Courier Mail invaded boy’s privacy in murder case, rules press watchdog

Tim Burrowes

September 4, 2016 1:38

Brisbane’s Courier Mail newspaper invaded the privacy of an eight-year-old boy by naming him in reporting of his father’s murder trial, journalism watchdog the Australian Press Council has ruled.

The APC was asked to consider whether its standards of practice had been breached when the boy, a potential witness in the case, was named in the newspaper’s coverage in March this year.

Source: Media Watch, ABC

During the court hearing the judge had made no ruling about suppressing the child’s identity, meaning that in legal terms the newspaper was free to name him.

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Tim Burrowes

Tim Burrowes is the publisher of Mumbrella and Unmade. He co-founded Mumbrella in 2008 and sister title Unmade in 2021. He's worked in the UK, Middle East, Asia & Australia and has specialised in writing about the communications world for the last 25 years. He wrote the book Media Unmade, published in 2021, and became the presenter of MediaLand on ABC Radio National in 2025.