Adjudication No. 1327  (adjudicated September 2006)

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' box at the Australian Open.

A further article, dealing with the reaction of Ms Clijsters to the revelation that she had inadvertently hosted a former drug dealer in the players' box, appeared on 27 January. Once again, the names of the Malkoun children were mentioned.

Mr Malkoun has complained to the Press Council that the privacy of his children, particularly his young son, has been breached. He suggested that the linking of the family to his criminal past exacerbated this breach.

The newspaper says that the Malkouns happily posed with two of their children for the first article and that the Malkoun family "willingly put itself in the public spotlight". It saw the complaint as arising from the Mr Malkoun's displeasure at publicity adverse to him and mention of his "serious criminal past", which the newspaper saw as a matter of public record. It regarded the children as integral to the story about Ms Clijsters' interest in the family.

In the Council's view, there would need to be a significant public interest served by the naming of the children and publication of their image to justify their inclusion in a story about Mr 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.

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