Adjudication No. 219 (March 1985) [1985] APC 11

ADJUDICATION No. 219 (March 1985)

On 1 January 1985 the Courier-Mail published a short item "Freight price up" about the introduction of a surcharge on after hours freight carried by Greyhound Australia, and quoted the company's State freight manager as to the reasons for the surcharge. The company complained to the Press Council that the article was based on a private business conversation between the company as carrier and the newspaper as client.

It appears that on 31 December 1984 the newspaper consigned an article on Greyhound's after hours freight service, thereby encountering the company's new surcharge. The next day Mark Williams rang the State freight manager, introduced himself as Mark Williams of the Courier-Mail, discussed the new freight rates and subsequently wrote the story. The paper says that Mark Williams is a frequently by-lined reporter who is known as a regular writer on the transport industry, and that he believed that the State manager was aware of this and realised he was speaking to a reporter. The manager on the other hand denies this and asserts that he believed he was talking to the caller as a representative of a client and conducting a private business conversation. We have no basis for disbelieving either side and can only conclude that there was an unfortunate but genuine misunderstanding,

A person who stands in a business relationship to a newspaper is entitled to know when dealing with that newspaper whether a conversation relates to that business relationship or to a possible news story. The person may not be willing to be interviewed, or may wish to emphasise different points if the conversation is to go to a wider audience. The paper does not contend otherwise but asserts that the complainant's manager should have understood that Mark Williams was a reporter seeking information in that capacity. It expresses its regret that the manager was under a misapprehension. The fact that this occurred suggests that the reporter might have gone to greater lengths to explain the position. However we have no reason to doubt the reporter's good faith.

The council will not take any action on the complaint.