Adjudication No. 468 (January 1991) [1991] APC 3

ADJUDICATION NO. 468 (January 1991)

In dismissing a complaint by Mrs Yvonne Taylor against the Whitsunday Times the Australian Press Council comments that readers who use the press as a forum for their views cannot demand or expect that news reports conform to their view of events.

Equally, newspapers must always be diligent in correctly reporting individuals' views whether by direct quotation or in published letters to the editor.

Yvonne Taylor complained about the Whitsunday Times' handling of a series of reports and letters involving her and a public meeting she was involved in organising.

The meeting in April 1990 was called in Airlie Beach to discuss concerns about the economic plight of the town which, among other things, was affected by the drop in tourism during and after the pilots' dispute.

In its issue of 2 May the Whitsunday Times headlined the report "Radical action needed to save town: Goddard".

The meeting's nominal chairman, Mr Bruce Goddard, and others were extensively quoted in the news report. Mr Goddard, for example, was quoted as saying, "In my 11 years here (I have) never seen such a low ebb, such high rate of bankruptcy, combined with Queensland's highest local government rates and a correspondingly low say on council."

Businessman Al Spilman was quoted as saying "Either Airlie wakes up or dies."

Yvonne Taylor who co-ordinated the meeting objected to the report's description of the event as a "public crisis" meeting and to its failure in her view to report positive suggestions made at the meeting.

The newspaper, supported by the general manager of the local tourism association who was also at the meeting and the meeting minutes, insists that its report was an accurate reflection of the meeting's mood and that items referred to by Mrs Taylor occupied only a small part of the agenda.

The Press Council agrees that the Whitsunday Times report was a fair one. As in most good reporting of local issues the report was largely direct quotations of comments made by named people who addressed the meeting.

A specific complaint by Mrs Taylor that she was described as a businesswoman and not her preferred description of "local resident" can hardly result in criticism of the paper.

She was known to the newspaper as a businesswoman. As a prolific writer of letters to the paper it is really up to her to make it known to the paper how she is to be described; an outcome which has now undoubtedly been achieved.

One specific complaint deserves attention. One letter Mrs Taylor wrote urging the formation of a lobby group was published some time after it was written, making it less relevant and causing the writer to say she was embarrassed.

In explanation the Whitsunday Times says it is "on line" to the Mackay Daily Mercury some 149 kms away where both papers are printed. Stories are sent to Mackay and in the absence of specific requests printed when space is available.

Use of modern technology is widely accepted but newspapers must make sure that technology and distance do not affect the fairness and currency of debate in local papers.

Yvonne Taylor also complains that some material she faxed to the paper was intended to be background information for the editor and not for publication although she frequently faxes publishable letters as well.

There is no evidence before the Press Council that the editor would have known the background faxes were not normal letters to the editor.

This complaint therefore is also dismissed but the Press Council feels it should draw to the attention of the public that newspaper editors rightly assume that signed letters sent to them are intended by the writers to be published unless specifically categorised otherwise.