News in brief - August 1999

Submissions

The Council has made two recent submissions.

The first, on 25 May, to the Productivity Commission, related to those aspects of its inquiry into Broadcasting which related to cross-media ownership rules. Subsequently the Council's Chairman, Professor Dennis Pearce, and the Deputy Chairman of its Freedom of the Press Committee, Professor Hoong Phun Lee, appeared before the commission at its Melbourne public hearings. The text of the submission is published as a supplement to this issue of the News.

The second submission was on 21 July to the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technologies. In the last Parliament, the committee had been conducting an inquiry into (self-)regulation in the information industries, especially related to the question of privacy. While a report had been prepared, it had not been delivered prior to the proroguing of Parliament. The committee in the current Parliament is taking up the report but has sought information from earlier submitters on any changes that have occurred since their earlier submissions. The Council has made a detailed submission on several points. However, the committee has not as yet cleared the submission for printing and it will, most likely, be published as a supplement to the November 1999 News.

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WAPC Conference

In June, the Council hosted delegates from the Asia-Pacific area and from Press Councils around the world at the first Oceania Regional Conference of the World Association of Press Councils (WAPC). Held in Brisbane over two days, with over 90 delegates, the conference discussed issues relating to the role and the responsibility of the press.

The two main themes of the conference were:

• the role and responsibility of the media in its coverage of tragedies and of communal conflicts; and
  
  
• the ethical responsibilities of the media in their dealings with courts and their coverage of the criminal justice system.

The conference also discussed the future directions of the WAPC and looked closely at the major concerns of the media in the smaller south Pacific nations.

Detailed reports on the conference are contained in this issue of the News. A Proceedings of the conference will be published later this year.

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1999 Press Council Fellow

The Australian Press Council awarded its 1999 Fellowship to David Robie, a prominent journalist and educator, whose expertise is in the media of the South Pacific region.

While in Australia, Mr Robie attended and addressed the Brisbane conference, as well as conducting seminars at universities in Brisbane and Canberra and visiting media outlets and media schools in Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra.

David Robie, 54, is Senior Lecturer and Coordinator of the Journalism Program at the University of the South Pacific, Fiji (USP). He has been a journalist and journalism educator for more than 30 years and active in media freedom issues for several years. He has an MA in Journalism and has professional teaching qualifications from Auckland Institute of Technology. Currently he is editor of Pacific Journalism Review, on the editorial board of Asia-Pacific Media Educator, and a co-convenor of Pacific Media Watch, an Internet-based news and information service.

As a journalist David has won several international and national journalism awards. He has also been the author of seven books, including Eyes of Fire, on the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior, and Nius Bilong Pasifik: Mass Media in the Pacific. His career has included being editor of the Melbourne Sunday Observer, chief sub-editor/night editor of the Rand Daily Mail, Johannesberg, group features editor of the Daily Nation, Nairobi, an editor for Agence France-Presse, Paris, foreign editor of the Auckland Star, editor of Insight magazine and editor of Asia-Pacific Network. He coordinated the journalism program at the University of Papua New Guinea for five years in the 1990s.

"I am delighted by this surprise and timely invitation", said Mr Robie.

"It is in recognition of USP's growing regional journalism program and also provides an excellent opportunity to help develop our courses and resources by building closer links with leading journalism schools in Australia."

The Press Council fellowship is awarded to those in the media whose experience will be of benefit to the Australian media and who would benefit from a better knowledge of it. Mr Robie's report to the Council, together with the papers he delivered in Australia, will be published as a booklet later this year.

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David McNicoll

The Australian Press Council has noted with regret the retirement of one its founding members, David McNicoll. His term ended on 30 June, after twenty-three years of continuous membership of the Council.

When the Council was mooted in 1976, Mr McNicoll, a former editor-in-chief of Australian Consolidated Press (ACP), was one of the senior editorial figures involved in the negotiations towards the Council's formation. He suggested the appointment of retired High Court Justice, Sir Frank Kitto, as the founding Chairman.

Mr McNicoll was appointed as a founding member of the Council by the then Australian Newspaper Council and, following the restructure of the Council in 1987, was appointed by ACP as its nominee to the Council. He has served in that position since then.

The Chairman of the Council, Professor Dennis Pearce, said: "David McNicoll has been one of the most important members of the Council. His standing in the community and as a journalist gave credibility to the Council in its early days. He made a vital contribution to its formation and his continued membership of the Council helped it develop into a body which now meets the community's expectations of a self-regulatory body for the press."

Mr McNicoll has recently suffered a stroke and is recovering at home. He hopes to return to his column at The Bulletin in the future. Born in Geelong and educated at Scotch College, Melbourne, Mr McNicoll started his journalistic career with The Sydney Morning Herald in 1933. He joined the 2nd A.I.F. in 1940 and served in the Middle East and North Australia. He was subsequently appointed a war correspondent and, in 1944-45, covered the D-Day landings and US 3rd Army's drive into Germany.

From 1946-53, he was a columnist and sub-editor at The Daily Telegraph. He was appointed Editor-in-chief of Consolidated Press in 1953 and served in that role until 1974. After stepping down, he became a columnist and editorial consultant to The Bulletin. He was for many years the moderator of TV's Meet the Press.

He was awarded the CBE in 1969 and later created a Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur by the French government.

Mr McNicoll has written several books, including Luck's A Fortune, his autobiography.

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On the Council

Mr McNicoll's retirement saw the appointment of John Lyons, National Affairs editor of The Bulletin, as the new representative of Australian Consolidated Press on the Council. Mr Lyons is a former editor of the Sydney Morning Herald and brings a wealth of experience to the Council. He has not as yet appointed an alternate.

The Australian Press Council discussed a concern raised by The Age that the election of Peter Costigan, a journalist member of the Council, as Lord Mayor of Melbourne, might compromise his position as an impartial contributor to Press Council proceedings. The Council, by a vote of 15 to 2, expressed its confidence in Mr Costigan's being able to carry out properly his Press Council functions and he will therefore continue as a journalist member of the Council.

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1998-99 Press Council Prize

The Press Council Prize closed on 30 June 1999.

There were 42 entrants in the Tertiary section and 8 in the Secondary Schools' section. The essays are now with the three judges, a journalist, a Professor of Communications and a public member of the Council and results are expected by the end of August.

The results of the 1998-99 Prize and the topic and entry conditions for thew 1999-2000 Prize will be announced in the November 1999 News.

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Council Planning Day

In March 1999 the Press Council conducted a planning meeting over one and a half days, to discuss a wide range of topics related to the press environment in which it works, to different perceptions of its role in the community, and to its internal procedures and structure. The meeting brought together most of the Council. All members were invited, including the alternate members, and this gave the chance for all members to participate in both the plenary and small-group discussions.

The Council's Vice Chairman, Lange Powell, has been in charge of over-seeing the planning meeting and ensuring that the recommendations are further considered by the Council. He reports:

The planning meeting generated over 40 proposals for possible further development, on matters including:

• The desirability and feasibility of extending the Council's role to cover Internet editions published by newspapers.
  
  
• The need for clearer policy guidelines for the adjudication of complaints about newspapers' alleged failure to distinguish between fact and opinion.
  
  
• The Council's jurisdiction with regard to new forms of publication such as 'lifestyle magazines', that rely heavily on stories and reports submitted by members of the public.
  
  
• The establishment of a committee to co-ordinate and extend activities promoting the Council amongst newspapers, in educational institutions, and in the community at large. Avenues of promotion being explored by the committee include:
  
  
  • making available a wider range of publicity material about the Press Council to newspapers, for use as occasional feature or filler copy;
  • developing a Press Council education kit for both electronic and hard-copy distribution;
  • expanding the training workshop program outlined above;
  • encouraging and facilitating wider publicity of Press Council determinations the relevance of which extends beyond the newspaper(s) immediately affected by a particular adjudication;
  • pursuing opportunities for promoting the Council's role and work through the broadcast media;
  • raising the Council's profile as a proactive commentator on broader issues in the press.
    
    
• A procedural framework for the Council to deal with broad issues of public concern about the print media and 'class actions', beyond the immediate scope of perceived threats to press freedom and of complaints received on specific articles.
  
  
• Opportunities for further increasing the use of mediation as a means of addressing complaints, and for involving Council members in the mediation process.
  
  
• Streamlining the complaints handling process to ensure all matters are dealt with within 6 months of publication of an article giving rise to a complaint.
  
  
• Monitoring the Council's consistent application of its principles across the print media.
  
  
• Options for amending the basis of public, editorial, and journalist membership of the Council.

The Council has set in train a process for developing and costing detailed proposals in these and other areas.

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Mediated Complaints

The Council encourages the informal resolution of complaints, including the use of direct mediation between the parties. Among the complaints successfully mediated of recent times are:

• Report in a regional daily gave details of a minor at a pre-sentence hearing. Editor offered to personally apologise and to publish a correction. Complainant declined offer as it would draw attention to the matter again, but was satisfied by the paper's acknowledgment of its mistake.
  
  
• An article in a metropolitan newspaper maligned the complainant's professional integrity. The paper offered to publish a lengthy letter from the complainant. She accepted the offer. Additionally, the paper cross-referenced the article on its electronic database with the published letter of the complainant.
  
  
• A metropolitan newspaper published an article which was unbalanced. The complainant, the subject of the article, wanted its say. The paper agreed to publish the complainant's letter, and it was satisfied with this action.
  
  
• Another metropolitan newspaper published the photograph of a complainant. The photograph was one among photographs of other people. They were linked to juvenile offences. The complainant demanded an apology and retraction. The paper checked with the relevant authority which had supplied the photographs. The authority could not explain how it came into possession of the photograph of the complainant. The paper, satisfied that the complainant was innocent of any wrongdoing, published an apology for any impression which could have lead readers to believe the complainant had broken the law.
  
  
• The Assistant Principal of a school complained that the local paper did not give sufficient coverage of a huge local event. An amicable arrangement was agreed between the parties in respect of the future reporting of matters of public interest.
  
  
• Statistics used by a metropolitan newspaper in an article about firearm deaths were inaccurate. The complainant submitted letters correcting the inaccuracy, but neither were published. After an exchange of correspondence between the parties, the complainant referred the matter to the Complaints Committee for a hearing. The paper reconsidered the matter, and agreed with the complainant on a suitable letter for publication. The complainant then withdrew the complaint.

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