Adjudication No. 1189 (March 2003)

The Press Council has dismissed a complaint by Rodney Adler against The Sydney Morning Herald, about a photograph of him and his teenage son preparing to board a plane.

The front-page photograph, taken at a British Airways check-in counter, appeared under the headline First-class Rodney flies north. The accompanying article contrasted Mr Adler's current financial and legal difficulties, particularly those in connection with the HIH Royal Commission, with his apparently undiminished capacity to take his family on an overseas holiday.

Mr Adler, who had attempted to avoid reporters at the airport and refused to answer questions from them, complained that the photograph exploited him and his family. He was especially concerned about the publicity it gave to his son, which he described as "thoughtless, gratuitous, contrary to the public interest", and in breach of relevant Press Council Principles and Privacy Standards.

The Herald's response to Mr Adler pointed out that he was a public figure, on bail after being charged with serious offences by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, and facing further scrutiny through the HIH Royal Commission. Against this background, the paper considered that the Adlers' holiday was a matter of legitimate public interest, and maintained that its reporters had acted reasonably.

In its Principles and Standards, the Press Council seeks a balance between the public interest and the need to respect individuals' sensibilities and right to privacy. While public figures like Mr Adler sacrifice this right in some circumstances, the Council is especially concerned for the protection of their families, friends, and other members of the public caught up in newsworthy events.

In this case, the Herald devoted considerable efforts to exposing an Adler family holiday that some readers might find, at the very least, paradoxical. The Council does not believe these efforts were unduly intrusive.

The central theme of the Herald's story necessarily involved Mr Adler's family. On this occasion the public interest in the publication of the photograph outweighed the normal privacy rights of the son. The Council can understand Mr Adler's annoyance at what he considered unwarranted publicity but believes that, in this instance, the newspaper was justified in covering the family's departure for overseas in both words and images.

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