20-11-2007
John thanks Deb Kirkman
Deb Kirkman is the Case Manager for the Australian Press Council (APC), and has been working there for 14 years. She gave a very informative and interesting presentation to the Club on background information about the APC, and finished by asking Club members to adjudicate on two case studies. The opinions presented by the members covered a wide spectrum, showing how difficult the process can be in real life. Deb's presentation included:
- The APC was founded in 1976 under its first Chair Sir Frank Kitto.
- The Australian Journalists' Association (AJA) withdrew in 1986 and the Council reformed in 1986.
- The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) rejoined in 2005.
- In 2006, the APC had 22 members.
- The APC has two areas of focus:
- Free speech, and freedom of the press (including Freedom of Information).
- Complaints handling
- The APC engages in education and promotion in various ways, including its annual address, public forums, and case studies in universities.
- Various guideline statements have been issued including GPR 248, dealing with race, and GPR 220, dealing with the alteration of photos.
- THE APC also has a 9-point statement of principles covering things such as accurate reporting and harm minimisation.
- Under the Federal Privacy Act, public interest is a defence to a complaint about invasion of privacy.
- The APC's 4 staff members deal with about 450 complaints per year, with about 5 enquiries for every complaint.
- About 80% of complaints are dealt with in-house, with the rest either mediated, withdrawn, or referred to the Council for arbitration.
- The 7 members of the Complaints Committee draw representatives from the industry and the community.
- The Council is funded by its constituent members, although a requirement for an employee is that they have never been employed by any press organisation.
- And finally, Deb presented the 2 case studies, asking for recommendations from the floor as to what decision should have been reached, before giving the resolution given by the Council.
Last changed: 03:21:08 04-10-2008