Adjudication No. 720 (May 1994) [1994] APC 29

ADJUDICATION No. 720 (May 1994)

The Australian Press Council has dismissed a complaint about the style and conduct of a piece of "campaigning" journalism in The Sunday Mail, Brisbane.

The reportage, spread over two pages and including by-lined articles, dealt with an upsurge of crime and violence in Toowoomba and the fears and anger of local women. Brief interviews with 17 such women were published, along with their photographs.

The tone of the newspaper's condemnation of the violence in the community and the official response to it was set by the headline saying "Victims of crime speak out as thugs bring fear to the streets of a once peaceful town" and by the opening paragraphs of a by-lined article, thus:

"WOMEN are too soft to be good magistrates, say some Toowoomba people fed up with the local crime wave.

"They criticised the leniency of the courts and some last week singled out local woman magistrate, Ms Donna MacCallum."

Mr Leo White, of Brisbane, took offence at this coverage and brought complaints under several headings. He asserted that Press Council principles had been breached in several ways: that the reportage was unfair in using anonymous allegations to justify a personal attack about "too soft"; that a report of the magistrate's release of a man on bail failed to set out the defence submissions; that only some of the 17 women interviewed were victims; and that criticism of the magistrate was an example of anti-female prejudice.

The Press Council finds there was nothing out of the ordinary about the Sunday Mail entering vigorously into an issue of obvious interest to many people and representing community discontent that violence and crime were rising and that many felt there was too much leniency to offenders.

Coverage of this kind, while welcome and endorsed by many newspaper readers, would be viewed as controversial or even offensive by others. But that in itself is no breach of Press Council tenets of accuracy and fairness.

The editor of the newspaper defends his paper's campaign, highlighting the nastiness of attacks on elderly women and the community fears this kind of violence generates. In his response, he said, amongst other things:

• "The report on the Toowoomba granny terror was one in an on-going series ...".

• "The original series also began in response to letters from grannies ...".

• "We put in a lot of time finding grannies who were prepared to be named and who supported their frightened friends. We have received 100s and published some of the letters supporting the grannies".

The articles obviously struck a community chord. Were they, nonetheless, unfair or distorted? The Press Council does not find them to be so.

And what of the report that some people thought women too soft to be good magistrates, and the direct criticism of one woman magistrate?

At a time in Australia when senior male judges have undergone a barrage of criticism over their supposed male prejudices, it can hardly be argued that being female provides an immunity from criticism.

Was the reported community criticism of Magistrate MacCallum a breach of the Press Council principle that individuals or groups should not be belittled by reference to their sex?

The Press Council concludes there was no such breach.