The Wytchway Inn and the Sunday World

The Press Ombudsman has decided not to uphold a complaint by Mr Conor J Skehan and The Wytchway Inn Limited that a review of the restaurant in the Sunday World  on 7 October 2012 was in breach of Principle 4 (Respect for Rights) of the Code of Practice for Newspapers and Magazines. No decision could be made about a complaint under Principle 1 (Truth and Accuracy).

Solicitors acting for Mr Skehan and the restaurant complained that the headline to the article, that read  “The best way to appreciate this grub is with a few pints inside you”, might lead people to believe that its food could not be consumed without the customer being under the influence of alcohol.  They also complained that the article undermined and demeaned their client’s right to his good name.

The newspaper responded that that the review was an honest and professional critique, was based on what occurred on the day in question and was subjective at all times. It also maintained that its review was fair to the restaurant.

It is clear that the review, although mixed, was partly favourable and suggested that little would be required to remedy what the critic perceived as deficiencies. The colloquial reference to the supposed value of a ‘few pints’, though evidently unwelcome to the complainant, is capable of interpretations other than the one put upon it by the complainant, and the complaint under Principle 4 is therefore not upheld.

No decision can be made on the complaint under Principle 1 because the gustatory experience of the critic cannot readily be replicated for investigation.

At the same time, the newspaper’s failure to reply to the restaurant’s initial complaint, while not a breach of the Code of Practice, undoubtedly exacerbated a situation that might have been capable of resolution without the intervention of the Press Ombudsman.

22 February 2013