Adjudication No. 1446  (adjudicated December 2009)

The Australian Press Council has dismissed a complaint by Ken Thomas against The Gold Coast Sun related to his letter published on August 26, 2009. The letter was one of a number of letters related to the war in Iraq published by the newspaper over several weeks. Mr Thomas complained that his letter had been altered unfairly resulting in loss of meaning.

The Council can find no evidence of a breach of its principles. Newspapers have reasonable discretion in modifying language or reducing the word count of letters provided the published letter does not distort the writer's view. In this case, the editing by the newspaper did not substantively alter the main thrust of the original letter or its meaning.

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