Adjudication No. 627 (February 1993) [1993] APC 19

ADJUDICATION No. 627 (February 1993)

In considering a complaint against the Sunday Telegraph and Sunday Herald-Sun, the Press Council has emphasised the need for newspapers to exercise the utmost care in ascertaining the wider interests of freelance columnists or commentators writing for them.

Inadvertent or deliberate failure to disclose such interests can lead to readers gaining a false impression of the background to views expressed in by-lined items.

The article which was the subject of complaint by the Hellenic Council of NSW, "Macedonia under economic seige", appeared both in the Sunday Herald-Sun, and, in a slightly shorter version, in the Sunday Telegraph. The article was written by a well known Canberra-based lobbyist and freelance journalist, and his by-line appeared in both papers.

The article gave an account of what the writer saw as a concerted attempt by the Greek Government to undermine the newly emerged Macedonian State on its northern frontier, and to deny the Macedonian identity of any people living inside Greece.

The article included allegations that the Greek Government had:

• jammed a Macedonian TV broadcast;

• interfered with the transport of goods to Macedonia;

• attempted "cultural genocide" by suppressing the Slavic-Macedonian language within its own borders; and

• colluded with the "totalitarian rump of Yugoslavia" (i.e. the Serbian Government in Belgrade).

The Hellenic Council was deeply offended by the article, and complained about its "failure to disclose all relevant facts", "distortion" and "wrong and improper emphasis". The Hellenic Council also claimed that the columnist was a "lobbyist on behalf of the Yugoslav Macedonian community in Australia".

Both papers rejected the complaint, pointing out that the article was legitimate and clearly identified comment, and that opportunity had been given to readers disagreeing with the writer to put their point of view. The Sunday Herald-Sun had published a half page of dissenting letters in its next edition, and the Sunday Telegraph, two letters (which coverage the Hellenic Council considered inadequate because it did not specifically deal with the human rights violations alleged in the article).

The Press Council believes the paper's treatment of the Macedonian/Greek issues raised by the columnist was fair. Further, the columnist vigorously denies acting as lobbyist for Slavic/Macedonian interests.

The article was undoubtedly one-sided, and made no attempt to explain the Greek Government's perspective on these issues. This lack of balance may have put the value of the article into question for some readers, but a range of their opinions was promptly published.

In this case, there is no evidence that the newspapers breached Press Council principles.

The Press Council is not in a position to adjudicate on allegations and denials relating to any relationship between the columnist and Slavic/Macedonian interests. In general, however, the Council observes that newspapers and journalists have a responsibility to disclose any conflicts of interest, involving their writers, the non-disclosure of which could mislead readers.