Fair Game for Australian Newspaper to Report on 'New National Hero' Criminal Past? - iMediaEthics

iMediaEthics publishes international media ethics news stories and investigations into journalism ethics lapses.

Menu

Home » Ombudsmen/Press Councils»

(Credit: Pixabay)

An Australian man asked a question on a televised election special and for a short time became the apple of the public eye, gaining lots of attention and even a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for him. But then, after his comments in the public debate brought him media attention, Australia’s Herald Sun looked into the man’s past and found out about his criminal record and other negative aspects of his past.

Was it fair for the Herald Sun to reveal all these details about the man? The Australian Press Council says yes.

Let’s rewind for a second: The man, Duncan Storrar, attended Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) TV’s election special in May 2016. During the Q&A section of the program, he asked a question about corporate tax cuts and commented he can’t afford to take his family to the movies. Like Ken Bone during the U.S. presidential debates, the public and media zeroed in on him (with an ABC reporter calling him a “new national hero,”) and more than $60,000 Australian was donated to a GoFundMe crowd-funding account set up for him.

Storrar’s question, according to the Guardian:

“I’ve got a disability and a low education, that means I’ve spent my whole life working for minimum wage…You’re gonna lift the tax-free threshold for rich people. If you lift my tax-free threshold, that changes my life. That means that I get to say to my little girls, ‘Daddy’s not broke this weekend. We can go to the pictures.’ Rich people don’t even notice their tax-free threshold lift. Why don’t I get it? Why do they get it?”

The Herald Sun then published on May 12, 2016, “Q&A Star Duncan Storrar exposed as thug as public raise $60,000.” The Herald Sun interviewed Storrar’s adult son, who suggested the GoFundMe organizers re-direct raised funds to charity. It also listed Storrar’s criminal record. (The BBC reported last year on how Storrar was “torn down” as a hero in just a few days.) iMediaEthics has written to News Corp Australia, which publishes the Herald Sun, and representatives for Storrar for comment.

Storrar himself didn’t complain to the press council, but others did, arguing the reporting on Storrar was unfair and invasive. The Herald Sun defended its report as newsworthy given the attention directed toward Storrar and especially the GoFundMe account, according to the press council.

The press council agreed that given the spotlight on Storrar, which he seemingly accepted by appearing during the broadcast and then making comments to the media, it was fair to provide the information to the public. “While the man did not necessarily seek this level of attention or financial rewards, it was not a breach of General Principle 3 for the publication to report frankly about his background and to use epithets that reflect his criminal record,” the council ruled.

Submit a tip / Report a problem

Fair Game for Australian Newspaper to Report on ‘New National Hero’ Criminal Past?

Share this article:

คาสิโน
slot demo
sa gaming
tkb365
https://tkb399.com/login
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
ทำความรู้จักกับ
คาสิโน
สล็อต
tkb138
ซุปเปอร์สล็อต
sa gaming
https://www.hotelplayagolf.com/es/instalaciones/piscinas
tkb365
บาคาร่า
สล็อตเว็บตรง
บาคาร่า
ทดลองเล่นสล็อตฟรี
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต pg
สล็อตเว็บตรง
tkb138
คาสิโน
ซุปเปอร์สล็อต
tkb138
tkb365
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
changbet789
สูตรสล็อต pg ทดลองเล่นฟรี
สล็อต ดาวน์โหลด รับเครดิตฟรี
สล็อต
tkb138
https://www.hotelalbora.com/
https://tkb108.co/register
tkb696
เว็บบาคาร่าโดยตรง
changbet789
สล็อตทดลอง
pg
betflix
pg slot
สล็อต
สล็อต
sbobet
tkb138
https://titanium-hotel.com/
สล็อต
tkb138
taokaebet
tkb777
อันดับแรก
คาสิโน
changbet789
แจกเครดิตฟรี 100%
ทดลองเล่นสล็อตทุกค่ายฟรี
สล็อต
changbet789
tkb365
changbet789
finfinbet
changbet789
tkb108
tkbneko
สล็อต
สล็อต
ลองเล่นสล็อต
สล็อต
https://www.gday96.com/
สล็อตเครดิตฟรี
สล็อต888
สล็อต
โป๊กเกอร์ออนไลน์
บาคาร่าเว็บตรง
changbet789
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต pg
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
ทดลองเล่นสล็อตฟรี
tkb365
tkb365
tkb365
tkb555
tkb555
tkb555
tkb555
tkb555
tkb555
tkb555
tkbking
tkbking
tkbking
tkbking
tkbking
tkbking
thb889
thb889
thb889
thb889
thb889
thb889
thb889
tkb4
tkb4
tkb4
tkb4
tkb4
tkb4
tkb4
tkb9
tkb9
tkb9
tkb9
tkb9
tkb9
tkb9
tkb33
tkb33
tkb33
tkb33
tkb33
tkb33
tkb33
finfinbet
finfinbet
finfinbet
finfinbet
finfinbet
finfinbet
finfinbet
TKB96
tkb96
tkb96
tkb96
tkb96
tkb96
tkb96
tkbfun
tkbfun
tkbfun
tkbfun
tkbfun
tkbfun
tkbfun
tkbpg
tkbpg
tkbpg
tkbpg
tkbpg
tkbpg
tkbpg
tkbpussy
tkbpussy
tkbpussy
tkbpussy
tkbpussy
tkbpussy
tkbpussy
tkbrich
tkbrich
tkbrich
tkbrich
tkbrich
tkbrich
tkbrich
tkbsexy
tkbsexy
tkbsexy
tkbsexy
tkbsexy
tkbsexy
tkb777
tkb777
tkb777
tkb777
tkb777
tkb777
tkb777
taokaebet
taokaebet
taokaebet
taokaebet
taokaebet
taokaebet
taokaebet
tkbsexy
tkbrich
tkbpussy
tkbpg
tkbfun
tkb96
tkb33
tkb9
tkb4
thb889
tkbking
tkb555
tkb365
changbet789
บาคาร่า
คาสิโนออนไลน์
sa gaming
คาสิโนออนไลน์สด
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
สล็อต
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต pg ซื้อฟรีสปิน
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
บาคาร่า
สล็อต เว็บตรงไม่ผ่านเอเย่นต์ไม่มีขั้นต่ำ
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
สล็อต
บาคาร่า
สล็อต
สล็อต
สล็อต
สล็อต
คาสิโน
pg
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต
sa gaming
ทดลองเล่นสล็อต100000
ตรงไปที่สล็อต