Newspaper prints letter to the editor – two years after its writer died
A New South Wales weekly newspaper published a letter to the editor from a reader who died two years previously.
The Port Stephens Examiner originally received the note from reader Bill Broadhead in July 2009, yet somehow featured it seven years later in October 2016.
The incident came to light after the writer’s son, Scott Broadhead, complained to the Australian Press Council.
The seemingly innocuous letter congratulated Port Stephens Council for building a cycle path and came with the caption: “JOB WELL DONE: Bill Broadhead from Bermagui was impressed by the cycle paths around Grahamstown Dam”.
The complainant claimed that he was never contacted, even after he tried to get in touch with the newspaper to complain.
The Port Stephens Examiner’s editor said publishing the letter was an honest mistake that occurred because it had somehow received the email again in its letters inbox in October 2016.
The publication offered to print an apology in print and online, which was accepted by the complainant.
The Press Council ruled the newspaper was in breach of General Principle 1 and 2: not taking reasonable steps to ensure copy was accurate, and not taking adequate remedial action initially to correct the mistake.
It didn’t find that the Examiner guilty of breaking Principle 6 – causing substantial offence or distress to the reader.
The APC ruled:
“The Council accepts that the editor made a mistake in missing the actual date on the letter, and on the information available, the Council is unable to determine how the email incorporating the letter appeared in the publication’s letters inbox in 2016. Nonetheless, the Council considers that the publication of the letter suggested the author of the letter was alive… and that this was the first time this letter had been published. The publication could have avoided these misleading impressions by observing the date on the email or contacting the author. As such, the Council considers the publication failed to take reasonable steps to ensure the letter as published was accurate and not misleading.”
If there’s a newspaper out there that would like to publish something from me seven years after I die, please let me know. I’d be appreciative.
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