Detail ‘excessive’

Press, 27 December 1979, Page 4

Detail ‘excessive’

PA Wellington The New Zealand Press Council has held that the ‘Gisborne Herald" published unnecessary detail about the parents of Terence John Ciark. alias Alexander Janies Sinclair. one of those charged with murder in connection with the "Mr Asia" drugs killing in Britain. As part of a big frontpage display the "Gisborne Herald" revealed that Clark was born in Gisborne and had changed his name bydeed poll. It gave details about his parents, including where they had lived in Gisborne and that they were well known for community service. This led to some criticism from Gisborne resi-

i dents and to a complaint to e the Press Council. [t s In its adjudication the f ‘ Press Council said that t 1 whether the names of the r parents should in the cir-ls vcumstances have been men- t ; tioned was a question on’f ! which there was room fori - differences of opinion. That ( ’ being so. it had fallen within It the range of the editor's dis-It - cretion. s ? But the eagerness to pro- t t vide information had led to s 1 unnecessary details being i r given undue emphasis, theres by increasing the likelihood |t ’ of acute distress to the par- c - ents. To that extent the I e complaint was upheld. y The newspaper's editor an- 1 e s’-vered criticism made by ’ - the Gisborne residents in an'<

editorial comment under the title, "To publish or suppress?” in which he said that not to publish would merely have ailowed rumour and gossip to become rife because of the extensive public interest in the case. However, the Press Council said that while it upheld the right of an editor to exercise his discretion in such cases, such discretion must give due regard to the sensitivities of the people involved. “Whether the names of the parents should in the circumstances have been mentioned at all is a question on which there is differences of opinion,” the council said.