Adjudication No. 873 (July 1996) [1996] APC 47

ADJUDICATION No. 873 (July 1996)

On 9 October 1995 Peter Henning submitted an article to the magazine 40û South in the hope that it may be published. The article concerned Foch Dowling, a noted Tasmanian bird photographer.

Along with the article was a selection of bird photographs by Mr Dowling which Mr Henning enclosed for the purposes of accompanying his article.

In May 1996 the article was published by the magazine but only one of Mr Dowling's photographs was used to illustrate Mr Henning's piece. Another four of the photographs were used to illustrate a separate essay - concerning birds - by a different writer in the same edition.

Mr Dowling was credited as the photographer in both articles.

Whilst acknowledging the editor's right to leave out illustrations, Mr Henning complains that: "It is an entirely different matter to use some of the material in association with someone else's work without the knowledge and consent of the people who made the original submission."

The magazine's editors expressed the view that they were entitled to use the submitted photographs in their normal editorial discretion pointing out that: "Since the material was clearly credited, there was no question of deception."

The Press Council finds that there has been no breach of its principles and the complaint is dismissed.