Adjudication No. 1353  (adjudicated May 2007)

The Australian Press Council has dismissed a complaint brought by Narrabri businessman and 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 claims reported in the article and Mr Logan's counterclaims. To the extent that the newspaper reported claims from mostly named sources, and included responses from Mr Logan, it has met the requirements of balance.

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