Adjudication No. 324 (March 1987) [1987] APC 11

ADJUDICATION No. 324 (March 1987)

Mr Geoffrey Miller QC complains to the Press Council concerning a series of items which have appeared in the Western Mail. Mr Miller points out that the Western Mail is published by Western Mail Ltd which is a subsidiary of TVW Enterprises Ltd, which itself is a subsidiary of the Bell Group Ltd. Mr Robert Holmes ^ Court is the chairman both of the Bell Group Ltd and of TVW Enterprises Ltd and is in addition a breeder of thoroughbred racehorses and he also races horses. Mr Miller states that Mr Holmes ^ Court employs a racing manager, Mr Barry Farmer, who is also the racing editor of a section of the Western Mail which is called 'The Racing Mail'.

Mr Miller complains that the Western Mail, through its Racing Mail section, consistently publishes material which is laudatory of Mr Holmes ^ Court's racing and breeding successes which thereby advances both the commercial and personal interests of the chairman of the parent company responsible for the publication of the newspaper-

In support of his complaint, Mr Miller has provided the Council with a number of articles which he says identify Mr Holmes ^ Court's racing and breeding interests and/or success.

In reply, the newspaper states that an exhaustive investigation was undertaken by the newspaper into the matters raised in the complaint. The Managing Editor stated: "the allegations he made are completely unfounded".

In the absence of further evidence, the Council cannot see that the publication of the items in question was not newsworthy, or that they were published solely to advance the interests of Mr Holmes ^ Court.

The question does arise whether there is some obligation on the Western Mail to declare the interests of the editor of The Racing Mail section, and indeed, the interests of Mr Holmes ^ Court. However, the racing and newspaper interests of Mr Holmes ^ Court are well known, and Mr Barry Farmer's racing interests and connections are well known in Western Australia.

It is a fact of life in our community that owners of newspapers frequently have other financial and public interests which by any reasonable standards may be newsworthy. The method of reporting, or at times failing to report, events to do with these interests could constitute a breach of the Council's principles. However, in relation to this complaint, there is nothing which would lead the Council to rule that the Western Mail has been guilty of such an abuse. The complaint is therefore dismissed.