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May 1994 - Volume 6, No.2
News in brief - May 1994 Death of Frank Kitto Death of Sir Frank Kitto, AC, KBE The Council has noted with regret the passing of its founding Chairman, Sir Frank Kitto, on 15 February 1994. Sir Frank was appointed Chairman at the inception of the Council and wrote the original Statement of Principles and instituted the complaints procedure. He was responsible for the appointment of the first public members. Sir Frank served as Chairman from 1976 to 1982. Sir Frank had enjoyed a distinguished legal career, highlighted by 20 years on the High Court. In his 'retirement' he served for 11 years as Chancellor of the University of New England and as Chairman of the Press Council. A profile of Sir Frank (among the last interviews he granted) was published in the APC News in the August 1993 issue. [ return to top ] Return to APC News 1994 Index Case Studies Seminars The Press Council, concerned to maintain the character of the Australian press in accordance with the highest journalistic standards, held a seminar with a group of mainly young journalists in Melbourne on Thursday, 3 March 1994. The Chairman of the Press Council, announcing the seminar, said: "The seminar will involve the journalists themselves applying the Press Council's ethical code to a selected number of case studies. This will allow journalists to see the press in the way members of the public do. "Each journalist will receive a book of case studies based on complaints dealt with by the Council. "The seminar will have the opportunity to discuss draft adjudications and to adopt or reject them. These adjudications can then be compared to those arrived at by the Council. "At a later stage, the Council proposes to hold seminars with members of the public and to widen the series to journalists and journalism students in other parts of the country." A further seminar using extracts from the case studies booklet was conducted by Prof Flint at a conference for editors of and journalists on tertiary institutions' newspapers. The conference was organised by the National Union of Students. Prof Flint's report of the 3 March seminar is on page 6 and a separate report on some of the feedback from the questionnaires distributed at the seminars is on page 10. For more on case studies seminars, [ return to top ] Return to APC News 1994 Index APC Prize The Council has received six entries for its 1993 Prize. The entrants (and titles of their works) are:
These entries will now be read by three judges and the prize announced later in the year. There will be a competition for the APC Prize in 1994. The conditions of entry will be announced in the August News. For more on the Prize seminars, [ return to top ] Return to APC News 1994 Index Toowoomba The Press Council held its March meeting in Toowoomba on Wednesday 23 March, preceded by a meeting of its Complaints Committee. This was the Council's first visit to Toowoomba. While there, the Council held a half day seminar, on Thursday 24 March, "Public Figures and the Press", jointly organised by the Council and the University of Southern Queensland. Speakers at the seminar included Professor Clem Lloyd, Professor of Journalism at the University of Wollongong, Ms Leisa Schultz, News Producer for Brisbane's Channel 7, Mr Terry O'Gorman, Vice President of the Queensland Civil Liberties Council, and Mr Peter Cole-Adams, the Political Editor of The Canberra Times. The Council were also guests at a dinner held by the University on the Wednesday evening, at which the Chairman of the Australian Press Council, Professor David Flint, discussed Australia's involvement with Asia in terms of the Australian belief in freedom of the press. A report on the seminar is elsewhere in this issue and a transcript of the it, including Prof Flint's after dinner address, will be published by the Council as part of its Conference Papers series. [ return to top ] Return to APC News 1994 Index Coronial inquests Following a call for a media ban on the reporting of coronial inquests from the NSW Council for Civil Liberties in early April, the Chairman of the Australian Press Council, Prof David Flint, described the suggestion as "well-intended but misconceived". "It is of crucial importance that the public know what takes place at inquests. Not only does the public have an interest in knowing that everything is above board, important evidence can come forward because of media reporting. Above all, the integrity of the system depends on public confidence - and that can only be assured if the public knows that inquests are open". For more on the Council's position, [ return to top ] Return to APC News 1994 Index Five year review A five year review of the Australian Press Council's complaints facility demonstrates that the system of self-regulation in the print media was working well. Stressing in particular the large proportion of adverse adjudications published by the press (close to 100% in the mainline press), Professor David Flint, the Chairman of the Council, noted, "The rate of compliance with Press Council requirements in this area would be the envy of many other regulators". A sometimes-reported assertion that newspapers do not publish adverse adjudications is refuted by the figures. In the last five years, only nine adverse adjudications were not published. (A tenth was not published at the request of the complainant who wanted to protect his family's privacy.) The figures showed that the number of complaints received each year had increased. This increase is thought to be more because of the efforts of the Council which, through public meetings, publications and promotion, has made itself more visible and enhanced public access to its complaints facility, than any decline in standards. The statistics reveal some interesting points. For example, there are very few complaints about intrusion into privacy by the print media - 4.1 per cent of all complaints in the period under review - and none from "public figures". The Chairman said that the Council has as its first object the maintenance of the character of the Australian press in accordance with the highest journalistic standards and the preservation of its established freedom, By making its complaints facility known and accessible to the public, as well as efficient and fair, it believes that it is playing a significant role in fulfilling that object. Details of the review, including tables and charts, have been prepared by the Executive Secretary, Jack Herman, and have been published as a supplement to this issue of the News. For more recent statistics, [ return to top ] Return to APC News 1994 Index In the Office The Australian Press Council has announced the appointment of Jack Herman, 44, as Executive Secretary, the Council's chief executive officer, commencing in early April. Jack, who has been the Council's Administrative Officer since November 1991, replaces Jennifer Treleaven, who has recently retired from the Council. Mrs Treleaven had been the Executive Secretary since mid 1986. Jack, who was a high school teacher and, later, a professional conference organiser, will be responsible for the handling of complaints from the public about the ethical behaviour of newspapers and magazines. In the first instance, the Council attempts to mediate such complaints in order to arrive at a mutually satisfactory conclusion. If such mediation does not work, the complaint can then be referred to the Council for adjudication. In announcing the appointment, the Council's Chairman, Professor David Flint, noted the service given to the Council by the retiring Executive Secretary. "Mrs Treleaven has been a particularly effective Executive Secretary who has successfully mediated a greatly increased the number of complaints. Complainants, in particular, found her efficient, impartial and sympathetic, as did the editors with whom she dealt. "The Council places a great emphasis on the amicable settlement of complaints and encourages its staff to settle as many complaints as possible by this method. I am certain that Jack Herman, who has worked with Mrs Treleaven for over 2 years, will also be a great success in this area. "He brings to the Council excellent communication skills and will undoubtedly use these skills in negotiating with both complainants and the editors of publications." Jack has represented his State in debating at the National Championships and was a journalist and editor of student newspapers during his studies at the University of Sydney. In consequence of the appointment, Deb Kirkman has been promoted to the position of Office Manager, and she will be responsible, in conjunction with Jack Herman, for the processing of complaints and will supervise the running of the office. Yvette Nobile has left the Press Council to undertake overseas travel and has been replaced in her secretarial role by Kristina Ryan. [ return to top ] Return to APC News 1994 Index On the Council Rex Gardner, who had represented the Australian Suburban Newspapers Association on the Council, has resigned from his membership of the Council. He has left his position with the Melbourne Leader Group to work in the management of the Hobart Mercury. His position on the Council has been taken over by Alec Mathieson, from the Adelaide-based Messenger Group. [ return to top ] Return to APC News 1994 Index Documents with the |
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