Telegraph cleared by Press Council over Slipper ‘King Rat’ front page
Sydney tabloid The Daily Telegraph has been cleared by the Australian Press Council over a controversial front page which depicted former Speaker Peter Slipper as a giant rat.
In early October last year, the newspaper published the front page with the headline: “King Rat deserts ship” following the resignation of the MP as Speaker of the House of Representatives the night before.
The paper’s depiction of the MP drew controversy and at the time and led reader Jan Winstanley to lodge a complaint with the Australian Press Council.
In a ruling handed down yesterday the APC chose not to uphold the complaint arguing that: “the use of the term “King Rat” in this context was not so highly unfair and offensive as to outweigh the public importance of allowing robust expressions of opinion on issues of political controversy.”
Bravo. Maybe we’re not descending into North Korea just yet.
Another example of the club members judging the club, pathetic
@Robbo How on earth is altering someone’s appearance to look like a rat a representation of journalistic freedom?
How about the moron’s reading this rag read the article and form their own opinion. What a joke.