Mamamia faces contempt of court probe over Robert Hughes case reporting
Women’s lifestyle website Mamamia may face contempt of court proceedings for publishing a potentially prejudicial article during the trial of former Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes.
On March 7, Hughes’s lawyer Greg Walsh told the presiding judge Justice Peter Zahra he was deeply “concerned” about the contents of a “blog… Mamamia.”
It is understood the article in question, authored by Mamamia’s celebrity editor Kate Leaver and since removed from the site, made several allegedly prejudicial statements about Hughes’ guilt.
The former TV star was yesterday convicted of nine child sex offences involving five victims during the 1980s and 1990s and was today found guilty of one of two counts of indecent dealing. Whilst the article in question appeared on Mamamia on March 6 the matter was heard in the absence of the jury, with reporting on the contempt matter banned until after the jury was discharged today.
The court heard among the allegedly prejudicial remarks was a section questioning why, after Cate Blanchett’s win at the Oscars, she had thanked her agent Robyn Gardiner, the wife of Hughes, but not “spared a thought” for “his (Hughes’) victims”.
Gardiner was also referred to in the article as having stood by while her husband “moonlighted as a sexual predator” in the 1980s and that “Hughes has not been convicted… yet.”
Justice Zahra was critical of Mamamia for the breach. According to the transcript of the hearing, he stated: “This article is deeply concerning… This one appears to be particularly egregious and I’m at this stage concerned that in fact it may be a contempt of the Court. That is, that the clear indication in this article is that the actress Cate Blanchett used the opportunity in her acceptance speech of an Academy Award to pervert the course of justice either on her own or in conjunction with the proposed witness in this trial.”
The court was also told that the risk of prejudicing the trial was increased because the headline and standfirst gave no indication Hughes would be the subject of the article. Jurors are instructed not to follow media coverage of their trial, but are allowed to follow news in general.
On March 7 Justice Zahra said he would consider whether the matter should be referred to the NSW Attorney General’s office for consideration of contempt charges.
Walsh did not apply for the jury to be discharged.
When the court returned on March 10, Judge Zahra said he considered a referral appropriate. “I propose to refer the matter to the Attorney General for considerations to whether the author should be prosecuted for sub judice contempt,” said Justice Zahra.
Mamamia publisher Mia Freedman and editor-in-chief Jamila Rizvi both declined to comment on the matter. Asked whether disciplinary action had been taken, Freedman said: “No.”
Sanctions for contempt of court can include both a prison sentence or fine.
Broadcaster Derryn Hinch was released from prison last month after refusing to pay a $100,000 fine imposed over contempt of court in online reporting in relation to the Jill Meagher murder.
Nic Christensen
I think this is the problem with online publications these days. They are more like blogs actually, therefore they blur the line between reporting and opinion. A dangerous place to be in cases like this.
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Looks like a clear case of declining journalism standards to me. No sub-editor worth his or her salt should have allowed a phrase such as “Hughes has not been convicted … yet” go through. The clues are in the words themselves.
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Hah. I’d hardly call this tripe ‘journalism’.
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Declining standards indeed – but is it journalism or just a rant. No reputable paper would let this through – journalism 101. Appalling put down of Cate Blanchett. Robyn Gardiner is a respected agent and it is touching that Blanchett thanks her along with a list of others close to her.
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Why drag someone’s wife into this? There is no evidence or even speculation that she has any role in his crimes. Very poor form.
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wouldn’t Katie Leaver and Mia be screaming if a blokes website did this! Cadets at my newspaper have a better grasp of court reporting procedures
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There used to be an intelligent question asked. Does art imitate life? or does life imitate art? and how do we tell the difference? OK that’s three questions, but they are three questions in one. The questions can no longer be answered with any certainty since the reference points have been unrecognisably blurred.
Since true theatre has been discarded in favour of sexually fired eye and ear catching units exhibited for profit, the reality of life has become too tame to needy and too much like hard work for the average person to access. Now it is reality forced into a pressure cooker, heated in a microwave and served whilst steaming hot. News and journalism have been deserted in favour of super heated reality, and so hearsay is enough to satisfy the hunger for news, and smoke enough to justify the reporting of fire.
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I did’t read the brief of evidence, but I don’t think the complainant of that initial media story that instigated the Police investigation gave evidence for the crown. A savvy move indeed.
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