Adjudication No. 1468 (adjudicated July 2010) [2010] APC 18

Adjudication No. 1468 (adjudicated July 2010)

The Australian Press Council has considered a complaint against The West Australian about a photograph and caption used to illustrate a front-page article on 16 March 2010 about the findings of a Department of Indigenous Affairs report into conditions in the town of Roebourne.

The large photograph showed an Aboriginal man standing in his kitchen and was captioned: "Surrounded by squalor: [the named man] in his filthy kitchen in the area known as 'The Village' in Roebourne. He says no one should have to live in such conditions". The article itself dealt almost solely with the findings of the report but added that the man "who lives among the squalor, said no one should have to live in such conditions".

On the following day, the newspaper published 16 of what it says were about 60 letters received on the issue and it accompanied them with a smaller reproduction of the photograph. Almost all of the published letters focused on strongly criticising the man for not taking responsibility for keeping his kitchen clean and tidy.

In a follow-up "Opinion" article, the writer of the 16 March article referred to the angry letters and then wrote: "Admittedly and disappointingly, the captioning of the photograph on the story probably didn't win [the man] any sympathy. But most frustratingly, once again the substance of the story appeared to be lost as readers vented their anger about Aboriginals not looking after public housing".

The complainants are Assoc Prof Ted Wilkes, who is an Aboriginal elder, and Prof Rob Donovan, who is deputy chairman of the WA Ministerial Council on Suicide Prevention. They contended that the photograph and caption were offensive, exposed the man to personal ridicule and reinforced negative stereotypes about the Indigenous people. They said that the newspaper aggravated the unfairness by publishing so many letters criticising the man. They noted that most letters referred solely to the photograph and caption, which had clearly focused criticism on him individually and overwhelmed the very different tone of the article itself.

The newspaper contended that the man used the words attributed to him in the caption and meant them to refer to the conditions in his kitchen as symptomatic of general living conditions in the community. It said that the man was drawing attention to overcrowding, alcohol and drug abuse that caused the people of Roebourne to live in squalor and that he believed that "if people see pictures of these conditions someone will do something about it".

The newspaper said that it did not agree with the sentiments of the critical letters but did not prohibit readers from expressing their opinion. It pointed to publication in subsequent days of some more sympathetic letters and articles and of an editorial arguing for constructive action to improve conditions in Roebourne. It contended that since the report on 16 March the Department of Indigenous Affairs had prioritised initiatives to address the town's problems. The newspaper also said that the man and other Aboriginal people in his community and elsewhere were very happy with the article and the attention it had drawn to their problems.

The Council regards the article as a frank and balanced report of concerns about conditions in Roebourne. Unfortunately the picture and its caption allowed the apparent thrust of the article to be distorted by focusing on conditions in one man's kitchen, thereby conveying a misleading impression of the article and the man's concerns. This effect was exacerbated by publication on the following day of an excessively large number of letters focusing on the state of his kitchen and making criticisms of him in very similar terms.

The Council considers that the newspaper erred in allowing these cumulative effects to occur. To that extent the complaint is upheld. On the other hand, the newspaper is to be commended for its decision to publish the article itself, which was a valuable contribution on a matter of great public importance.