Newspapers told not to interview drunk people
The Sunday Age has had a complaint upheld against it by the Australian Press Council after interviewing an 18-year-old woman in a Melbourne bar. The woman, who was being interviewed about the “ladette” culture consented to the interview and to be photographed, but the APC has ruled that she was too drunk to give informed consent.
A family friend lodged a complaint after the subsequent story painted her in an unflattering light. According to the APC:
“Given her condition, the woman was not capable of consenting in an informed way to participating in the posed photo session. For that reason, the coverage, despite the journalists’ belief they had informed consent, was unfair to the woman.”
The ruling has drawn crticism from the editor of SA regional paper The Border Watch. Michael Gorey argues: “I have a problem with this ruling. The girl was in a licensed establishment and was deemed to be fit to continue drinking (ie she wasn’t under the table and she wasn’t thrown out for drunkenness). She gave her name, age, occupation and suburb to the newspaper. She knew she was speaking to a journalist on the record. How is a reporter or editor supposed to assess someone’s suitability to be interviewed?”
And he warns: “Someone might claim after a story has been published that they were depressed or on medication. The press council would have to uphold their complaints too, if they’re going to be consistent.”
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Like any journalist worthy of the name, I have got some of my best stories by talking to drunk people in bars. If you specialise in the travel industry like I do, with its endless round of conferences, often the only reason to stay up until the small hours with some bigwig is to wait for the moment alcohol loosens their tongue and they say something vaguely interesting.
Have they consented? Well, if they know they’re talking to a journalist and they haven’t said it’s off the record, there’s implied consent in my book.
They might wake up with a sore head and an “oh shit, I didn’t…” feeling, but who hasn’t?
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