2008 - Press Complaints Commission

A R E P O R T O N P R O M I N E N C E
Putting them
in their place
One marker of our success is the prominence given to apologies and adjudications.
Prominent publication demonstrates the industry’s willingness to cooperate fully
with the PCC and respond constructively to the needs of a complainant. We don’t
specify where they should appear but expect editors to publish with due prominence,
which means there must be a relationship between the original error and the
remedy or censure by the PCC.
C A S E
S T U D Y
Front
page
apology
THE EVENING STANDARD published
a front page claim that the Duke of
Edinburgh had prostate cancer, relating
to a further story on page five. Within 36
hours we had negotiated a resolution to
a complaint. The paper accepted that the
allegation was untrue and apologised for
breaching his privacy. The front page of
the next day’s edition said: “The Evening
Standard apologises to the Duke of
Edinburgh”. The full apology was published
in an agreed position on page five.
CORRECTIONS/APOLOGIES
further forward
on the same page
up to 2 pages back
3-5 pages back
more than 5 pages back
appearing in
designated column
Over the last few years, standards
have improved. In 2008, over
85% of corrections and apologies
were published on the same page as
the original article, further forward or
in a designated column. This is the
highest figure to date. In cases involving
apologies, almost 90% appeared no
further back than the original or in a
corrections column.
0 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
PERCENTAGE
The national press is slightly better
than regional papers on this. 91% of cases
involving nationals appear on the same page,
earlier or in a column, whilst it’s just over
72% for regionals. This may be because no
regional newspaper used a corrections
column to publish a PCC-negotiated text last
year. All corrections and apologies involving
magazines appeared on the same page as,
or further forward than, the original article.
In 2008, we negotiated two
front page apologies. We also robustly
criticised the Evening Standard for the
insubstantial basis of its front page claims
about environmental activists’ behaviour
at Heathrow airport. Given the serious
nature of the breach, the newspaper
published a reference to the adjudication
on its front page (an industry first) and our
full criticisms inside.
C A S E S T U D Y
Criticised for
a buried ruling
THE PCC UPHELD a complaint from
Nicholas Soames MP against the
Brighton Argus over a photograph
showing him driving a quad bike on a
public road with a trailer that carried
three children (whose faces had not
been pixellated). The image was used
to illustrate a story that speculated
about their safety. We found that it
breached Clause 6 of the Code.
However the Argus did not publish our
ruling with sufficient prominence. So
in a further criticism, we said:
“The photograph was
published on page 8. The
Commission’s adjudication – which the
newspaper was obliged to publish in
full and with due prominence –
appeared on page 32. The newspaper
asked the Commission to take into
account the fact that there were more
pages in the edition in which the
adjudication appeared than the one in
which the photograph appeared. This
meant that the adjudication was a
similar distance from the back of
the paper to the photograph. The
Commission was not impressed with
this argument. It considered that the
editor had clearly failed in his duty to
publish a critical PCC ruling with due
prominence. There was therefore a
further breach of the Code. As a
result, the Commission required the
editor to publish this statement in a
prominent place in the newspaper.”
LESSON It is unacceptable
to publish a critical
adjudication a long way
further back in the paper
than the original article.
There’s generally no good
reason to do so. Editors
will be further criticised
if they do not get it right
the first time.
LESSON This complaint
demonstrated the advantages
of coming to the PCC with a
privacy concern. The process
was quick. It involved no further
private details being released.
The apology was prominent
and proportionate. It also
demonstrated that newspapers
can remedy breaches of
the Code through prompt
cooperation with the PCC.
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