A Woman and the Sunday Independent

Complaint

A woman complained that material about her in an article in the Sunday Independent about a private occasion connected with a family tragedy was a breach of her privacy under Principle 5 of the Code of Practice (Privacy). She also complained that a statement published in the article was untrue, and was therefore in breach of Principle 1 (Truth and Accuracy), and that it misrepresented the relationship between her and the journalist who wrote the article, in breach of Principle 3 (Fairness and Honesty). The author of the article was present on the occasion in question by invitation.

The newspaper maintained that its report had been accurate, that it could provide an independent witness to the incident described in the report which the complainant said was untrue, and that the article had not involved any breach of the Code of Practice.

Decision

To assist him in assessing the accuracy or otherwise of the statement complained of the Press Ombudsman accepted offers from both sides to the complaint to provide additional information from people who were present. However, this additional information reinforced, rather than clarified, the irreconcilable conflict between the newspaper and the complainant about the accuracy of the statement concerned, and it was therefore impossible for the Ombudsman to make a finding in relation to the complaint under Principle 1. For the same reasons, no finding can be made on the complaint under Principle 3.

While the journalist in question had been invited to the family gathering, this invitation did not vitiate the requirement for the newspaper to show sympathy and discretion towards private individuals present on that occasion, and to take the feelings of grieving families into account in publishing any information about such a tragic event, however obtained. The Press Ombudsman is of the opinion that publication of this material about the complainant failed to show an appropriate degree of sympathy and discretion towards the complainant as a private individual, or to take her feelings sufficiently into account, at a time of personal grief and shock. This was a breach of Principle 5 of the Code of Practice, and the complaint under Principle 5 is therefore upheld.

The Ombudsman accepted a statement by the newspaper that it had not intended to upset the complainant. However, it was very clear that the complainant was deeply upset by the publication of this material about her at a private family gathering at a time of personal grief and shock. The newspaper’s response therefore stands to be considered in the absence of any expression of regret, or other acknowledgment of the situation created by this article, which might have contributed to an amicable resolution of this complaint.

26 June 2009