Complaints Report: 1998

Forty complaints were received in 1998. Up to the end of 1998, the Council had received 540 complaints and held 45 public hearings.

Two hearings were held in 1998. Reports of the Council's adjudiations and mediations appear below.

ROBERT YOUNG vs. TIMES COLONIST

The B.C. Press Council has dismissed a complaint from a Victoria man that the Times Colonist newspaper had published an unfair obituary story about a former Victorian restaurateur.

Mr. Robert Young of Victoria complained that an obituary story and headline about Mr. Wilhelm (Willie) Ueffing, former owner of Willie's Rendezvous in Victoria who died in 1997, was unfair and had portrayed the deceased in an undeservedly bad light. Mr. Young said the headline of the July 18, 1997 story (Infamous restaurateur dies of cancer at 59) was a "contemptible" way to describe Mr. Ueffing, whom he described as a warm individual "who had led an exemplary life, except for a minor incident." The incident in question was reported in the lead paragraph of the story which recounted the fact that Mr. Ueffing had in 1985 been the first person in B.C. convicted of sexual harassment by the newly formed B.C. Council of Human Rights. Mr. Young had unsuccessfully sought an apology from the newspaper and was not satisfied with its offer to print a letter to the editor from the family or a guest column from himself.

The newspaper stood by the accuracy of its story and headline and for that reason rejected Mr. Young's call for an apology.

In its adjudication of Feb. 12 the Press Council found:

While acknowledging that 'infamous' can be considered strong when applied to some of Mr. Ueffing's past behavior, it was deemed by Council to be fair comment with regard to the story in question. The Council also notes that the Times Colonist did not set out to write an obituary story about Mr. Ueffing but that Mr. Young himself had invited one by sending a copy of the obituary notice to the paper's city editor for possible publication as a news item. The complaint is dismissed.

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TERRY MILNE vs. THE PROVINCE

A newspaper has the right to edit a letter-to-the-editor for length and clarity but should take care to preserve the essential tone and intent of the letter, the Press Council has ruled in upholding a complaint against the Province newspaper.

The complaint by Terry Milne of Victoria stemmed from how the Province edited his letter that was published Dec. 14, 1997. The letter concerned Mr. Milne's response to a Dec. 9 column by Michael Smyth in which the writer comments on events at a weekend Reform Party meeting. Mr. Milne's letter was his response to what he called an error-ridden, "shoddy, vindictive piece that richly deserved rebuttal," and listed four "errors" that proved his point.

In the published letter, however, the word "errors" had been replaced by "clarifications," and other criticisms of Mr. Smyth's column were eliminated. That, complained Mr. Mime, wrongly "distorted" his motive for writing and effectively "defanged and cheapened" his response.

Province Editor-In-Chief Michael Cooke disagreed. He said the letter was quite long for a tabloid newspaper and had been edited in line with the paper's policy of editing for "length and clarity," and had retained "the author's essential points in shortened or paraphrased form without changing the point of view."

Text of adjudication of 14 May, 1998:

While it is true the Province adequately summarized Mr. Milne's four specific examples of errors he alleged were contained in Mr. Smyth's column, the paper had substantially sanitized the original letter and referred to these items as "clarifications" rather than admitting them as "errors." This, together with the removal of the complainant's rebuke to Mr. Smyth, substantially changed the tone of his letter from one of profound irritation to a mere rebuttal on technical points.

The Press Council suggests to member newspapers that while they are well within their rights to edit for length and clarity, libelous statements and to some degree content, they should attempt to preserve the tone and intent of the letter. In particular, they should be generous to people upon whom they have reported when those people choose to take issue with those reports. They certainly should not be thin-skinned and should accept criticism when offered.

The Council feels that while the Province did not act maliciously, more care should have been taken when editing Mr. Mime's letter.

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DAN COUSENS vs. NORTH SHORE NEWS

The Press Council has upheld a complaint by a North Vancouver man that news coverage of his 13-year-old daughter's response to suggestive questions of a sexual nature was inappropriate and showed insufficient consideration for the child's well-being.

Dan Cousens complained that a news story by reporter Robert Galster which quoted his daughter Jessica, and published her picture and name, was inappropriate because the paper did not have parental permission to interview his daughter, and because he feared the story could expose her to sexual predators. The story in question (NV trustees reject teen survey bid/Questions deemed suggestive, Feb. 1, 1998) contained the reaction of several local persons to North Vancouver School Board's rejection of a request from a Burnaby firm to conduct a survey of students in the district. The board's decision was based on a belief that some of the survey questions, particularly those dealing with sexuality, were overly suggestive.

Mr. Cousens took grave exception to the part in the story which quoted Jessica, a Grade 8 student at Carson Graham, as saying: " 'If you're not mature enough don't do it,' said Cousens as her friend nodded agreement. 'Use a condom,' they both added as an afterthought." Mr. Cousens said he was "shocked" when he read the story because it sounded like the reporter had asked his daughter about having sex.

Not so, said Mr. Galster at the hearing: he had not asked Jessica and the two other young women about sex but about whether they would have minded answering the survey's questions about teen attitudes toward sex and drugs. North Shore News Editor Timothy Renshaw said he felt his reporter had "not asked any inappropriate questions." He also noted, and Jessica confirmed, that all three young women quoted in the story had agreed to be interviewed and photographed on the sidewall off the school grounds.

Text of the adjudication of May 15, 1998:

The Council finds that the publication of the name, picture and some comments of the complainant's 13-year-old daughter was inappropriate in this case.

Specifically, Council finds the inclusion of a reference to the use of condoms attributed to Jessica to be inappropriate because the exact nature of the question that prompted the answer was not published. Council also finds that the questions put to the complainant's daughter were inappropriate.

The Council agrees with the newspaper that the opinion of teenagers about a survey on their use of drugs and sexual behaviour is a legitimate path of inquiry but finds the methodology and approach employed in this matter inappropriate. The complaint is therefore upheld.

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