Adjudication No. 1007 (January 1999) [1999] APC 1

ADJUDICATION No. 1007 (January 1999)

The Australian Press Council has upheld a complaint from Rose Botic about an article and photograph published by the Sunday Telegraph on 23 August 1998.

Ms Botic appeared in court in June 1998 for a minor stealing offence. She opted not to defend the charge. A Community Aid Panel ordered her to undertake 8 hours of community service at the Liverpool Hospital.

She appeared in court on August 18 to state on oath that she had completed the 8 hours of community work. No conviction was recorded against her.

The article complained about gave a short report on cases involving several people, including Ms Botic, who appeared in court on that day. A photograph at the top of the reports showed a smiling Ms Botic with her hand to her hair and underneath it the caption "Botich: stealing".

The report (which misspelled her name) described Ms Botic's manner and appearance in court. It included "Smiling and fluffing her hair with the too bright poise of a suburban beauty pageant contestant, she manages to make the pledge "I do" sound like acceptance of a marriage proposal". The language is in contrast to that used for other cases listed in the report.

Ms Botic claims that as a result of the article her reputation has been ruined, her employment opportunities limited and she has suffered a nervous breakdown. She disputes the description of her behaviour, believing the photograph was taken outside the court as she met friends.

The newspaper has made no response to the complaint.

The Press Council believes the report was unfair to Ms Botic in gratuitously singling her out for a description that appeared to indicate that she took a frivolous approach to what was a serious matter.