Dear Bono....

Preamble

The New Zealand Press Council was established as an industry self-regulatory body in 1972. Its main objective is to provide the public with an independent forum for resolving complaints involving the press. The Council is also concerned with promoting press freedom and maintaining the press in accordance with the highest professional standards.

Its scope applies to published material in newspapers, magazines and their websites, including audio and video streams.

An independent press plays a vital role in a democracy. The proper fulfilment of that role requires a fundamental responsibility for the press to maintain high standards of accuracy, fairness and balance and public faith in those standards.

Freedom of expression and freedom of the media are inextricably bound. There is no more important principle in a democracy than freedom of expression. The print media is jealous in guarding freedom of expression, not just for publishers' sake but, more importantly, in the public interest. In dealing with complaints, the Council will give primary consideration to freedom of expression and the public interest.

The distinctions between fact, on the one hand, and conjecture, opinions or comment, on the other hand, must be maintained. This does not prevent rigorous analysis. Nor does it interfere with a publication’s right to adopt a forthright stance or to advocate on any issue. Further, the Council acknowledges that the genre or purpose of a publication or article, for example, satire or gossip, calls for special consideration in any complaint.

The Press Council endorses the principles and spirit of the Treaty of Waitangi and Bill of Rights, without sacrificing the imperative of publishing news and reports that are in the public interest.

Editors have the ultimate responsibility for what appears in their publications, and to the standards of ethical journalism which the Council upholds. In dealing with complaints, the Council seeks the co-operation of editors and publishers.

The following principles may be used by complainants when they wish to point the Council to the core of their complaint. However, a complainant may nominate other ethical grounds for consideration.

Statement of Principles

1. Accuracy, Fairness and Balance
   Publications should be bound at all times by accuracy, fairness and balance, and should not deliberately mislead or misinform readers by commission or omission. In articles of controversy or disagreement, a fair voice must be given to the opposition view.
   Exceptions may apply for long-running issues where every side cannot reasonably be repeated on every occasion and in reportage of proceedings where balance is to be judged on a number of stories, rather than a single report.
2. Privacy
   Everyone is normally entitled to privacy of person, space and personal information, and these rights should be respected by publications. Nevertheless the right of privacy should not interfere with publication of significant matters of public record or public interest.
   Publications should exercise particular care and discretion before identifying relatives of persons convicted or accused of crime where the reference to them is not relevant to the matter reported.
   Those suffering from trauma or grief call for special consideration.
3. Children and Young People
   In cases involving children and young people editors must demonstrate an exceptional public interest to override the interests of the child or young person.
4. Comment and Fact
   A clear distinction should be drawn between factual information and comment or opinion. An article that is essentially comment or opinion should be clearly presented as such. Cartoons are understood to be opinion.
5. Headlines and Captions
   Headlines, sub-headings, and captions should accurately and fairly convey the substance or a key element of the report they are designed to cover.
6. Discrimination and Diversity
   Issues of gender, religion, minority groups, sexual orientation, age, race, colour or physical or mental disability are legitimate subjects for discussion where they are relevant and in the public interest, and publications may report and express opinions in these areas. Publications should not, however, place gratuitous emphasis on any such category in their reporting.
7. Confidentiality
   Editors have a strong obligation to protect against disclosure of the identity of confidential sources. They also have a duty to take reasonable steps to satisfy themselves that such sources are well informed and that the information they provide is reliable. Care should be taken to ensure both source and publication agrees over what has been meant by "off-the-record".
8. Subterfuge
   The use of deceit and subterfuge can only be condoned in cases when the information sought is in the public interest and cannot be obtained by any other means.
9. Conflicts of Interest
   To fulfil their proper watchdog role, publications must be independent and free of obligations to their news sources. They should avoid any situations that might compromise such independence. Where a story is enabled by sponsorship, gift or financial inducement, that sponsorship, gift or financial inducement should be declared.
   Where an author’s link to a subject is deemed to be justified, the relationship of author to subject should be declared.
10. Photographs and Graphics
    Editors should take care in photographic and image selection and treatment. Any technical manipulation that could mislead readers should be noted and explained.
    Photographs showing distressing or shocking situations should be handled with special consideration for those affected.
11. Corrections
    A publication’s willingness to correct errors enhances its credibility and, often, defuses complaint. Significant errors should be admitted and promptly corrected, giving the correction fair prominence. In some circumstances it will be appropriate to offer an apology and a right of reply to an affected person or persons.

Footnotes

1. Letters to the Editor: Selection and treatment of letters for publication are the prerogative of editors who are to be guided by fairness, balance, and public interest in the correspondents’ views. Abridgement is acceptable but should not distort meaning.
2. Council adjudications: Editors are obliged to publish with due prominence the substance of Council adjudications that uphold a complaint.
3. Public interest is defined as involving a matter capable of affecting the people at large so that they might be legitimately interested in, or concerned about, what is going on, or what may happen to them or to others.
4. The following organisations have agreed to abide by these principles and provide financial support to the Press Council:
   

   Metropolitan The New Zealand Herald The Dominion Post The Press Otago Daily Times Provincial Ashburton Guardian Bay of Plenty Times The Daily Post Dannevirke Evening News The Gisborne Herald The Greymouth Evening Star Hawkes Bay Today Horowhenua Kapiti Chronicle Manawatu Standard The Marlborough Express The Nelson Mail The Northern Advocate The Oamaru Mail The Southland Times Taranaki Daily News The Timaru Herald Waikato Times Wairarapa Times-Age Wanganui Chronicle The Westport News Northern News The Wairoa Star

   Sunday Herald on Sunday Sunday Star-Times Sunday News Community APN Community Newspapers Fairfax NZ Community Newspapers Community Newspaper Association of New Zealand member newspapers Business Weekly The Independent National Business Review* Magazines New Zealand Magazines (APN) Fairfax Magazines Magazine Publishers’ Association * Accepts jurisdiction but does not contribute financially