Adjudication No. 1045 (August 1999) [1999] APC 39

ADJUDICATION No. 1045 (August 1999)

The Press Council has upheld in part a complaint brought against The Cairns Post by Terry and Jenny Hayton arising from the reporting of events relating to the death of their son. Six reports appeared in the newspaper detailing the circumstances that led to the death of Nathan Hayton and subsequent court proceedings.

The complainants claimed that all the reports contained a number of inaccuracies. These alleged inaccuracies arose primarily from the initial characterisation of the death as arising from a drunken street brawl. The paper claimed that it reproduced accurately information obtained by it from the police. According to the complainant, the police denied furnishing the paper with information in the terms as published.

This is a case where the truth of the claims and counter-claims could only be arrived at following an investigation of a kind that the Council is not set up to conduct. However, the Council notes that the primary descriptor of the events in the various articles in the newspaper commenced with "a violent brawl" and moved progressively through "street brawl", "brawl", "drunken argument" to finally "scuffle" resulting in the death of Mr Hayton. This supports the complainant's claim that the incident was initially presented in a highly coloured fashion with little regard being had to reporting with accuracy the events that occurred.

Papers which choose to sensationalise their reports of events risk offending the Council's principle requiring fair and accurate reporting. To this extent the complaint is upheld.