Adjudication No. 759 (October 1994) [1994] APC 68

ADJUDICATION No. 759 (October 1994)

The Australian Press Council has upheld in part a complaint by a minor against The Newcastle Herald over the reporting of an accident in which she was involved.

The story, published on 12 February 1994, was headed "Amazing survival of teenager run over by coal train". It gave a detailed account of how the 14-year-old girl had been walking along the railway line and had been struck by a fully laden coal train. She had survived by "a one in a million chance", though she received a fractured skull and lacerations to the head.

The paper gave the girl's age and school (including the Year she was in), and provided a diagram of the location of her home in relation to the scene of the accident. It illustrated the story with an artist's impression showing a girl walking along a railway line with a train bearing down on her.

The complainant claimed that the story was in breach of Press Council principle 1, which provides for respect for the privacy and sensibilities of individuals in reporting news; and of principle 2, which obliges newspapers to take steps to ensure the truth of their reports, in that a statement that she was intoxicated was not confirmed by medical staff or family members. However, the story had quoted police & a Freight Rail spokeswoman as saying the girl was intoxicated.

The girl says that the story has caused much anguish and damaged her reputation with her school and her peers.

The Press Council believes The Newcastle Herald was fully entitled to report the accident, as the survival of a person struck by a train is a newsworthy event.

However, it believes that, in view of the girl's age and the circumstances of the accident, she should not have been identified. To the extent that she was, the complaint is upheld.