks have been seen as generally successful and the committee is now looking at the possible expansion of the project to include other community organisations and other centres. The committee is working on the development of an ‘education’ section of the website. Aimed at high school teachers and students, these web pages will pull together some useable resources for classrooms on questions of the print media, media ethics and media literacy skills. The section should be posted in the next few months. As a part of the research for this project, the Executive Secretary accepted an invitation to address a group of 12-year-olds at Sydney’s International Grammar School. The session led to some lively discussion of what the press tries to do and suggested that the website needs to aim for something more than just material that relates to interpreting the press. The Council has revised and reissued its ‘filler’ advertisements. The Council seeks cooperation from the press in the publication of these small block ads, which promote the Council’s complaints facility, in any spare ad space.

Annual Address 2007 David Kirk, the CEO of Fairfax Media, delivered the Australian Press Council’s 2007 Annual Address at a media lunch on 10 May in Sydney. His Address was entitled: Convergence: The Print Media, the New Media and Press Freedom. GPR 278 (page 66) referred to the event, which occurred on the same day as the launch of the media’s Public Right to Know campaign and during a strike by Fairfax Media workers. The complete Address has been posted to the Council’s website.

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Admin and Press Council Research Grant activities Professor Mark Pearson study of privacy, under the 2005 research grant, has been sent to the Press Council and added to its file of research material available to students. The Council again met with researchers from tertiary institutions on 28 May to discuss areas of mutual interest. The meeting discussed the possible contents of the 2007 supplement to the State of the News Print Media in Australia, the main original research being analyses of the coverage of state elections in Queensland and Victoria. A third analysis, of the coverage of the 2007 NSW election, was not completed. Amongst the ideas floated at the meeting was Professor Mark Pearson’s proposal to conduct research on government ‘spin’, involving a large number of university journalism departments. The Council agreed in principle to contribute some administrative support to the project.

Other bodies A new scheme for dealing with complaints about therapeutic goods advertising, administered by the Therapeutic Goods Complaints Resolution Panel, now includes, when the matter complained of is in the Australian print media, a reference of the matter first to the Press Council to see if the matter complained of involved news reports or commentary, rather than advertising. If the Council deems the matter to be genuine news reporting, it, rather than the Therapeutic Goods Complaints The Press Resolution Panel, will deal with the matter. The Council agreed to take part in the scheme. Council case The Australian National Council on Drugs has sought from the Council permission to use the study Council’s guideline on the reporting of drugs and drug addiction as a part of its campaign to seek seminars more responsible reporting of such issues in the media generally. The Council endorsed the use were of the guideline, subject to the campaign not committing the Council to material that directs the established in media or is overly restrictive on the media. 1994 as a means by Case Studies Seminars which young journalists, The Press Council case study seminars were established in 1994 as a means by which young and journalists, and journalism students, could learn about the impact of ethical considerations on journalism reporting by discussing the issues arising from complaints that the Council had adjudicated. students, A week or two prior to a seminar, each participant is provided with a book of case studies so that could learn they can read and consider the material in advance. The case studies relate to issues such as about the invasion of privacy, offensive coverage, photographs, headlines, racism and uncorrected impact of inaccuracies. Each case study is based on actual cases and uses material derived from the ethical complainant’s material and the publication’s response. considerations Press Council members and staff from the Secretariat present the seminars, usually during lecture on reporting time in the various journalism courses. At a seminar the presenters offer an overview of the by discussing Press Council’s history, functions and complaints procedure and then proceed to consideration the issues of the cases. This takes the form of an interactive simulation of the complaints process. The aim arising from is to give participants the opportunity to consider and apply ethical standards of reporting to complaints real-life situations. that the Are case studies worthwhile? The Council this year asked for more formal feedback from Council had presenters and participants. adjudicated. Most presenters commented that the cases work best when the material has been studied in advance. They also agree that later-year students tend to participate more vigorously, than those just embarking on their studies. On the whole, students seemed to genuinely benefit from the experience. As one presenter commented: “It is surely a good idea for the Press Council to be out among young potential journalists explaining the Council’s role and providing some assurance that there is a disciplinary body that the press takes seriously.” In fact, another believes the seminars should be required reading: “I consider the case studies are really valuable and, if we are not already doing it, we should be pressing every journalism and media communications department in all Australian universities to include the Council’s activities as part of their curriculum and, as part of this, we should offer materials and support and lecturers.” 60 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

And the participants? Unsolicited comments to Press Council presenters are instructive: “Indeed Admin and stimulating debate,” said one; and another: “I found it really useful and enjoyed going through activities the booklet they provided. It really opened my eyes to how the Press Council works and the ... challenges they face reaching their findings”. At another university, students said the case studies were one of their favourite parts of the course.

Their lecturers were similarly keen. “I believe [my students] again left the room thinking that “We ran the there is more grey than black and white … [T]he offerings of the APC are critical because they Cairns Post are undertaken with subject matter that is real, in an atmosphere that encourages participation, photograph questioning and argument formation”. And coming from a different viewpoint: “The Press (of a murder Council’s success is due in part to the novelty of having guest presenters but, probably more to scene) and the point, the students respond well to the fact that the presenter represents the organisation that they were actually handles these issues in the industry, which means a lot in credibility terms”. amazed. The The presenters themselves often learn something new. One relayed this vignette about a seminar students from with 20 international students. “We ran the Cairns Post photograph (of a murder scene) and they Canada and were amazed. The students from Canada and the US could not believe we did not have a press the US could free here while those from Asia wondered what the fuss was all about”. not believe It just goes to show: there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to the consideration of ethics we did not and journalism. have a press free here Prize while those from Asia The Council discontinued the essay competition in 2005 and, instead, liaised with university wondered journalism faculties and departments to provide a series of prizes for outstanding course-work what the fuss within those faculties. Sixteen universities took up the Council’s offer for such prizes, to be was all presented either for specifically set essays or for performance in coursework in subjects related about”. to the ethics of journalism. In 2006-2007, prizes to the value of $300 have been offered to, or awarded at: The University of Queensland, Sunshine Coast University, University of Southern Queensland, Bond University, the Queensland University of Technology, University of Sydney, University of Western Sydney, University of Technology Sydney, Charles Sturt University, Wollongong University, Newcastle University, University of South Australia, Edith Cowan University, Curtin University, the University of Tasmania and the University of Canberra

Publications The Australian Press Council continued to publish and distribute: • a quarterly Australian Press Council News, with articles of interest to the press and reports on the Council’s activities; and • an Annual Report (see GPR 274 on page 63). In 2006-2007, it published the initial State of the News Print Media in Australia report in both booklet form and on-line. The launch was covered in GPR 273 (page 62). In late 2007 it will publish on-line a Supplement to the report (there will be a downloadable pdf version of the report for those who need a hardcopy), updating developments in the year since the report was published. The Council intends to publish a full report every two years, with the next one due in October 2008. A full list of the available publications follows on page 68. Press Council publications are now sent by email to those who ask for delivery in that form. If you want the News and Annual Report sent direct to you (in pdf format), please send an email to [email protected] with subject line News by email and you will be placed on the direct email list. The News is also provided to the Informit on-line publication site at RMIT for posting, as a part of its service. Informit has also made available back issues of the News.

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GPRs General Press Releases 272 273 The Press Council issues press releases from time to time. Some are guideline statements on reporting. There were eight releases issued in 2006-2007; they cover a range of matters of relevance to the Council. Over the years the Council has used press releases to issue guidelines on reporting. There were no new guidelines this year. All extant reporting guidelines are posted on the Council’s website.

General Press Releases 2006-2007

High Court’s FoI Decision Press Release No. 272 (September 2006) The Australian Press Council is dismayed at the decision of the High Court to dismiss Michael The Court has McKinnon’s appeal against the Treasurer’s refusal to grant access to information on the first failed to give home buyer’s scheme and bracket creep. The Council was a party to the case, having lodged an adequate amicus curiae brief in support of the case for better access under Freedom of Information. weight to the In finding that the tribunal did not err, the Court has failed to give adequate weight to the aims of aims of the the Freedom of Information Act, to “extend as far as possible the right of the Australian community Freedom of to access to information in the possession of the Government of the Commonwealth”. This aim Information should have been applied by the Court to correct the aberration whereby the courts will not Act, to interfere with a decision to issue a Conclusive Certificate unless that decision is completely “extend as far absurd. as possible In the wake of the Court’s decision the power of a tribunal to question the appropriateness or the right of legitimacy of a certificate is effectively confined to deciding whether or not the decision to issue the Australian the certificate was irrational or absurd. In other words, it will in practice be impossible successfully community to to challenge a Minister’s decision to refuse to disclose information, even where such information access to should rightfully be in the public domain. information in The contention that the disclosure of information would mislead or confuse the public due to its the complexity, one of the pillars of the government’s case, suffers from legal paternalism and fails possession of to appreciate the role of the press in informing the public on matters of public interest. It is the the function of newspapers to interpret complex information and pass it on to the public in a Government comprehensible form. of the Unfortunately, the practical effect of the High Court’s determination will be to give governments Commonwealth”. fresh impetus to suppress information that is embarrassing or politically inconvenient. The true This aim losers are Australia’s voters and taxpayers. should have been applied The decision indicates that FoI law, as well as FoI practice, needs urgent reform. by the Court to correct the Launch of print media report: Australian newspapers are adapting to challenges aberration General Press Release No 273 (October 2006) whereby the courts will “A ground-breaking content analysis revealed that Australian newspapers write shorter news reports, with fewer sources, than comparable American newspapers. 60 per cent of stories analysed not interfere were between 100 and 500 words; nearly 20 per cent had fewer than 100 words and were usually with a based on just one source,” said the Chairman of the Australian Press Council, Professor Ken decision to McKinnon, today, in launching the inaugural State of the News Print Media in Australia report. issue a Conclusive For metropolitan dailies crime and federal politics are most frequently reported in the first five Certificate news pages. In regional newspapers, accidents/emergencies and local politics are the dominant unless that subjects and, in Sunday newspapers, entertainment stories the most frequent. While conflict decision is remains the dominant ‘frame’ for metropolitan newspapers, the regional press, with its greater emphasis on local issues, is more likely to stress problem-solving. completely absurd.L Professor McKinnon said that the report confirmed that newspaper companies are rapidly adapting to the challenges of the new technology, changing their newsrooms to encompass the Internet and reorganising the roles of journalists. 62 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

Overall circulation and readership numbers have been stable for the last two years. Some 54.6 GPRs per cent of the 16.4 million people over fifteen read weekday papers, rising to 65.5 per cent for 273 Sunday newspapers, higher figures than the comparable American statistics. Newspaper Internet 274 news sites attract the most Internet users “Claims of the imminent eclipse of newspapers are vastly exaggerated,” he said. The research team brought together journalism academics, newspaper professionals and members of the Council’s secretariat, and was co-ordinated by Professor McKinnon. “Claims of the The report looks at trends in the print media, including economics, circulation, credibility and imminent training and includes an analysis of the impact of legislative, judicial and administrative restrictions eclipse of on the ability of the press to inform the public. It is available in printed form from the Press newspapers Council and has been posted to the Internet: http://www.presscouncil.org.au/snpma/ are vastly snpma_index.html exaggerated,” Professor McKinnon said the trends suggest that the skills developed in newsrooms in collecting, he said. organising and presenting news, and commentary on that news, will continue to be skills in prime demand, both for attracting readers for newspapers and for bringing users to Internet news sites. “Whether national or local, newspaper companies that put their faith in incisive, balanced, authoritative journalism will continue to prosper. Less obvious than current economic pressures, but probably even more important for prosperity, will be enhancement of the ‘brand’, the company’s reputation for high quality, accurate and balanced reporting. “The vast and chaotic cyberspace undoubtedly has something for everyone, but citizens need that coherent understanding of the diversity within their society and the means of resolving problems that the skilled staff of newspapers organise and present daily,” he said. On questions related to freedom of the public to be informed, Professor McKinnon added that the trends noted in the report were worrying. “While Australia is among the most liberal societies The study had in the world, with a strong tradition of press freedom, traditional freedoms are being whittled revealed both away. the innate “Recent federal anti-terrorism, ASIO, telecommunications interception and national security strength and legislation have all expanded restrictions on the ability of the press to report matters of public adaptability interest. The courts, including the High Court in its recent Freedom of Information decision, are of the press restricting the right of the public to be informed, especially, in the lower courts, through excessive in Australia in use of suppression orders,” he said. the face of “Even the press itself can be complicit in a bad trend, by sometimes seeking to buy exclusive the reporting rights on events, short-sightedly allowing commercial interests to outweigh a challenges commitment to press freedom.” from any quarters. It Professor McKinnon concluded, “The study had revealed both the innate strength and adaptability will be of the press in Australia in the face of the challenges from any quarters. It will be fascinating to see where the trends identified take us.” fascinating to see where the trends Annual Report No. 30 identified General Press Release No 274 (November 2006) take us. The Australian Press Council in its thirtieth annual report, issued today, suggests that the position of free speech in Australia has badly deteriorated over the past few years, but that the decline has been piecemeal so that there has yet to be the recognition of how badly traditional rights to access to information of public interest and concern have been eroded. In his Foreword to the report, the Council’s Chairman, Professor Ken McKinnon notes ... the whittling down, bit by bit, of the long tradition of press freedom in Australia, the erosion of the right and obligation of the press to inform the public without censorship or restrictions, continues in many different ways. Unfortunately not in such chunks that the public has yet become alarmed. Will the Australian public ever arrive at a point where it marshals counter forces, or registers its disapproval of its right to access to information indispensable to informed citizenship in a vibrant democracy? 63 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

GPRs The Council has become increasingly busy over the last few years in matters relating to maintenance 274 of the capacity of the print media to report matters of public interest freely, fully and fairly. Restrictions 275 on journalistic access and on the availability of information to the public have increased. The willingness of governments and government departments to meet their responsibilities to keep the public informed is noticeably decreasing. They use an increasing array of strategies and tactics to inhibit or prevent access. The report details a number of the current attempts to restrict reporting on matters of public concern, and on the Council’s efforts to deal with these, in areas as diverse as freedom of information laws, the use of suppression in Australian courts, legislation aimed at combating the These threat of terrorism, and the increased use of spin and leaks by governments and other institutions. developments These developments have seen Australia drop to thirty-fifth on the league table of press freedom have seen issued by Reporters sans Frontieres. Australia drop to thirty-fifth In addition to its activities in dealing with threats to a free press, the Council encourages a responsible press by dealing with complaints from the public about newspapers and magazines on the league and the annual report demonstrates that fewer complaints received by the Council are now dealt table of press with by means of an adjudication. Many more complainants have their matters mediated freedom successfully by the Council or are satisfied by actions taken by the publication. Over 52 per cent issued by of all complaints were settled amicably in these ways. Reporters sans In 2005-2006, the Council received 420 written complaints. (Many other complainants do not Frontieres. proceed to a formal complaint after telephone call or email to the Council leads to contact with the publication that settles their concerns.) Very few of these needed an adjudication from the Council and there were 30 such findings issued, of which 17 upheld the complaints in whole or in part. The major areas of complaint continue to be inaccuracy (25 per cent) and imbalance - particularly the non-publication of letters to the editor _ which accounts for about 20 per cent of complaints. There was an increase in the sensitivity of readers to confronting images and material alleged to have disparaged ethnic or religious groups – these totalling about 12 per cent of all complaints. Complaints about invasion of privacy by the press were, again, a minor component of the complaints received (around 5.5 per cent). During the year the Council was also compiled the inaugural State of the News Print Media in Australia report. This has now been printed and is available from the Council’s office. Also included in the annual report are detailed statistics on the formal complaints received by the Council, a report on its activities during the year and circulation figures on all major publishers, provided by the publishers themselves. Copies of the report are available from the Press Council office and a pdf of it has been posted to the Council’s website (http://www.presscouncil.org.au/pcsite/pubs/ar30.pdf)

Fiji coup targets media General Press Release No 275 (December 2006) The Australian Press Council condemns the actions of the military in Fiji in targeting the free media. Its actions to restrict the people’s access to information of public interest and concern were reprehensible. The visits made earlier this week by representatives of the coup leaders to newspapers and broadcasters within the country in an attempt to censor their news coverage are unacceptable. The Council is, however, heartened by the military’s recent pledge to interfere no further in the role of the news media. The Council endorses the statements of Daryl Tarte, the Chairman of the Fiji Media Council who has said: “The media organisations of Fiji ... will, at all times, continue to champion the ideals of freedom of the media enshrined in the Fiji Constitution Bill of Rights.” The Australian Press Council particularly supports the actions of The Fiji Times, its managing director Tony Yianni and editor Samisoni Kakaivalu, in suspending publication after the Fiji military ordered the paper not to publish any “propaganda” against the new political leadership;

64 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

and the actions of The Fiji Daily Post and its editor in chief Robert Wolfgramm in suspending GPRs publication after being warned by the military not to continue supporting Prime Minister Qarase. 275 276 The Press Council also condemned as unacceptable actions by soldiers to prevent foreign 277 journalists in Suva from approaching the home of the deposed prime minister.

Access of journalists to sports events General Press Release No 276 (December 2006) The Australian Press Council strongly supports the free access of all journalists to the reporting of news, whether it be political economic or sports. In the light of that support, the Council is concerned that some sporting bodies are seeking to restrict the access of journalists, particularly those reporting for on-line news outlets, to events and to news conferences preceding and following events. The Council’s Chairman, Professor Ken McKinnon, says, “The Press Council regards reporting of sports events as legitimate news. ... the Council “It is alarmed that sports organisations, both locally and internationally, are attempting to limit is concerned coverage of events, and of press conferences, as part of agreements with broadcast (and on-line) that some partners. sporting bodies are “Our general and strong position is that there should be minimum interference with the collection seeking to and reporting of news, in words and images, whatever the form that news takes.” restrict the While the Council’s concerns are to ensure the access of journalists to public events, it noted a access of particular concern with the actions of Cricket Australia, which is attempting to limit access for journalists, on-line journalists and limit the way in which newspaper’s on-line sites report the news on the particularly current Test series. those “Its threat to remove the accreditations of press journalists covering the Third Test in Perth as a reporting for ploy to force newspapers to curtail their on-line news coverage is totally unacceptable. on-line news “Cricket Australia has not been reticent in using the print media to promote its own commercial outlets, to interests and is now seeking to limit the ability of Australians to view, and receive updates on, events and to news events. Perhaps sports organisations should consider how much they have benefited from news the free coverage they have received in the print media. conferences “Journalists should be allowed to do their job, no matter what medium they report in,” Professor preceding and McKinnon concluded. following events.

Chief Justice Martin to speak on the media and the Courts General Press Release No 277 (March 2007) Chief Justice Wayne Martin will address an Australian Press Council public meeting on “Access to Justice - The Media, the Courts and the Public Record” in Perth on Thursday 22 March. Chief Justice Martin will consider public and media access to the Courts and their records. He will address the principles governing that access, and the benefits to the community generally from the widest possible public and media access to the workings of their Courts. He will also address particular aspects of access arising from the availability of new technologies, such as the Internet, and the prospect of web-based broadcasting of court proceedings. The public meeting will be held from 5.15 pm in the Central Park Theatrette, Mezzanine, Central Park, 152-158 St Georges Terrace, Perth (entry via Hay Street), during a visit to Perth by the Press Council for its monthly complaints hearings and Council meeting. Chair of the forum will be the Council Chairman, Professor Ken McKinnon. The public meeting is co-sponsored by Minter Ellison. After the Address, there will be the opportunity for questions to the speaker and some audience discussion of the issues raised. To assist with this aspect of the evening, the Council has invited the editors of the major Perth newspapers to attend. Admission to the public meeting is free and all members of the public are invited. It is not

65 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

GPRs necessary to make reservations: just turn up on the night. 277 278 About 20 members of the Council will be in Perth for the Council’s regular monthly meetings. The Press Council is the print media watchdog. It consists of public and journalist members, and industry appointed representatives. Its meetings are usually held in Sydney but at least twice a year it visits other major centres. Its role is to ensure the freedom and the responsibility of the press. It seeks to ensure a free press by fostering debate on matters that may limit free speech and by making representations to governments and others on proposals that threaten free expression. In order to ensure that the free press is responsible the Council accepts and deals with complaints about the ethical behaviour of newspapers and magazines. This will be the Council’s third visit to Perth. The previous one was in 1996.

Annual Address 2007: Newspapers and the challenge of the Internet General Press Release No 278 (May 2007) David Kirk, the CEO of Fairfax Media, will deliver the Australian Press Council’s 2007 Annual Address at a media lunch to be held on Thursday 10 May in Sydney. His Address is entitled: “Convergence: The Print Media, the New Media and Press Freedom”. Mr Kirk’s speech covers several issues that have seen Fairfax Media in the news in recent weeks: • The merger with Rural Press is the first major industry restructure following the recent introduction of new rules governing cross-media ownership.

In general Mr • Plans to reduce the width of their broadsheet newspapers address issues of the future of Kirk’s address the traditional print model. will look at • Reports on the increase in traffic visiting their newspaper Internet sites and controversies the evolution about blogs within newspaper websites (and the standards that should apply) spotlight of Fairfax the issues affecting the mainstream press as they branch into on-line delivery of news and Media into a comment. digital media • The AFR Access experiment raises questions about the possibilities of successful company in a commercialisation of the Internet. time of In general Mr Kirk’s address will look at the evolution of Fairfax Media into a digital media convergence company in a time of convergence and deregulation, and key issues affecting press freedom in and the context of an election year. deregulation, The Lunch will be held from 1230 pm in the Ballroom, Four Points by Sheraton, 161 Sussex and key Street, Sydney, with the Address to start at about 1.15 pm. issues affecting After the Address, there will be the opportunity for questions to the speaker and some audience press freedom discussion of the issues raised. The Annual Address is one of the events organised by the Council in the context to encourage discussion of matters related to the freedom and the responsibility of the press. of an election The Australian Press Council comprises representatives of the public and of the industry and year. acts to preserve the freedom, and the responsibility, of the Australian press by dealing with complaints about the content of publications (including the Internet sites of its member publications) and by making representations to governments (and others) about threats to press freedom. It was founded in July 1976 and has been in continuous operation for over 30 years. Members of the public are invited to the lunch. The cost is $80/head (with tables of eight for $500).

66 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

Punishment of journalists indicates that it’s time to come clean GPRs General Press Release No 279 (June 2007) 279 The conviction, and sentencing today, of two Herald Sun journalists protecting their sources illustrates the failure of governments to make themselves properly accountable to the electorate. Through the suppression of information and the rorting of freedom of information law, material directly related to government performance is not available through the press. The Australian Press Council challenges all governments to come clean and ensure relevant details are available to the public. The two journalists, Gerard McManus and Michael Harvey, had been directed, during the committal of a public servant to disclose sources in relation to a story (published in the Herald Sun, 20 February 2004) embarrassing to the then Veterans Affairs Minister. At the time the Minister was trying to “spin” a cut in a promised program as some sort of windfall for veterans. Leaked material, made available to the journalists, demonstrated that the Minister was in fact reneging on an earlier undertaking. Fortunately, like former Customs official Allan Kessing late last week, neither McManus nor Harvey was given a custodial sentence. But the convictions in the two cases are a further indication The Press of a government obsessed with secrecy – seeking to punish both officials accused of providing Council calls information of clear public interest and journalists who publish that information. on all As the Council’s Executive Secretary, Jack Herman, noted, “The Harvey and McManus case governments, doesn’t relate to a serious crime or a threat to national security. Their only real ‘crime’ is holding federal, state the government accountable to those who elected it, and pay for it.” and territory, The Press Council notes that, if governments were to come clean with the Australian people on to ensure that matters of public interest and concern, there would be no need for journalists to rely on leaked information material for their stories. Instead, the Commonwealth government, by prosecuting the alleged necessary to sources and targeting the journalists, is attempting to intimidate public officials and the press the public is into silence on issues that may throw light on government malpractice and chicanery. made The importance of information from confidential sources was demonstrated in Queensland in available and the late 1980s when officials cooperated with Four Corners and The Courier-Mail in exposing that corruption in that state. “Journalists should not be exposed to jail when performing their key role journalists of finding and reporting the full story of issues that will enable citizens to assess the performance are not of elected representatives,” said Mr Herman. singled out Mr Herman observed that government “spin” is pervasive: “Governments exploit a variety of for mechanisms to shape public opinion, not all of them reasonable. Pernicious, unattributable punishment background briefings and selective information ‘management’ are the tools of trade. Governments for doing the do not want journalists to go beyond the partial, official story. They often prevent media access right thing by to information that ought rightfully to be in the public domain, as was the situation with the story the voters. that put these journalists in jeopardy. “Freedom of Information laws, supposedly designed to enable access to material of public concern, rarely help. Their intention is being frustrated by deliberate time delays, increased costs and the use of conclusive certificates to bar access to material.” The Press Council calls on all governments, federal, state and territory, to ensure that information necessary to the public is made available and that journalists are not singled out for punishment for doing the right thing by the voters.

67 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

Australian Press Council Publications

The Council produces a number of publications. Publications available for a Some more recent publications are available as small fee pdf documents on the Council’s website (http:// www.presscouncil.org.au) . News Print Media report 2006 State of the News Print Media in Australia report. Online or $6 (GST inclusive). The 2007 Publications available free Supplement is available on-line as a pdf. on request a. Annual Reports Proceedings of Press Council Seminars Back issues of most are available from the Press [All prices include GST and postage within Council office. Australia; or sea-mail overseas.] a. Freedom of the Press; Role of the Press Council b. APC News (Sydney 1986) - $3 The News has been published quarterly since b. Australian Media In the 1990s (Melbourne 1989) - February 1989. The News from 1994 through out of print 2007 is available on the Council’s website. c. Media Ownership; Defamation Laws (Gold Coast 1989) - $10 c. Booklets d. Race, Press, Freedom of Speech (Perth 1990) - $5 There is currently one booklet in print: No. 9 e. Defamation Law Reform - the Attorneys’-General Aims, Principles and Complaints Procedure Proposal (Sydney 1990) - $3.50 f. Press Ethics: Are There Any? (Wollongong 1990) - d. The Twentieth Anniversary Papers $3.50 Five booklets published from October-December g. Investigative Journalism: How Probing? (Adelaide 1996 to mark the twentieth anniversary of the 1991) - $5 Council: h. The Press and Cultural Sensitivities (Darwin 1992) - 1. The reporting of suicide, particularly youth $5 suicide. The transcript of an invitation only i. Privacy and the Press (Melbourne 1993) - $3.50 roundtable discussion involving mental health j. The Constitution and Freedom of Speech (Corowa professionals, carer groups and the media. 1993) - $3.50 2. Whither the Australian Press Council? The k. Public Figures and the Press (Toowoomba 1994) - formation, function and future of the Council. $6. Deborah Kirkman’s MA History thesis on the l. The Role and Responsibility of Country Newspapers Council. (Mount Gambier 1994) - $4 m. Newspapers: A Voice For All? (Hobart 1995) - $4 3. The Australian Press Council Fellow 1995: n. The Back Page: the Press’ Coverage of Sport (Ballarat Professor John Soloski. The speeches given by 1995) - $4 the US defamation law reform expert during his o. Government Business and the Media (Fremantle trip to Australia in 1995. 1996) - $4 4. The Australian Press Council survey of p. The Role of the Press in the Reconciliation Process complainants. The complete report, with tables, (Cairns 1997) - $4 of the Council’s survey of complainants of 1988- q. The Regional Press, Privacy and the Press Council 9 to 1992-3. (Bathurst 1997) - $4 5. The Australian Press Council Fellow 1996: r. The Reporting of Gambling Issues - 253 kB in pdf - (Melbourne 1998) - $4 Professor Claude-Jean Bertrand. The speeches given by the French expert on media ethics during s. The Reporting of National Politics - 380 kB in pdf - (Canberra 1998) - $4 his trip to Australia in 1996. t. WAPC Oceania Conference - 1.9 mB in pdf - e. Occasional papers (Brisbane 1999) - $10 1. To Name or Not to Name u. What is News? - 488 kB in pdf - (Launceston, 1999) - $5 2. Ten Year Report 1987-1997. Prof Flint’s report of his 10 year’s at the helm of the Council. Published with a speech on the media. Proceedings of a Seminar held jointly with the ACIJ a. Commercial Confidentiality v. the Public Right 3. 1999 Australian Press Council Fellow. David to Know is available from the ACIJ (PO Box 123, Robie’s trip report and speeches. BROADWAY NSW 2007) at $15 each. 68 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council The Council Jack R Herman

There was only a little movement in Council membership in the reporting year. The details are noted within each category of membership.

Independent Chairman In November 2006, the Council re-appointed Professor Ken McKinnon to a further three-year term, his third.

Public members During the year, the Council appointed to their second three-year terms Cheryl Attenborough and John Fleetwood.

Journalist members After serving three three-year terms as a member of the panel of independent journalist members, Sandy Symons left the Council. The Council has appointed Prue Innes as the new member of the panel. After a cadetship at the Herald and Weekly Times, with most of it on The Sun, and stints in radio and TV newsrooms, Prue Innes went to The Age where she became a specialist court reporter and then law reporter. She was a member of the review panel of the MEAA and the inaugural chairman of the national ethics panel, until resigning earlier this year. Prue was the first media officer in the Victorian court system, until July 2007. Lloyd Whish-Wilson took up a senior executive role with Fairfax Media and, accordingly resigned from the panel of editor members. The Council appointed Warren Beeby (see Industry Members below) to the panel as his replacement. Warren Beeby is the former Group Editorial Manager for News Limited and was an industry member of the Council from 1989 to June 2007.

Industry members The representative on the Council of ACP Magazines since July 2000, Alan Deans, retired from the company at the end of 2006. The company nominated Max Walsh as his replacement. Max Walsh has had a distinguished career in both print journalism and television. He was formerly editor and managing editor of The Australian Financial Review and editor in chief of The Bulletin. When Max Walsh retired from active journalism at the end of the financial year, ACP Magazines nominated Pam Walkley, editor of Money Magazine, as his replacement. She had acted as the company’s alternate representative for a number of years. Following the retirement from Council of Barry Potter and his alternate, Ian Pech, at the end of their terms, the regional dailies will be represented for the next eighteen months by Bruce Morgan, General Manager of Ballarat’s daily newspaper The Courier, and formerly its Editor. His alternate will be Peter Owen, former editor-in-chief of the Sunshine Coast Daily, now working as an editorial executive for APN News and Media. In January 2009, Peter Owen will become the full member and Bruce Morgan will serve as his alternate. On 30 June, Warren Beeby, the long-time representative of News Limited on the Council, retired from the company. Consequently he also resigned from the Council. The company nominated Campbell Reid, its Editorial Development Manager, as his replacement, with Sharon Hill to continue as his alternate. Campbell Reid has recently been appointed group editorial operations director at News Limited and is a former editor of The Australian and of the Daily Telegraph, Sydney. Australian Associated Press has nominated Selina Day, its Editorial Manager (Logistics), as Phil Dickson’s alternate, replacing the recently retired Col Burgess. The Council also endorsed the renomination to further terms of Peter Jeanes, representing West Australian Newspapers, and Zoltan Kovacs as his alternate. 69 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

Members of the Australian Press Council as at 30 June 2007

Independent Chairman Mr Peter Jeanes (WA Newspapers Ltd) Editorial Manager Professor Ken McKinnon, AO The West Australian former Vice-Chancellor Perth. Sydney. Mr Chris McLeod (HWT Ltd) Editorial Development Manager Public Members (7 at each meeting) Herald and Weekly Times Ltd Professor HP Lee (Vice Chairman) Melbourne. Sir John Latham Professor of Law Mr Bruce Morgan (Regional Dailies) Monash University General Manager Melbourne. The Courier Ms Cheryl Attenborough Ballarat, Vic. Public servant Mr Sam North (Fairfax Media) Hobart. Managing Editor Ms Francesca Beddie Herald Publications Historian and Consultant in Public Policy and Sydney. Communication Mr Bob Osburn (Community Newspapers) Queanbeyan, NSW. Editor-in-chief Ms Helen Edwards Cumberland Newspapers Executive, Lane Wines, Sydney. Adelaide. Mr Campbell Reid (News Limited) Mr John Fleetwood Editorial Development Manager, Human Relations Manager News Limited, Adelaide. Sydney. Mr Brenton Holmes Mr David Sommerlad, AM (Country Press) Public servant Associate Director Canberra. Country Press Australia Sydney. Ms Wendy Mead Professional Counsellor Ms Pam Walkley (ACP Magazines) Brisbane. Business Editor Money Ms Katherine Sampson Sydney. Managaing Director, Mahlab Recruitment Melbourne. Ms Lisa Scaffidi Company Director Journalist member - MEAA Perth, WA. Mr Alan Kennedy Federal President, Journalists’ section, MEAA Publishers’ Representatives Sydney. Mr Phillip Dickson (AAP) Editorial Manager, AAP, Sydney. Ms Roslyn Guy (Fairfax Melbourne) Opinion Editor, The Age, Melbourne.

70 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

Independent Journalist Mr Russell Skelton (alternate to Ms Guy) Members (2 at each meeting) National Correspondent The Sunday Age Mr Bruce Baskett Melbourne. Freelance journalist/consultant Melbourne. Mr Gene Swinstead (alternate to Mr Osburn) Melbourne. Mr Adrian McGregor Freelance journalist Brisbane. Council Committees Ms Prue Innes Note: The Chairman and Vice Chairman are ex retired journalist officio members of all committees. Melbourne.

Complaints Panel of Editor Members (1 at The committee is appointed each month by the each meeting): Chairman, after consultation with the Executive Mr Warren Beeby Secretary, from those members who have indicated former Group Editorial Manager a willingness to serve on the committee. News Limited Constitutionally, it must have a majority of public Sydney. and ex-officio members. The current composition Mr Gary Evans is the Chairman, three public members, one former Editorial Manager representative of the publishers, one journalist Queensland Newspapers member and one editor member. Brisbane.

Policy Development K McKinnon (Chairman) Alternate Publisher Members H P Lee (Deputy Chairman) Ms Selina Day (alternate to Mr Dickson) A Kennedy Editorial Logistics Manager C McLeod AAP, Sydney C Reid S North/R Guy* Mr John Dunnet (alternate to Mr Sommerlad) F Bedddie/L Scaffidi* Manager B Holmes/W Mead* The Courier W Beeby/G Evans* Narrabri, NSW. *one attends each meeting Ms Sharon Hill (alternate to Mr Reid) Editorial Staff Manger Nationwide News Promotions Committee Sydney L Scaffidi (Convenor) Mr Rex Jory (alternate to Mr McLeod) F Beddie Deputy Editor A McGregor The Advertiser G Swinstead Adelaide. W Mead D Kirkman Mr Zoltan Kovacs (alternate to Mr Jeanes) Opinion Editor The West Australian The Secretariat Perth. Jack R Herman (Executive Secretary) Mr Gerard Noonan (alternate to Mr North) Deborah Kirkman (Office Manager) Senior Writer Inez Ryan (Policy Officer) The Sydney Morning Herald Emma Boreland (Assistant to the Sydney. Executive Secretary) Mr Peter Owen (alternate to Mr Morgan) APN News and Media Brisbane.

71 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

Code of Ethics Members of the Australian Press Council 1. Members commit to upholding and promoting the Principles of the Council professionally and personally. 2. While appointed to ensure that the views of the Australian press and a wide cross-section of the community are heard, members shall at all times act in the interests of a free press that serves the Australian public responsibly in accordance with the Council’s principles. 3. Members will declare any business, professional or personal conflict of interest in a matter before Council, and will absent themselves from discussion. 4. Members will not use their membership of the Council for personal or professional advantage. 5. Members accept the personal commitment necessary to ensure the responsibilities of their position are fully met.

Council meetings 2006-2007 There were 8 Council meetings during the year, seven in Sydney. The Complaints Committee also met eight times, each the day before a Council meeting. Below are dates and venues of Council meetings. July 26 and 27 July 2006 Sydney September 13 and 14 September 2006 Sydney October 25 and 26 October 2006 Sydney December 6 and 7 December 2006 Sydney February 7 and 8 February 2007 Sydney March [including Public Meeting] 22 and 23 March 2007 Perth May [including 2006 Annual Address] 9 and 10 May 2007 Sydney June 20 and 21 June 2007 Sydney

Elected and appointed officers of the Council

Chairmen The Rt Hon. Sir Frank Kitto, AC, KBE, PC August 1976 - June 1982 Professor Geoffrey Sawer, AO July 1982 - April 1984 The Hon. J H Wootten, AC, QC August 1984 - December 1986 Professor David Flint, AM January 1987 - October 1997 Professor Dennis Pearce November 1997 - October 2000 Professor Ken McKinnon December 2000 -

Vice-Chairmen L L Sir Louis Matheson August 1976 - January 1977 Dorothy Ross, AM, OBE August 1977 - September 1985 Prof David Flint, AM October 1985 - January 1987 Dorothy Ross, AM, OBE February 1987 - June 1997 Lange Powell July 1997 - March 2004 Professor HP Lee March 2004 -

Executive Secretaries Arthur Heinrichs August 1976 - December 1978 Lyle Cousland January 1979 - December 1979 Colin McKay January 1980 - October 1985 Jennifer Treleaven September 1985 - March 1994 Jack R Herman April 1994 -

72 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

Statement of Financial Position as at 30 June 2007

2007 2006 $$

Assets

Current assets Cash and cash equivalents 268,775 244,859 Trade and other receivables 3,695 - Other current assets 1,274 4,360 Total current assets 273,744 249,219

Non-current assets Property Property, plant and equipment 53,880 64,920 Total non-current assets 53,880 64,920

Total assets 327,624 314,139

Liabilities

Current liabilities Trade and other pay payables ables 15,397 14,844 Short-term provisions 39,415 35,973 Total current liabilities 54,812 50,817

Non-current liabilities Other long-term provisions 59,445 54,516 Total non-current liabilities 59,445 54,516

Total Liabilities 114,257 105,333

Net assets 213,367 208,806

Equity Retained earnings 213,367 208,806

Total equity 213,367 208,806

73 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

Publishers’ Statistics as at 30 June 2007

The following statistics and information on them have been provided by the publishers of metropolitan newspapers and of other major groups.

Advertiser Newspapers Limited

Newspapers FrequencyOwnership Circulation if not 100% The Advertiser Mon-Fri 191,325 Sat 259,807 Sunday Mail Weekly *50% 318,179 City Messenger Weekly 27,999 East Torrens Messenger Weekly 33,123 Eastern Courier Messenger Weekly 62,600 Guardian Messenger Weekly 70,162 Hills Messenger Weekly 19253 Leader Messenger Weekly 43,314 News Review Messenger Weekly 89,618 Portside Messenger Weekly 32,562 Southern Times Messenger Weekly 57,690 Standard Messenger Weekly 35,565 Weekly Times Messenger Weekly 61,739 Adelaide Matters 4 Weekly 115,000

*Remaining 50% held by News Limited

Acquisitions Nil

Divestitures Nil

Mergers Nil

Major Owner News Corporation

Company Directors Mr. P.F. Wylie – Chairman Mr. M.B. Miller – Managing Director Mr. J.K. Hartigan Mrs. P. MacLeod Mr. P.J. Macourt Mr. R.A. Cordina – Chairman

74 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

ACP Magazines Ltd

Magazines FrequencyOwnership Circulation if not 100% Australian Auto Action weekly 13,608 Australian Gourmet Traveller monthly 77,483 Australian House & Garden monthly 98,051 Australian Motorcycle News fortnightly 20,829 Australian NetGuide monthly 38,311 APC (Australian Personal Computer) monthly 33,219 Australian Table monthly 69,158 Australian Women’s Weekly monthly 610,418 Belle bi-monthly 29,952 Bulletin weekly Published under licence 60,760 Burke’s Backyard monthly 82,539 Campervan and Motorhome Trader monthly 15,817 Caravan World monthly 13,925 Cleo monthly Published under licence 190,092 Cosmopolitan monthly 50% 215,875 Deals On Wheels monthly 24,216 Disney Adventures monthly Published under licence 38,251 Disney Girl monthly Published under licence 28,241 Disney Princess monthly Published under licence Dolly monthly 155,167 Earthmovers & Excavators monthly 10,874 Farms & Farm Machinery monthly 12,994 Fernwood, Your Healthy Living Magazine bi-monthly 0% 4 X 4 Australia monthly 20,051 4 X 4 Trader monthly 13,535 Good Health & Medicine monthly 66,305 Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine bi-monthly 23,128 Harper’s Bazaar 10/year 50% 53,637 Inside Cricket 9/year (season) 50% Madison monthly 50% 95,514 Money monthly 48,645 Motor monthly 49,604 Motorcycle Trader monthly 30,029 NW weekly 202,000 PC User monthly 54,040 People weekly 59,083 Picture weekly 79,241 Plant & Equipment monthly 8,185 Ralph monthly 104,169 Real Living monthly 60,609 Rugby League Week weekly 22,736 Shop Til You Drop 11/year 74,104 Street Machine monthly 62,227 Take 5 weekly 260,085 Trade-A-Boat monthly 22,616 Trailer Boat monthly 19,194 TV Week weekly 281,081 Unique Cars monthly 60,702 Wheels monthly 61,569 Woman’s Day weekly 526,483

Changes Speed no longer published; Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine, Motorcycle Trader and Money have altered names.

Major Owners The publisher is ACP Magazines Ltd, 100% owned by PBL Media Pty Ltd which is owned 50% by Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (“PBL”) and 50% by CVC Limited, both publicly listed companies.

ACP Magazines Ltd Board of Directors Guy Jalland Ian Francis Law Scott Darren Lorson Patrick Redmond Joseph O’Sullivan

75 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

APN News and Media

APN News and Media have not provided the Council with current year statistics prior to the publication of this report. The following are the company’s known print media assets in Australia.

NSW Regional Daily and community South Burnett Times, Kingaroy newspapers Central and North Burnett Times Western Times Daily News, Tweed Heads Balonne Beacon, St George Gold Coast Mail, Tweed Heads Sunshine Coast Daily Border Mail/Tweed Mail Sunshine Coast Sunday Northern Star, Lismore Nambour Weekly Byron Shire News Buderim Weekly North Coast Advocate, Ballina Caloundra Weekly Rivertown Times, Ballina The Weekly Northern Farmer Bulletin, Lismore Noosa News Richmond River Express Examiner, Casino Caboolture News The Daily Examiner, Grafton Bribie Weekly Coastal Views, Yamba The Queensland Times, Ipswich The Advocate, Coffs Harbour The Ipswich Advertiser Satellite, Ipswich Queensland Regional Daily and Big Rigs, Ipswich community newspapers The Chronicle, Toowoomba Toowoomba’s Mail Rural Weekly The Daily Mercury, Mackay Cotton Insight Whitsunday Times, Airlie Beach Dalby Herald Mackay Midweek Northern Down News, Dalby Miners Midweek Gatton Star Sarina Midweek The Western Star, Roma The Central Queensland News, Emerald The Stanthorpe Border Post The Blackwater Herald, Blackwater Chinchilla News The Morning Bulletin, Rockhampton Western Times Capricorn Coast Mirror Daily News, Warwick Capricorn Local News Bush Telegraph, Warwick The Central Telegraph, Biloela The Weekly Trader, Warwick The Observer, Gladstone Port Curtis Post APN Business Information Group The NewsMail, Bundaberg Guardian Bundaberg ANZIDECC Directory - Australian & New The Fraser Coast Chronicle, Maryborough Zealand Industry Defence Equipment Hervey Bay Observer and Capability The Maryborough Herald Australian Exporters CD Let’s Go Fishing Hospital Buyers Guide Directory Western Times, Charleville Hospital Yearbook Directory The Gympie Times Kompass Australia Directory Cooloola Advertiser, Gympie

76 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

Cumberland Newspaper Group

Publication Publication Audited Overall % DayCirculation Readership Reach

Blacktown Advocate Wednesday 52,090 96,000 67.2 Canterbury-Bankstown Express Tuesday 84,521 81,000 28.6 Central Coast Express Advocate Wednesday 128,389 209,000 78.4 Central Coast Express Advocate Friday 128,496 217,000 80.3 Fairfield Advance Wednesday 56,455 108,000 65.4 The Glebe Thursday 51,040 70,000 39.6 Hills Shire Times Tuesday 65,434 93,000 52.4 Hornsby & Upper-North Shore Advocate Thursday 50,676 98,000 71.8 Inner-West Weekly Thursday 52,129 75,000 32.6 Lake Macquarie News Thursday 52,461 53,000 38.7 Liverpool Leader Wednesday 54,455 107,000 62.8 Macarthur Chronicle Tuesday 77,172 113,000 61.0 Manly Daily Tues-Friday 90,333 152,000 76.1 Manly Daily Saturday 90,333 159,000 79.3 Mosman Daily Thursday 37,106 53,000 56.1 Mt Druitt-St Marys Standard Wednesday 44,397 58,000 47.7 North Shore Times Wednesday 71,416 119,000 57.7 North Shore Times Friday 73,855 110,000 59.2 Northern District Times Wednesday 58,504 94,000 57.3 Parramatta Advertiser Wednesday 83.099 136,000 52.5 S@SS Magazine^ Monday 24,800* n/a Penrith Press Tuesday 61,913 95,000 47.2 Penrith Press Friday 55,105 101,000 46.7 Rouse Hill Times Wednesday 16,881 n/a n/a Nine to Five Weekly - Monday 41,930 Inner Western Suburbs Courier Weekly - Tuesday 76,879 Southern Courier Weekly - Tuesday 47,050 Wentworth Courier Weekly - Wednesday 48,138 Northside Courier Weekly - Wednesday 79,879 Central Courier Weekly - Wednesday 38,807 City Weekly Weekly - Thursday 41,835 Weekender (QLD) Weekly - Thursday 74,000* The Noosa Journal (QLD) Weekly - Thursday 21,000 Village Voice Balmain Monthly 30,000 Village Voice Drummoyne Monthly 25,000 Village Voice Eastern Beaches Monthly 20,000 Village Voice Woolhara Monthly 20,000

* Publisher’s Claim

Acquisitions The Federal Publishing Company community newspapers (last thirteen titles above)

Divestitures Nil

Major Owner Cumberland Newspapers is a division of Nationwide News Pty Ltd, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of News Limited.

Company Directors Warren Beeby Peter Jourdain Lawrence Brindle Donald Kennedy Keith Brodie Peter Macourt Islwyn Davies Stephen Rue Mark Elgood Mark Webster Jeremy Harris Peter Wylie

77 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

Davies Brothers Pty Limited

Newspapers FrequencyCirculation

Mercury, Hobart Mon-Fri 46,985 Saturday Mercury Saturday 61,895 Sunday Tasmanian Sunday 60,134 Tasmanian Country Weekly Rural16,800 Treasure Island Monthly Tourist The Gazette Regional Weekly 2,382

Magazines Various magazines and periodicals published as Agents for The Herald & Weekly Times Pty Ltd, John Fairfax Group, David Syme & Co (The Age), Mirror-Australian-Telegraph Publications.

Major Shareholder The Herald & Weekly Times Pty Limited

Ultimate Beneficial Owner News Limited

Company Directors T Yianni - Managing Director P J Gibson

78 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

Emap Australia Pty Limited

Magazines FrequencyCirculation

Audited titles Australasian Dirt Bike Monthly 27,408 FHM Monthly 90,025 New Woman Monthly 81,026 Slimming Monthly 32,868 Empire Monthly 22,392 Mother and Baby Bi-Monthly 93,580 Little Kids Quarterly 149,501 Babycare Book Annual 215,804 Pregnancy Book Annual 196,782 ZOO Weekly Weekly 110,565

Non-audited titles Tracks Waves Pregnancy and Birth Shopping For Baby Australian Mountain Bike Outdoor Australia Skiing Australian & NZ Snowboarding

Acquisitions Nil

Divestitures Nil

Major owner Emap Australia (a division of EMAP plc) is the ultimate owner of the business

Emap Australia Directors Philip Mason (Chairman) Chris Llewellyn (Managing Director, Emap International) Carrie Barker (Managing Director) Eric Lawrence (Finance Director) Marina Go (Publishing Director Women’s) Anne-Marie Lavan (Group Marketing and Circulation Director) Cameron Hoy (Group Advertising Director) Ben Heuston (Digital Development Director)

79 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

Fairfax Media

Publication FrequencyOwnership Circulation

Metropolitan Newspapers The Sydney Morning Herald M-F 212,700; Sat 364,000 The Sun-Herald 505,000 The Age M-F 207,000; 301,000 The Sunday Age Sat 225,000 The Canberra Times M-F 33,935; Sat 63,115; Sun 34,674

Magazines Good Weekend 665,000 Television Magazine 730,000 Sunday Life 730,000 the(sydney)magazine 186,085 theage(melbourne)magazine 176,500 Travel + Leisure Australia

Fairfax Business Media The Australian Financial Review 88,264 The Australian Financial Review – Weekend Edition 92,194 afr.com AFR Boss 99,842 AFR Magazine 100,172 AFR Smart Investor 80,300 AFR Sophisticated Traveller Asset Business Review Weekly (BRW) 45,011 brw.com.au CFO Australia MIS Australia misaustralia.com.au Computerworld CIO jobuniverse.co.nz PC World Fairfax Business Research

Fairfax Digital unique browsers per month smh.com.au 4,042,073 theage.com.au 2,826,653 rugbyheaven.com 212,001 realfooty.com.au 493,506 monyemanager.com.au 68,172 tradingroom.com.au 94,979 mycareer.com.au 1,130,880 domain.com.au 1,814,720 drive.com.au 852,413 stayz.com.au 359,668 RSVP.com.au 755,415 cracker.com.au brisbanetimes.com.au 470,906 essentialbaby.com.au 185,551 countrycars.com.au 59,097

80 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

Regional Daily Newspapers Fairfax stats (including Rural Queensland Press) North West Star, Mt Isa 3,512

New South Wales The Northern Daily Leader, Tamworth 8,292 The Maitland Mercury 4,463 The Herald, Newcastle 51,000 Daily Liberal, Dubbo 5,208 Central Western Daily, Orange 5,442 Western Advocate, Bathurst 4,033 The Daily Advertiser, Wagga Wagga 14,320 The Border Mail, Albury/Wodonga 25,843 Illawarra Mercury, Wollongong 28,000

Victoria Ballarat Courier 19,399 Bendigo Advertiser 14,582 The Warrnambool Standard 13,124

Tasmania The Examiner, Launceston 34,358 Sunday Examiner, Launceston 42,734 The Advocate, Burnie 24,585

Community Newspapers Country

Queensland Goondiwindi Argus 2,836

New South Wales The Tenterfield Star 1,088 Glen Innes Examiner 2,030 The Inverell Times 3,661 Guyra Argus 800 The Armidale Express 2,501 Armidale Express Extra 12,906 Walcha News 811 Moree Champion 2,501 The Tamworth City Times 16,203 Scone Advocate 1,851 Muswellbrook Chronicle 2,514 Hunter Valley News, Muswellbrook 17,259 Singleton Argus 3,771 Lower Hunter Star, Maitland 18,275 Lower Hunter Weekend Star, Maitland 6,000 Cessnock Advertiser 17,393 Hunter Post, Newcastle 21,800 The Star, Newcastle and Lake Macquarie 114,772 Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Post 111,381 Gosford City Sun Weekly 52,822 Wyong Shire Sun Weekly, Wyong 49,150 Lakes Mail, Morriset 27,500 The Gloucester Advocate 1,866 Dungog Chronicle 1,639 Myall Coast Nota, Hawkes Nest 4,347 Coffs Coast Independent, Coffs Harbour 29,235 Nambucca Guardian News, Macksville 2,412 Macleay Argus, Kempsey 3,598 Mid-Coast Observer, Kempsey 18,290 Port Macquarie News 5,652 Port Macquarie Express 23,258 Hastings Gazette, Wauchope 2,242 Camden Haven Courier, Laurieton 8,394 Wingham Chronicle 1,155 The Manning River Times, Taree 4,132 Manning-Great Lakes Extra, Taree 21,530 81 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

Fairfax stats Great Lakes Advocate, Forster 6,331 (including Rural Port Stephens Examiner, Nelson Bay 29,800 Press) Hawkesbury Gazette, Richmond 7,974 Hawkesbury Courier, Richmond 20,376 Blue Mountains Gazette, Springwood (88%) 34,716 The Ridge News, Lightning Ridge 684 Cobar Age 483 Nyngan Observer 892 Warren Advocate 637 Narromine News and Trangie Advocate, Narromine 909 Gilgandra Weekly (50%) 1,284 Mailbox Shopper, Dubbo 15,155 Weekend Liberal, Dubbo 3,912 Wellington Times 1,410 Mudgee Guardian and Gulgong Advertiser, Mudgee 3,622 The Weekly, Mudgee 3,617 Oberon Review 1,324 Mid State Observer, Orange 12,800 Western Times, Bathurst 12,210 Weekend Advocate, Bathurst 4,272 Lithgow Mercury 3,100 The Canowindra News 582 Blayney Chronicle 1,489 Cowra Guardian 2,248 Young Witness 2,255 Grenfell Record 781 Forbes Advocate 2,314 Champion Post, Parkes 3,051 Highlands Post, Bowral 15,172 Southern Highland News, Bowral 2,958 Goulburn Post 4,506 Post Weekly, Goulburn 11,137 Crookwell Gazette 965 Yass Tribune 1,296 Boorowa News 693 Harden-Murrumburrah Express, Harden 805 Cootamundra Herald 1,625 Eastern Riverina Chronicle, Henty 1,037 Coly-Point Observer, Coleambally 429 The Area News, Griffith 6,232 The Southern Cross, Junee 875 The Irrigator, Leeton 2,909 The Riverina Leader, Wagga Wagga 23,516 Queanbeyan Age 2,900 Braidwood Times 753 Cooma-Monaro Express, Cooma 1,805 Summit Sun, Jindabyne 778 Bombala Times 949 Wollongong Advertiser 48,286 Shellharbour Advertiser 43,240 Kiama Advertiser 7,120 Shoalhaven and Nowra News, Nowra 24,146 South Coast Register, Nowra 3,559 Bay Post, Batemans Bay 3,850 Eurobodalla Shire Independent, Batemans Bay 12,321 Moruya Examiner 1,733 Narooma News 2,407 Bega District News 2,892 News Weekly, Merimbula 4,279 The Magnet, Eden 1,742 Milton-Ulladulla Times, Ulladulla (60%) 5,478

Victoria Ballarat News 32,586 Ararat Advertiser 2,610 Stawell Times-News 2,155 Gippsland Times & Maffra Spectator (Tu), Sale (40%) 13,024 Gippsland Times & Maffra Spectator (F), Sale (40%) 5,401 Hepburn Shire Advocate, Daylesford 7,000 Traralgon Journal (40%) 11,656

82 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

Latrobe Valley Express, Morwell (40%) 34,173 Fairfax stats Moe & Narracan News, Moe (40%) 10,810 (including Rural Wimmera Mail Times, Horsham 8,994 Press) Tasmania Launceston Advertiser 19,620 Tamar Times, George Town (monthly) 9.641 East Coast News, St Helens (monthly) 3,827 Northern Midlands News, Longford (monthly) 6,040 Meander Valley News, Deloraine (monthly) 10,719 The Western Herald, Queenstown (monthly) 19,000 The Davenport Times (monthly) 15,000 The Hub, Burnie (monthly) 22,000

South Australia The Islander, Kingscote 1,961 The Times, Victor Harbor 7,005 The Murray Valley Standard, Murray Bridge 3,952 Barossa and Light Herald, Tanunda 21,175 The Northern Argus, Clare 4,621 The Recorder, Port Pirie 3,421 Flinders News, Port Pirie 14,664 The Transcontinental, Port Augusta 4,654 Northern Sun, Roxby Downs 3,100 Whyalla News 4,445 Eyre Peninsula Tribune, Cleve 1,968 Port Lincoln Times 6,405 West Coast Sentinel, Ceduna 2,700

Western Australia Collie Mail 2,888 Bunbury Mail 24,166 Donnybrook-Bridgetown Mail, Bridgetown 930 Mandurah Mail 34,107 Augusta-Margaret River Mail, Margaret River 6,493 Esperence Express (bi-weekly) 3,385 Wagin Argus 831 Merredin-Wheatbelt Mercury 1,218 Avon Valley Advocate, Northam 2,276 Central Midlands and Coastal Advocate, Moora 1,490 Busselton-Dunsborough Mail, Busselton 13,250 Golden Mail, Kalgoorlie (73%) 13,200 Harvey Mail (bi-monthly) 2,050

Suburban newspapers

Australian Capital Territory Northside Chronicle, Gungahlin/Belconnen 40,280 Southside Chronicle, Woden/Tuggeranong 51,580 City Chronicle, Inner Canberra 22,872

New South Wales Bankstown-Canterbury Torch 89,931 Blacktown City Sun 57,000 Camden Advertiser 18,000 Campbelltown-Macarthur Advertiser 55,000 Cooks River Valley Times 23,657 Fairfield City Champion 56,800 Hills News 58,843 Liverpool City Champion 56,000 Northern Beaches Weekender 60,221 Parramatta Sun 65,580 Penrith City Star Queanbeyan Chronicle 13,918 South Western Rural St George & Sutherland Leader 145,782 St Mary’s Star Wollondilly Advertiser 12,000

83 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

Fairfax stats Victoria (including Rural The Altona Laverton Mail 59,020 Press) The Journal 93,357 Knox Journal 53,736 Macedon Ranges/Sunbury Telegraph Manningham Weekly Maroondah Journal Melbourne Weekly 91,000 Melton/Bacchus Marsh Express Telegraph 22,988 Monash Journal 49,299 Moonee Valley Community News 54,119 Moreland Community News North-West Advocate Peninsular Journal (was Frankston & District) 45,815 Valley Weekly Werribee Banner 31,638 Whitehorse Weekly 42,101 Whittlesea Weekly 44,302 Williamstown Advertiser Yarra Ranges Journal 68,948

Queensland The Redland Times, Cleveland 44,960 Bayside Bulletin, Cleveland 44,991

Regional magazines/specialist publications

Australian Capital Territory Public Sector Informant, Canberra (monthly) 45,000

New South Wales The Border News, Moree 11,935 Country Leader, Tamworth 29,763 Town and Country Magazine – Hunter Valley, Maitland 17,530 Town and Country Magazine – North Coast, Taree 32,850 Town and Country Magazine – Goulburn/Bega, Goulburn 55,278 Western Magazine, Dubbo (79%) 53,063 The Rural, Wagga Wagga 45,275 Southern Weekly Magazine, Wagga Wagga (50%) 44,696 The Senior – Queensland, Wagga Wagga 53,026 The Senior – NSW/ACT, Wagga Wagga 112,745 The Senior – Victoria, Wagga Wagga 95,544 The Senior – SA, Wagga Wagga 37,715 The Senior – WA, Wagga Wagga 56,948 The Guide – Wagga Wagga 16,114 The Guide – Griffith 6,363 The Guide – Leeton 3,221 Sapphire Coaster, Bega 10,077 Snowy Times, Jindabyne 20,000 Country Music Festival Guide, Tamworth 15,000 Country Music Capital News, Tamworth (monthly) 12,000 Sunday Souvenir, Tamworth 4,300 Country Music Directory, Tamworth 5,000 Mid Coast Happenings, Forster 12,800 Hastings Happynings, Port Macquarie 24,570 Port Stephens Pink Pages 30,000 Travel Times, Goulburn (quarterly) 85,000 Mailtand Pink Pages 30,000 Newcastle Times 114,772 Hibiscus Happynings, Nambucca Heads 9,500 Property Press, Bowral 25,274 Macleay Valley Happynings, Kempsey 11,950 Eurobodalla Television Guide, Batemans Bay 4,255 Southern Real Estate, Bowral 6,000 Senior Lifestyle (Southern Highlands) (bi-monthly), Bowral 12,500

Victoria Gippsland Farmer, Sale (40%) 14,600 84 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

Tasmania Fairfax stats Tasmania Travelways, Launceston (bi-monthly) 70,200 (including Rural Explore, Launceston (monthly) 20,282 Press) Tasmanian Farmer, Launceston (quarterly) 25,000 Tasmanian Senior, Launceston (quarterly) 18,000 Tasmanian Parent, Launceston (quarterly) 16,000 In Business Tasmania, Launceston (quarterly) 13,000 Entrée – Spring Melbourne Style (annual) 120,000 Entrée – Winter Melbourne Style (annual) 120,000 Enterprise, Launceston (quarterly) 5,618

South Australia On the Coast, Victor Harbor (monthly) 12,585

Western Australia Senior Post, Mandurah (monthly) 34,450 X-Press Magazine, Perth (50%) (weekly) 40,000 Zebra, Perth (50%) (monthly) 20,000 Education Extra, Collie (annual) 107,400 Country Annual, Collie 147,800

Agricultural Publications

Newspapers State Weekly Queensland: Queensland Country Life (Brisbane) 34,918 North Queensland Register (Townsville) 4,063 New South Wales: The Land (Sydney) 52,324 Victoria: Stock & Land (Melbourne) 10,140 South Australia: Stock Journal (Adelaide) 14,014 Western Australia: Farm Weekly (Perth) 13,995

Magazines/specialist agricultural publications

National Monthly Australian Farm Journal (Melbourne) 5,162 Australian Horticulture (Melbourne) 3,594 Good Fruit and Vegetables (Melbourne) 4,600 Grapegrowers and Vignerons (Adelaide) 1,810

Two-monthly Australian Dairy Farmer (Melbourne) 14,112 Turfcraft International (Melbourne) 1,600

Quarterly Australasian Flowers (Melbourne) 1,009 Australian Landcare (Melbourne) 25,000 Alfa Lotfeeding (Melbourne) 4,800

Annually Australian Sugar Yearbook (Brisbane) 2,000 Hortguide (Melbourne) 9,000 Nursery Trade Register (Melbourne) (Publisher) 4,700 Nursery Industry Phone Book (Melbourne) (Publisher) 7,700

Queensland/New South Wales

Monthly Australian Cotton Outlook (Brisbane) 19,850

Queensland Weekly: Town and Country – South 25,500 Town and Country –Central/Northern 15,000 Monthly: Queensland Grains Outlook 18,100 Bi-Annually: Mail Order Catalogue 41,500 Annually: Ag Show – Toowoomba 41,500 Farm Fest Rural Mail (Tamworth) 15,000 Biennially: Northern Agriculture and Mining Expo – Cloncurry 41,500

85 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

Fairfax stats New South Wales (including Rural Weekly: The Land Magazine 52,324 Press) Monthly: NSW Agriculture Today 52,324 Farm Equipment Trader 52,324 Bi-Monthy: Farming Small Areas 65,000 Annually: Education Guide 52,324 Merino Annual 52,324 Sires of the Season 52,324 Mail Order Catalogue 52,324 Mudgee Small Farm Field Days 26,000 Murrumbidgee Farm Fair Rural Mail (Tamworth) 10,000 Farm Costs Guide 52,324 Tocal Field Day 44,000 Northern Beef Week 52,324 AgQuip Rural Mail (Tamworth) 23,000 AgQuip Guide Book (Tamworth) 13,000 Official Guide to Tamworth (Tamworth) 19,000 Biennially: Broken Hill Ag-Fair (Adelaide) 15,000

Victoria Annually: Beef Week (publisher) 18,000

South Australia Monthly: The Grower 7,117 Annually: Livestock Annual 18,100 Beef Field Days 18,000 Mail Order Catalogue 18,000 Lucindale Field Day 16,500 Biennially: Paskerville Field Day 20,000 Cleve Field Day 15,000

Western Australia Weekly: Farm Weekly Magazine 14,003 Monthly: HortXtra 44,200 Bi-annually: Beef Extra 5,100 Farm Machinery Trader 30,200 Annually: Farm Machinery Annual 12,800 WA Merino Week 16,800 Merino Annual 16,800 Stud Stock Calendar 9,200 Mail Order Catalogue 14,003 Farm Budget Guide 12,800 Products and Services Directory 15,800 Dowerin Field Days 15,800 Mingenew Expo 15,800 Wagin Woolorama 15,800 Internet In-the-Bush 15,800

Acquisitions Riverina Media Group; Oberon Review; Coffs Harbour and District Independent Weekly; The Border Mail. Fairfax Media Limited merged with Rural Press Limited in May, 2007.

Divestitures / Closures Truck and Machinery Trader, The Coaster

Substantial shareholders (as at 1 July 2007) Marinya Media Pty Limited HBSC Custody nominees (Australia) Limited National Nominees Limited JP Morgan Nominees Australia Limited

Board of Directors Ronald Walker AC CBE, Chairman Nicholas Fairfax Mark Burrows AO,Deputy Chairman Julia King Roger Corbett AM David Kirk, Chief Executive Officer David Evans Robert Savage John B. Fairfax Peter Young 86 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

Leader Newspaper Group

Newspapers FrequencyCirculation

Bayside Leader Weekly 40,248 Berwick/Pakenham Cardinia Leader Weekly 63,266 Brimbank Leader Weekly 66,700 Caulfield Glen Eira/Port Phillip Leader Weekly 84,077 Cranbourne Leader Weekly 28,235 Dandenong/Springvale Dandenong LeaderWeekly 43,180 Diamond Valley Leader Weekly 45,325 Frankston Standard/Hastings Leader Weekly 68,253 Free Press Leader Weekly 17,682 Heidelberg Leader Weekly 29,996 Hobsons Bay Leader Weekly 35,580^ Hume Leader Weekly 57,772 Knox Leader Weekly 62,455 Lilydale & Yarra Valley Leader Weekly 38,917 Manningham Leader Weekly 45,179 Maribyrnong Leader Weekly 28,758^ Maroondah Leader Weekly 44,596 Melbourne Leader Weekly 54,170 Melton/Moorabool Leader Weekly 36,572 Moonee Valley Leader Weekly 55,192 Moorabbin Glen Eira/Moorabbin Kingston Leader Weekly 50,706 Mordialloc Chelsea Leader Weekly 35,177 Moreland Leader Weekly 52,491 Mornington Peninsula Leader Weekly 50,857 Northcote Leader Weekly 24,007 Preston Leader Weekly 37,936 Progress Leader Weekly 69,740 Stonnington Leader Weekly 53,117 Sunbury/Macedon Ranges Leader Weekly 28,397 Waverley/Oakleigh Monash Leader Weekly 69,744 Whitehorse Leader Weekly 66,056 Whittlesea Leader Weekly 47,616 Wyndham Leader Weekly 44,479^

Major Owner News Limited

Company Directors S Bradshaw R C Snelling PJ Macourt C A Macleod

Source CAB March 2007 ^Includes Publisher’s claim for Hobsons Bay Leader, Maribyrnong Leader Wyndham Leader

87 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

News Corporation

Media Interests Circulation at 30.6.07

Australian National and Metropolitan Dailies The Australian Mon-Fri 133,000 The Weekend Australian Sat 299,500 The Daily Telegraph, Sydney Mon-Fri 392,000 Sat 340,000 Mx, Sydney Mon-Fri Herald Sun, Melbourne Mon-Fri 535,000 Sat 513,000 Mx, Melbourne Mon-Fri 90,000 The Courier-Mail, Brisbane Mon-Fri 221,049 Sat 316,662 Mx, Brisbane Mon-Fri The Advertiser, Adelaide Mon-Fri 191,325 Sat 259,807 The Mercury, Hobart Mon-Fri 46,985 Sat 61,895 The NT News, Darwin Mon-Fri 20,880 Sat 31,150

Australian Weekly Newspapers The Sunday Telegraph, Sydney 671,500 Sunday Herald Sun, Melbourne 620,000 The Sunday Times Perth 336,500 Sunday Mail, Adelaide 318,179 The Sunday Mail, Brisbane 592,440 Sunday Tasmanian, Hobart 60,134 Sunday Territorian, Darwin 22,340 The Weekly Times, Melbourne 73,000 Sportsman, Sydney

Regional newspapers The Gold Coast Bulletin Mon-Fri 42,529 Sat 74,809 The Cairns Post Mon-Fri 27,759 Sat 45,699 Townsville Bulletin Mon-Fri 27,112 Sat 41,976 Geelong Advertiser Mon-Fri 26,573 Sat 47,246 Centralian Advocate, Alice Springs twice weekly 7,160

Australian Magazines Alpha Monthly 135,051 Donna Hay Bi-Monthly* 83,500 Emporium Quarterly n/a InsideOut Bi-monthly* 52,956

Overseas Publications The Sun, London 3,063,753 The Times, London 636,422 The Sunday Times, London 1,211,686 News of the World, London 3,299,303 The London Paper 500,562 New York Post Wall Street Journal Fiji Times* Mon-Fri 23,760 Sat 42,655 Fiji Sunday Times* 21,967 Post Courier, PNG* 26,824

* not wholly owned 88 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

Magazines FrequencyCirculation News stats Delicious Monthly 116,530 Vogue Entertaining + Travel Two-monthly 30,401 Super Food Ideas Bi-monthly 291,019 Australian Good Taste Monthly 162,200 Vogue Australia Monthly 48,666 Notebook Monthly 75,005 Vogue Living Two-monthly 42,605 Australian Country Style Monthly (11 per year) 57,780 Australian Parents Two-monthly Gardening Australia Monthly 93,695 Emporium Quarterly GQ Australia Quarterly

Other magazines

Australian Golf Digest Overlander 4WD Two Wheels Modern Boating Scooter Modern Fishing Truckin Life Trucker Trailer BSME Tattoo Live to Ride Big League Lifestyle Pools

Acquisitions Federal Publishing Company newspapers (reporting under Cumberland Newspapers) and magazines (noted above)

Divestitures Nil

Note on other publications Some News Limited companies report separately in this report: Advertiser Newspapers (including Messenger Newspapers); Cumberland Newspapers; Davies Brothers; Leader Newspapers; North Queensland Newspapers; Queensland Press; and Quest Community Newspapers. News Limited also holds a 50.1% stake in Perth’s Community Newspapers, which report under West Australian Newspapers.

News Corporation is incorporated in Delaware, United States, with a primary listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

Company Directors K Rupert Murdoch José María Aznar Peter Barnes Chase Carey Peter Chernin Kenneth E. Cowley David F. DeVoe Viet Dinh Sir Roderick I. Eddington Andrew S.B. Knight Lachlan K. Murdoch Roderick R. Paige Thomas J. Perkins Arthur M. Siskind John L. Thornton

89 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

North Queensland Newspaper Company Pty Limited

Newspapers FrequencyOwnership Circulation if not 100%

The Townsville Bulletin Mon-Sat 29,671 Mon-Fri 27,140 Sat. 41,744

The Sun Weekly, Wed 52,884 The Tablelander* Tues 16,568

Bowen independent Wed, Fri 3,232 The Observer Thursday 1,414 The Advocate Wed, Fri 3,968 The Northern Miner Tues, Fri 2,858 The Herbert River Express Tues, Thurs, Sat 2,825 Innisfail Advocate Tues, Thurs, Sat 3,403

* free weekly

New Publication townsvilleeye – inserted into Wednesday’s Townsville Bulletin and also distributed free to locations around Townsville.

Acquisitions Nil

Ceased Publication Nil

Divestitures Nil

Owner Nationwide News Pty Limited (100%) - ultimate holding company The News Corporation Limited.

90 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

Pacific Magazines

Title FrequencyCirculation Readership

New Idea Weekly 404,694 2,262,000 That’s Life! Weekly 328,511 1,172,000 Famous Weekly 81,000+ 292,000 Girlfriend Monthly 128,058 417,000 K-Zone Monthly 70,234 274,000* Total Girl Monthly 66,506 291,000* TV Hits Quarterly n/a 94,000* Better Homes & Gardens Monthly 335,063 1,421,000 Diabetic Living Bi-Monthly 45,165 n/a Home Beautiful Monthly 65,533 363,000 Your Garden Quarterly 51,528 172,000 marie claire Monthly 112,068 506,000 Men’s Health Monthly 63,520 292,000 Monument Quarterly n/a n/a

Sources Roy Morgan, March 2007 Audit Bureau of Circulations, December 2006 & March 2007 *Roy Morgan Youth Survey, December 2006 (Kids aged 6-13)

Readership figures, except where noted, are for readers 14 years of age and older.

Major Owner Pacific Magazines is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Seven Media Group

91 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

Queensland Press Limited

Newspapers FrequencyOwnership Circulation if not 100%

The Courier-Mail Mon-Fri 227,000 Sat 331,000 The Sunday Mail Sunday 589,765 Mx Mon-Fri Gold Coast Bulletin Mon-Fri 47,069 Sat 76,586 The Cairns Post Mon-Fri 27,615 Sat 45,047 Brisbane News Weekly 115,000 Gold Coast Sun Weekly 141,452 Cairns Sun Weekly 46,600 Port Douglas & Mossman Gazette Weekly 70% 5,000 Tablelands Advertiser Weekly 18,075

Acquisitions Nil

New Publication Mx, free evening newspaper

Divestitures Nil

Major Owners News Corporation

Company Directors L G Brindle J Harris J K Hartigan K H McDonald OBE

92 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

Quest Community Newspapers

Newspaper Title FrequencyCirculation 2007

Albert & Logan News Bi-weekly (Wed) 71,300 (Fri) 75,279 Caboolture Shire Herald Weekly (Tuesday) 48,042 City News Weekly (Thursday) 49,980 Ipswich News Weekly (Thursday) 42,980 Logan West Leader Weekly (Wednesday) 31,224 Northside Chronicle Weekly (Wednesday) 62,683 City North News Weekly (Thursday) 30,829 Northern Times Weekly (Friday) 87,648 North-West News Weekly (Wednesday) 43,916 Redcliffe & Bayside Herald Weekly (Wednesday) 33,951 Pine Rivers Press Weekly (Wednesday) 40,451 South-East Advertiser Weekly (Wednesday) 54,468 City South News Weekly (Thursday) 34,812 Southern Star Weekly (Wednesday) 59,678 South-West News Weekly (Wednesday) 49,947 Westside News Weekly (Wednesday) 62,145 Wynnum Herald Weekly (Wednesday) 34,292

New Publications The Noosa Journal Weekly ( Thursday) 22,393

Ceased Publication Nil

Divestitures Nil.

Major Owner Quest Community Newspapers is a division of Nationwide News Pty Ltd, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of News Limited.

93 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

West Australian Newspapers Limited

Newspapers FrequencyOwnership Circulation

The West Australian Mon-Fri 207,914 Sat 380,417 Kalgoorlie Miner Mon-Sat 7,239 TABform Mon, Wed, Fri 25,339 Albany Advertiser Tues/Thurs 6,400/8,500 Albany Weekend Extra Weekly, Sat 18,124 Broome Advertiser Weekly, Thurs 6,800 Broome Happenings Bi-weekly, alt Thurs 7,274 Bunbury Herald Weekly, Tues 23,341 South Western Times Weekly, Thurs 13,769 Busselton-Margaret Times Weekly, Thurs 6,985 Geraldton Guardian Mon, Wed, Fri 7,362 Midwest Times Weekly, Thurs 20,650 Northern Guardian Weekly, Wed 4,635 Great Southern Herald Weekly, Wed 2,600 Harvey Reporter Weekly, Tues 7,295 Manjimup Bridgetown Times Weekly, Wed 3,171 Narrogin Observer Weekly, Wed 3,061 North-West Telegraph Weekly, Wed 7,100 Sound Telegraph Weekly, Wed 43,054 Capes Herald Weekly, Tues 13,414 Pilbara News Weekly, Wed 6,806 Quokka Weekly, Thurs 50,983 Countryman Weekly, Thurs 9,157

Community Newspapers Canning Times Weekly, Tues 49.9% 34,565 Comment News Weekly, Tues 49.9% 51,193 Eastern Reporter Weekly, Tues 49.9% 68,337 Fremantle-Cockburn Gazette Weekly, Tues 49.9% 47,025 Guardian Express Weekly, Tues 49.9% 38,108 Hills Gazette Weekly, Sun 49.9% 41,000 Joondalup-Wanneroo Times Weekly, Thurs 49.9% 88,976 Melville Times Weekly, Tues 49.9% 40,138 Midland-Kalamunda Reporter Weekly, Tues 49.9% 37,669 Southern Gazette Weekly, Tues 49.9% 47,713 Stirling Times Weekly, Tues 49.9% 50,192 Wanneroo Times Weekly, Tues 49.9% 71,694 Weekend Courier Weekly, Fri 49.9% 42,981 Western Suburbs Weekly Weekly, Tues 49.9% 47,965 North Coast Times Weekly, Tues 49.9% 15,919 Mandurah Coastal Times Weekly, Wed 49.9% 38,204

Major Owner Owned by West Australian Newspapers Holdings Ltd, a public company with about 30,000 shareholders with no dominant holder.

Company Directors W G Kent AO (Chairman) E Fraunschiel K.Steinke (Managing Director) P J Mansell M K Ward AO

94 Annual Report 2006-2007 Australian Press Council

Complaints received 1988-2007 by yearly totals

Complaint files closed 1988-2007 by yearly totals

95 Australian Press Council Annual Report 2006-2007

Adjudications 1988-2007 year by year comparison

96