Adjudication No. 1336  (adjudicated 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 were fully briefed by both the editor and acting editor that a community in the newspaper's region was dealing with a terrible tragedy and that the right to privacy and the wishes of the community were to be respected at all times.

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.

see also
Adjudication 1333 - Fitzgerald et al / Mercury
Adjudication 1334 - Fitzgerald et al / Examiner
Adjudication 1335 - Fitzgerald et al / Sunday Tasmanian

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