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The Press Council considered whether its Standards of Practice were breached by an article published in The Herald Sun headed “Out-of-school sex ed” in print on 22 February 2022. The article reported on the sexual abuse of a minor by his then teacher at a Victorian school in the mid-to-late 1990s. The sub-headline of the article stated, “Female teacher admits violating boys”. The article went on to report that the teacher “pleaded guilty in the County Court on Friday to several counts of sexual penetration of a child under 16.” It also reported that the teacher “taught one victim how to perform sexual acts,” and said, “She later showed him how to put on a condom.” In response to a complaint received, the Council asked the publication to comment on whether the headline in particular complied with the Council’s Standards of Practice which require publications to ensure that factual material is presented with reasonable fairness and balance (General Principle 3); and to avoid causing or contributing materially to substantial offence, distress or prejudice, or a substantial risk to health and safety, without sufficient justification in the public interest (General Principle 6). The Council noted that the complaint raised concerns that the headline was an unfair description of the reported sexual abuse of a child by his teacher. The Council also noted that the complaint raised concerns that the headline and its attitude maybe harmful to sexual abuse survivors, as it may minimise the perception of harm done by sexual abusers. In response, the publication said the reference to “sex ed” in the headline was underpinned by two paragraphs in the story which outline how the perpetrator taught one of her victims how to perform sexual acts. It said this ‘teaching’ formed a prominent part of the evidence of the court case reported on, and pertained directly to the perpetrator’s actions, in that she had control over the students and guided them through the abuse. The publication also pointed to the public interest in reporting instances of child sexual abuse, and the deterrent potential of reporting on abuse cases prominently. The publication denied the possibility that the headline could be harmful to survivors of abuse. 

Conclusion 

 The Council notes the limitations of headlines to reflect the tenor of an article. However, the Council also notes that headlines must nonetheless comply with the Council’s Standards of Practice. In this instance, the Council considers the description of the reported child sexual abuse matters as ‘sex-ed’ was an unfair characterisation of the reported events. The Council considers that readers could interpret the headline as implying that the child sexual abuse had some connection to the victim’s school curriculum; or that the teacher’s offences were not sufficiently serious. Accordingly, the Council considers the publication failed to take reasonable steps to ensure factual material was presented with reasonable fairness and balance in breach of General Principle 3. The Council notes the publication’s comments concerning how the perpetrator ‘taught’ the victim how to perform sexual acts. However, the Council considers that describing such acts as ‘sex-ed’ particularly when the reported abuse concerned a teacher student relationship, trivialises the seriousness of the conduct and potentially diminishes the reported emotional impact on the student. The Council considers that in describing the reported child sexual abuse as ‘sex-ed’, the publication failed to take reasonable steps to avoid contributing to substantial prejudice and that there was not sufficient public interest justifying doing so. Accordingly, the Council concludes that the article breached General Principle 6. 

Relevant Council Standards

 This adjudication applies the following General Principles of the Council: Publications must take reasonable steps to:

3. Ensure that factual material is presented with reasonable fairness and balance, and that writers’ expressions of opinion are not based on significantly inaccurate factual material or omission of key facts.”
4. Avoid causing or contributing materially to substantial offence, distress or prejudice, or a substantial risk to health or safety, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.”

The Australian Press Council has considered a complaint by the Gold Coast City Council about an article in The Gold Coast Bulletin on 19 March 2012. The article was the sole item on the front page, with a very prominent heading “City’s Credit Crunch” and an opening paragraph saying that the City Council’s credit rating by Queensland Treasury Corporation (QTC) “has been slashed, meaning ratepayers have to pay more every time the council borrows money”. It also occupied most of page 4, under the heading "Credit downgrade lifts loans costs". The City Council complained that the article was inaccurate in saying that the changed credit rating would increase its interest rates on borrowings. It also claimed there had been no adequate correction of the error. A subsequent article had quoted the acting Mayor as rejecting the assertion but the newspaper itself had not acknowledged the error. In response, the Gold Coast Bulletin did not provide evidence to support its assertion but denied the City Council’s claim that the QTC had told the newspaper the assertion was incorrect. It also said the follow-up article had provided sufficient balance by reporting the City Council’s claim about QTC’s statement to the newspaper. The Press Council has concluded that the newspaper did not take sufficient steps to check the accuracy of its assertion. Subsequent inquiries of the QTC have confirmed unambiguously that the assertion was incorrect. The error was aggravated by being on the front page. Accordingly, the aspect of the complaint relating to inaccuracy is upheld. The Press Council has concluded that having received the Mayor's rejection of the assertion the newspaper should have carefully checked the facts, preferably with the QTC itself. The subsequent article should then have stated that the previous assertion was incorrect, not merely reported the City Council’s claim about it. This failure was especially important because the assertion had been included in a prominent headline and a council election was imminent. Accordingly, the aspect of the complaint relating to failure to correct an inaccuracy is also upheld.

The Australian Press Council has dismissed complaints from Peter Bates against the Central Telegraph, Biloela, Queensland. Mr Bates a mayoral candidate in elections for the Banana Shire complained of four matters arising during the election campaign. In particular, the 7 March edition published the week before local government elections in Queensland contained photographs of mayoral candidates with the caption under Mr Bates’ headshot saying “… did not attend either of the mayoral candidates meetings in Biloela or Moura”. The issue also carried an article referring to the history of the newspaper that recorded Mr Bates as being manager of the newspaper for two decades. Mr Bates said nobody had contacted him about meeting in Moura and he could not attend the Biloela meeting because of a previous commitment. He also complained the history article did not make reference to the contribution he had made during his 25 years in managerial positions with the newspaper. He accused the newspaper of editorial bias in both instances, showing that the newspaper favored another candidate for the mayoral position.In its response the newspaper said the photographs were published with an article covering a “Meet the Mayoral Candidates” public meeting by the Moura Chamber of Commerce. Mr Bates did not attend this meeting or a similar meeting in Biloela. Mr Bates does not dispute this. The newspaper said that the history article had been prepared in advance of publication and was printed in the 7 March edition when space became available. Further material on Mr Bates’ contribution to the newspaper was supplied after the article had been written and prepared for publication. Reference to Mr Bates contribution followed a segment that mentioned “the people who have passionately worked to ensure the paper makes its way into the homes of the 10,000 people who read it every week”.In this context the Press Council believes Mr Bates’ contribution has been recognised. Mr Bates sent two press releases to the newspaper during the election campaign referring to population decline in the shire and complained that neither of the releases was published. The newspaper said that the figures relating to population decline had been published  previously and the material in each of the releases was part of Mr Bates’ election campaigning. The newspaper provided each candidate with equal and fair editorial coverage and made provision for each candidate to run a large introductory article. The Council believes editors have the right to ensure balance in publishing electoral material and in this case believes the newspaper has not breached Council principles. Mr Bates also complained that a letter to the editor he had sent containing criticism by the Queensland Ombudsman of the shire council was not published. The newspaper responded that it had a policy not to publish letters from any mayoral candidate during the election campaign. In the Press Council’s view, such a policy is reasonable but, particularly in a community newspaper, any such policy should be clearly notified by the newspaper.

The Press Council considered a complaint about three online articles published in The Courier-Mail, headed “Brisbane house flipper’s alleged secret life as drug trafficker" 8 July 2021, "’Hectic’: House flipping accused drug kingpin’s texts, associates" 8 July 2021 and "’WTF just happened?’: ANOM text messages revealed" 24 July 2021. The articles reported on court proceedings of the complainant’s partner who had been charged for allegedly being involved in serious criminal activities. In reporting on the proceedings, the articles also reported the serious criminal enterprise in which the complainant’s partner and others were allegedly involved. The article headed “Brisbane house flipper’s alleged secret life as drug trafficker" reported that “A million-dollar Brisbane house flipper who has virtually no online presence is alleged by police to have been living a secret life as a high-level wholesale drug trafficker” and the article headed "’Hectic’: House flipping accused drug kingpin’s texts, associates" reported “Details of the police claims against Adelaide-born Spurling were revealed in documents filed in the Supreme Court in Brisbane as part of his successful bail application on June 22 charges of trafficking in cannabis and ice and gun trafficking”. The article headed "’WTF just happened?’: ANOM text messages revealed" reported “Text chats between Queensland men who believed they were shielded by using an encrypted app will form the basis of police allegations they plotted million dollar drug deals”. The complainant said the 8 July 2021 articles included the names, occupations and suburbs of residence of the accused’s close relatives. The complainant said the articles also included personal information including details of her relationship with her partner, her employment details, a photograph of her as well as the name and age of their infant child. The complainant said the 24 July 2021 article also included a photograph of her as well as her employment details. The complainant said that while she acknowledged that court hearings and outcomes can be reported on, the inclusion of such personal and sensitive information was not necessary for the full, fair and accurate reporting of the alleged crime or legal proceedings. The complainant said the articles have had a direct impact on her personal and professional reputation and have caused great angst and anxiety for all the relatives involved. The complainant also said the publication of personal details and locations of various named relatives had caused serious concerns for their safety, given the seriousness of the allegations. In response, the publication said the articles report on court documents that are available to any member of the public prepared to pay the relevant court fees. The publication said the complainant’s partner and his legal representatives made a decision to highlight the stability of his family and longstanding connections to Queensland to support his bid for bail. The publication said the court documents on which the articles are based, are replete with references to the information the complainant has expressed concern with and noted that at least one the court documents would appear to have been prepared with the complainant’s full cooperation and consent. The publication also said that as the complainant is a solicitor, she would have been aware that once the court documents were filed, these documents would become public documents and could not only be reported on as part of a fair report but also accessed and read by any member of public who chose to apply for the court file. The publication said while it appreciates that the reports may have impacted the complainant’s reputation, this will remain true irrespective of whether the articles continue to be published or not as her partner stands charged with serious alleged drugs offences. The publication added that although the complainant would appear to have consented to her daughter’s name and date of birth being included in at least one of the court documents, it subsequently amended the articles to remove such references. 

Conclusion

 The Council’s Standards of Practice applicable in this matter require publications to take reasonable steps to avoid intruding on a person’s reasonable expectations of privacy unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest (General Principle 5) and to avoid causing or contributing materially to substantial distress or prejudice, or a substantial risk to health or safety, unless sufficiently in the public interest (General Principle 6). They also require that unless otherwise restricted by law or court order, open court hearings are matters of public record and can be reported by the press. Such reports need to be fair and balanced. They should not identify relatives or friends of people accused or convicted of crime unless the reference to them is necessary for the full, fair and accurate reporting of the crime or subsequent legal proceedings (Privacy Principle 7). The Council notes the complainant had a reduced expectation of privacy as the information about which she expressed concern is based on publicly available court documents. The Council also considers that to the extent that those named in the article did have a reasonable expectation of privacy, this was outweighed by strong public interest in open justice, including the freedom of the press to report on matters of public importance, such as the legal proceedings associated with alleged criminality.  Accordingly, the Council finds no breach of General Principle 5. The Council also finds that to the extent the complainant and the named relatives were distressed by the publication of personal information, this was outweighed by the strong public interest in reporting on serious criminal activity and associated legal proceedings. However, the Council does not consider it was necessary or sufficiently in the public interest to include the name and the age of the complainant’s infant child. Accordingly, General Principle 6 was breached in this respect. The Council welcomes the publication’s subsequent amendment to the articles to remove such references. As to Privacy Principle 7, the Council acknowledges there was no suppression order in place to prevent publication of information concerning the complainant and named relatives. The Council also acknowledges it is clearly in the public interest for publications to report on findings of courts. However, on balance, the Council does not consider the inclusion identifying information, namely photographs of the complainant, the name and age of the complainant’s infant child, and the occupations and suburb locations of named relatives, was necessary for the full, fair and accurate reporting of the crime and subsequent legal proceedings. Accordingly, Privacy Principle 7 was breached. 

Note:

 Publications must take reasonable steps to:

5. Avoid intruding on a person’s reasonable expectations of privacy unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.
6. Avoid causing or contributing materially to substantial offence, distress or prejudice, or a substantial risk to health or safety, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.

PP7.  In accordance with Principle 6 of the Council's Statement of General Principles, media organisations should take reasonable steps to avoid causing or contributing materially to substantial offence, distress or prejudice, or a substantial risk to health or safety, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest. Members of the public caught up in newsworthy events should not be exploited. A victim or bereaved person has the right to refuse or terminate an interview or photographic session at any time. Unless otherwise restricted by law or court order, open court hearings are matters of public record and can be reported by the press. Such reports need to be fair and balanced. They should not identify relatives or friends of people accused or convicted of crime unless the reference to them is necessary for the full, fair and accurate reporting of the crime or subsequent legal proceedings.

The Press Council considered a complaint from Lisa Guglielmucci concerning an article published in The Daily Telegraph headed "Liar cleric's fresh call'" in print and "Disgraced Hillsong singer Michael Guglielmucci launches homeless charity" online on 3 April 2021. The article reported that “Disgraced fake cancer pastor Michael Guglielmucci has resurrected his career, setting up a charity to support the terminally-sick and homeless.” The article went on to state that “The pop star preacher, who performed with the Hillsong church band and confessed to inventing a two-year cancer battle to hide his porn addiction, has resurfaced announcing God has called him to create a community that feeds and supports the homeless, asylum seekers and the chronically and terminally ill in Port Adelaide.” The article included a large and prominent photograph with the caption: “Popstar preacher Michael Guglielmucci is starting a charity”. The complainant said the photo used in the article is of her “deceased husband but the story is not about him, it is about his brother”. The complainant said the incorrect use of the photo caused her deep distress seeing her “amazing, faithful and integrous late husband in a half page newspaper report with words like LIAR and DISGRACED plastered next to his photo”. The complainant said the article which comments on a fake cancer journey and a porn addiction “paints such a shameful horrible picture about [her late] husband when it’s not even about him and he did nothing wrong”. In response, the publication said the photo was published by mistake as the photo taken from its photo library had been incorrectly captioned. The publication said that once it was informed that the photo was incorrect, it immediately removed it from the online article and also removed it from online stories published on other associated news sites. The publication said it also published a clarification in the next print edition and added an editor’s footnote to the online article to advise readers of the error that had occurred. The publication also said that after being contacted by the complainant, it wrote to her to apologise for the mistake and to inform her that the photograph had been removed from the article and also from its photo library to ensure that it could not be used incorrectly again. 

Conclusion

 The Council’s Standards of Practice applicable to this matter require that publications take reasonable steps to ensure that factual material in news reports and elsewhere is accurate and not misleading and is distinguishable from other material such as opinion (General Principle 1), and to provide a correction or other adequate remedial action if published material is significantly inaccurate or misleading (General Principle 2). The Standards also require publications to take reasonable steps to avoid causing or contributing materially to substantial distress or prejudice, or a substantial risk to health or safety, unless sufficiently in the public interest (General Principle 6). The Council accepts that the publication of the photograph was the result of human error. Nonetheless, the Council considers that given the seriousness of the reported conduct of the individual named in the article, there was an obligation on the publication to ensure that the photo was in fact that of the person named in the article. Accordingly, the Council considers the publication did not take reasonable steps to verify the photograph, and to ensure that the factual information in the article was accurate. Accordingly, the Council finds that General Principle 1 was breached. The Council considers that given the seriousness of the mistake it would have been preferable for the publication to publish a prominent correction rather than a clarification. Nonetheless, the Council commends the publication for immediately removing the online photo once the mistake was brought to its attention. The Council also notes that together with a written apology, the publication published a print clarification and added an editor’s note on the online article informing readers of the mistake. Accordingly, the Council finds no breach of General Principle 2. The Council considers that given the prominence of the photo and the seriousness of the reported past conduct of the individual named in the article and the failure to verify the accuracy of the photo, the publication failed to take reasonable steps to avoid substantial distress. Accordingly, the Council finds that General Principle 6 was breached. 

Note:

 Publications must take reasonable steps to:

1. Ensure that factual material in news reports and elsewhere is accurate and not misleading, and is distinguishable from other material such as opinion.
2. Provide a correction or other adequate remedial action if published material is significantly inaccurate or misleading.
3. Avoid causing or contributing materially to substantial offence, distress or prejudice, or a substantial risk to health or safety, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.

The Press Council considered whether its Standards of Practice were breached by an article headed “Lockdowns show Australia has lost its marbles” published online by The Herald Sun on 30 June 2021. The article was an opinion piece in which the columnist was critical of lockdown policies. The ‘precede’ which appeared beneath the headline of the article stated “Half the country is locked down because state leaders are whipping up fears about a virus that’s less dangerous than its vaccine.” The article went on to state, amongst other things, “…we’ve now vaccinated the vast majority of the people most likely to die — people aged over 70, and people in aged-care homes”; “…this dominant Delta strain is half as deadly as last year’s strain, according to Public Health England”; “Our main aim from the start should have been to stop people dying, and live with the fact that others will still get the sniffles. Treat this like the flu”; and “why vaccinate millions of young Australians who won’t get very sick from a virus that almost exclusively kills people over 65?”. The article also stated “Queensland’s health officer, Jeannette Young, exposed the craziness of this when she tried to justify banning the young from taking the AstraZeneca vaccine that’s saved Britain: ‘I don’t want an 18-year-old in Queensland dying from a clotting illness who, if they got Covid, probably wouldn’t die.’ If this virus is less dangerous than even a vaccine, why is half the country in lockdown?” In response to a complaint received, the Council asked the publication to comment on whether the above statements complied with the Council’s Standards of Practice, which require publications to take reasonable steps to ensure factual material is accurate and not misleading (General Principle 1) and to ensure factual material is presented with reasonable fairness and balance and writers’ expressions of opinion are not based on significantly inaccurate factual material or omission of key facts (General Principle 3). In response, the publication noted that the ‘precede’ was written by a digital producer and accurately reflected a statement made by Queensland’s Chief Health Officer concerning risks associated with a vaccine who was quoted in the article. The publication said that at the time of writing more than 50% of Australia's population resided in states where various forms of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions applied, and that in the period (1 January 2021 – 30 June 2021) more Australians had in fact died from vaccine side effects than from Covid-19 through community transmission. The publication said the statements that the majority of people most at risk had already been vaccinated; and that the virus almost exclusively kills people over 65; were factual, and referred to information published by the Commonwealth Department of Health, which it said substantiated these assertions. Similarly, the publication referred to a Technical Briefing from Public Health England dated 18 June 2021, which it said provided the factual basis for the columnist’s comments about the deadliness of the Delta strain. The publication said that the columnist’s pro-vaccination stance has been well publicised and the statement “Treat this like the flu” was clearly an expression of the columnist’s genuinely held opinion. 

Conclusion

 The Council notes that although the article is an opinion piece, the publication is nonetheless obliged to take reasonable steps to ensure that factual material in the article is accurate, not misleading, fair and balanced; and to ensure that the writer’s expressions of opinion are not based on inaccurate factual material. In considering the ‘precede’ to the article, which states “…state leaders are whipping up fears about a virus that’s less dangerous than its vaccine” the Council notes that this assertion is made without any qualification or context, and inaccurately portrays the risks associated with Covid-19 vaccines and the virus itself. Accordingly, General Principles 1 and 3 were breached in this respect. However, the Council considers that where the columnist elsewhere poses the question “If this virus is less dangerous than even a vaccine, why is half the country in lockdown?”, reflected a statement concerning risks associated with a vaccine made by Queensland’s Chief Health Officer who was quoted in the article. Accordingly, General Principles 1 and 3 were not breached in this respect. In relation to the remaining matters detailed above, the Council is satisfied, based on the information before it, that there was a reasonable factual basis for the writer’s expressions of opinion, and that the factual information in the article was accurate and not misleading. Accordingly, General Principles 1 and 3 were not breached in these respects. 

Relevant Council Standards

 Publications must take reasonable steps to:

1. Ensure that factual material in news reports and elsewhere is accurate and not misleading and is distinguishable from other material such as opinion.
2. Ensure that factual material is presented with reasonable fairness and balance, and that writers’ expressions of opinion are not based on significantly inaccurate factual material or omission of key facts.