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Media Release (APC Update No 49) [2014] AUPressClUpdate 25; (2014) Australian Press Council Update 49

APC Update | Issue 49

MEDIA RELEASE | 18 December 2014

Martin Place hostage incident

The following statement has been issued today on behalf of the Chair of the Council.

“Due to serious misrepresentations today in at least a couple of media outlets, it should be noted that my statement on Tuesday about coverage of the Martin Place hostage incident did not express a negative assessment of the general media coverage of the incident. Indeed it said ‘Much of the coverage has been excellent and has not hesitated to tell painful truths when necessary’.

While expressing concern about some errors and exaggerations, it did not criticise any particular material or publication and was not based on any particular complaint to the Council. This reflects the fact that the roles of the Council and its Chair are not confined to expressing views on particular complaints.

If any complaint about coverage of the incident proceeds to the Council’s seven-member Adjudication Panel it will be considered in the usual way

This means that publications have ample opportunities to express their views and, for example, the Panel does not become aware of the Chair’s views on a particular complaint unless he is a member of it and expresses them when it meets."

See below for the text of the Chair's statement of 16 December 2014. Click here for more material about these matters, including a Letter to the Editor which The Australian has declined to publish.

Text of 16 December 2014 statement

The Chair of the Press Council, Prof Julian Disney, has urged media to be accurate and responsible in their coverage of the Martin Place incident.

Prof Disney said: "Much of the coverage has been excellent and has not hesitated to tell painful truths when necessary. But there have been some deeply regrettable errors and exaggerations, spreading dangerous misinformation without any reasonable basis. This type of material can be a serious risk to public safety, as well as causing an unjustified level of fear and distrust across the community.”