The Ontario Press Council has chosen not to follow the lead of the United Kingdom Press Complaints Commission and other councils in adopting a formal code of practice for newspapers. Instead it has relied on the decisions reached in previous adjudications of complaints as precedents by which it judges current issues. Following is a sampling of general conclusions reached in the three decades it has been adjudicating public complaints against Ontario newspapers.

A Press Council adjudication represents the collective opinion of a newspaper's conduct shared by people from a broad cross-section of Ontario society and from the newspaper field. It is an opinion that the newspaper undertakes to publish, not an order that the newspaper must obey. Council's dismissal of a complaint about the nature of comment does not mean that it agrees with what has been published.

JOURNALISM OF OPINION

Newspapers should seek to provide light as well as heat in commenting on controversial issues.

In the interest of credibility, a column should disclose any possible conflict of interest on the part of the writer.

Columnists are given wide latitude to express controversial opinions but, when they present what purports to be a statement of fact, they should ensure that it is accurate and, when necessary, provide the source of the information. If the statement is found to be in error, the newspaper should be prepared to promptly publish a correction or clarification.

It may be unfair to print critical comment on an issue without simultaneously or previously publishing a straightforward news story that gives a balanced outline of the facts.

It is not reasonable to expect that an editorial will include every point the newspaper intends to make. There is no reason to expect a newspaper to change its editorial position because a preponderance of published letters to the editor disagrees with it. At the same time, the newspaper has a right to rethink its opinion without having to apologize to critics of its previous position.

A newspaper publishing an unsolicited opinion article should go beyond simply determining that it is not libellous; it should he prepared to accept responsibility jointly with the author for factual errors.

Occasional provocative or controversial columns by copy editors and other non-columnists should be flagged to say the author's opinions are his or her own and not necessarily those of the newspaper.

A columnist may choose to write a sympathetic, one-sided article about an individual but it is important that the subject's credentials be presented accurately.

Newspapers have the right to express controversial or unpopular opinions but readers deserve to know whose opinions they are; provocative statements in an unsigned column should be identified somewhere as the newspaper's viewpoint or should otherwise be attributed.

The review of a book, theatrical production, musical performance or other arts presentation is fundamentally an expression of opinion. While the Council does not adjudicate in respect of a difference of opinion, it nevertheless expects that a review present accurately and fairly the facts on which the opinion is based.

The Press Council supports free expression of opinion that purports to be based on statistics but believes that readers have the right to know where the statistics come from.

CONDUCT AND PRACTICE

Sometimes the real fault is not in the errors but in the refusal to acknowledge them.

Although a number of stories published over a period of weeks or months about a controversial subject may, when taken together, represent a balanced examination, the Press Council maintains that each article should be able to stand on its own in terms of fairness and balance.

The tendency to generalize on the basis of a relatively small number of interviews is a significant weakness in both news articles and columns of opinion. Equally perilous is the temptation to declare without supporting evidence that public opinion is behind a particular position or group.

A newspaper that publishes significant misinformation, such as an erroneous report that a public facility is to be closed, should be precise in explaining to a complainant just how it intends to publish a correction. A brief item in the usual location for corrections may not be adequate in cases where readers may be misled by the original error.

A newspaper has an inescapable obligation to vigorously pursue comment from any person about whom it plans to publish derogatory accusations and if possible to print it at the same time. It should check, preferably before publication, damaging statements one person attributes to another. When dealing with a sensitive issue, it should endeavour to see that the public is fully and fairly informed, either by giving fair treatment to differing views within the same article or in two articles published simultaneously.

There may be times when the public interest justifies the action of a reporter seeking information without disclosing that he or she is a journalist. But each instance should be judged on its merits. Reporters should be aware that clandestine actions may result in serious embarrassment for persons who reveal sensitive information on the understanding that they are speaking to someone who has a right to the information.

Newspapers should take care to ensure that quotations are complete and accurate although ellipsis may be used to indicate that inconsequential words have been omitted.

Newspapers should be prepared to publish rational criticism of their own performance as long as it is not defamatory.

Rather than simply placing quotation marks around unconventional or unfamiliar terms, some of which may lack dictionary definitions, newspapers should be prepared to make an effort to explain them.

Newspapers should not identify people by colour, race or religious faith unless the information is indispensable or is pertinent to a story or headline.

There is a need for sensitivity in references to race and national origin in stories about criminal charges that might unfairly associate an entire group with anti-social activity.

Newspapers should inform readers when stories involve complimentary services, for example free transportation in connection with travel articles.

The media have a vital role to play in ensuring the openness of the judicial system, and the freedom to identify the accused is an essential part of the process. But with this freedom comes the obligation not to publish material that would jeopardize a fair trial or unjustifiably damage a person's reputation. (Statement issued after an open forum discussion on pre-trial publicity in 1983)

Reporters must sometimes rely on unnamed sources but such practice should be employed as sparingly as possible and care should be taken to avoid casting suspicion on a group when only one individual is involved.

Newspapers must be alert to the possibility that a freelance article using fictional names and exploring family strife might be about identifiable people; that stories suspected of mixing fact and fiction demand special attention, especially when they contain matter that could be embarrassing to a real person.

Citing a figure of $200,000 as a physician's average earnings without explaining whether this takes account of such things as office expenses is misleading.

A newspaper that undertakes what it describes as an unscientific survey of public opinion on a controversial subject should include information about the sampling, including figures on those who declined to be interviewed and who in some instances might be assumed not to share the views of those quoted.

Reliance on the recollection of a conversation overheard weeks earlier as the basis of a direct quotation in a news story is an error in judgment.

Editors should ensure they know the popular as well as dictionary meaning of words before they are included in stories and headlines, and they should be aware of the sensitivities of their particular readership when they consider using possibly offensive terms.

The Press Council believes publishers, editors and reporters, while actively engaged in journalism, should not seek or hold elective political office in their newspaper's distribution area.

Having been led to believe that a complaint might not have been pursued if a transcript of a particular interview had been made available to the complainant before a hearing, the Council urges newspapers to be forthcoming and courteous in their response to complaints.

Newspapers have an obligation to publish a correction promptly on a substantive error, whether they spot it on their own or have it drawn to their attention, particularly if it reflects unfairly on an individual, group or organization.

The Press Council rejects any suggestion that the press should be limited in its editorial freedom but it emphasizes that a newspaper that is the only one in its community has a special responsibility to inform its readers fully on all aspects of local issues.

A person running for election and considered to be a fringe candidate deserves at least one mention in either a newspaper article or a list of candidates; subsequent mention should depend on a fair assessment of news value by editors.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

A long-held position of the Council is that publication of a letter to the editor does not, in itself, redress a complaint.

The Ontario Press Council does not believe it has the right to tell a newspaper it must publish a letter to the editor. In cases where the Council is convinced a newspaper has made a significant error, it usually declares that a correction or clarification is in order.

A newspaper should not be expected to reduce to publishable size a letter of, say, 1,200 words, that seeks to provide clarification of a previously printed article. The writer should be prepared to accept an invitation to rewrite it and submit a shorter version.

Newspapers have the right to shorten or otherwise edit letters to the editor but this does not justify adding words without making clear they are not those of the writer.

ADVERTISING

The Press Council believes a publisher has the discretion to determine the acceptability of any advertisement providing that the newspaper has a policy for doing so that it applies consistently. As it considers it appropriate for newspapers to exercise wide latitude in expressing their opinions, no matter how controversial or unpopular, it believes it is only fair to extend such latitude to individuals who may wish to exercise it through advertising provided it does not generate hatred against another a person or group.

The Press Council sees newspapers as a business as well as a crucible of public trust and rejects the notion that they should refuse advertising that happens to reflect their corporate or business concerns. It is not prepared to criticize them for publishing such ads without charge.

The same basic editorial standards should apply to stories in advertising supplements as to those in other sections of the paper.

STYLE

Many years after the end of the Second World War, there is reason to believe some Canadians have little or no knowledge about death camps that existed in Poland. To avoid misunderstanding, either the context or at least one reference in any article about wartime concentration camps should leave no doubt that the Nazi occupiers set them up and operated them. And in no instance should they be described as "Polish concentration camps."

The Press Council does not question a newspaper's right to establish and apply a uniform style for word usage, spelling and the like. Although the Council does not particularly like coined words, it does feel that people writing letters to the editor should be allowed some latitude in choosing words as long as they express the meaning precisely and are neither offensive nor defamatory.

While the Concise Oxford Dictionary refers to the term WASP as derogatory, Webster's omits any reference to a pejorative meaning and Funk & Wagnalls says it is only sometimes used contemptuously. Given the lack of unanimity in dictionary definitions, the Council suggests that WASP, if used at all, be employed with care and precision in reference to White Anglo-Saxon Protestants, and not as a catch-all term for the so-called elite.

Newspapers should be guardians of purity and precision of language and should ensure that news columns make clear the Governor General is merely the representative of Canada's head of state, the Queen.

The swastika as a symbol of Nazi Germany was usually displayed as having been rotated at a 45-degree angle. As a symbol used by such religions as Jains, Hindus and Buddhists, on the other hand, the swastika is presented as upright, a distinction that should be recognized by illustrators.

Given that the dictionary defines "bitch" as a spiteful, malicious or sexually promiscuous woman and that a "slut" is defined as a woman of loose morals, the Press Council does not object to their use in reference to fictional characters who specifically fit those criteria. But it does suggest that writers try to avoid overuse of the terms.

ETHICS

Journalists writing about matters in which they are personally involved should clearly identify such involvement in every article.

The idea of having all journalism awards sponsored by the media may be an ideal but is impracticable to try to stop commercial sponsors from setting up awards programs. There should, however, be criteria that will ensure commercially sponsored awards are free of direct control of the sponsors.

Deception or impersonation should be used by a newspaper only as a last resort to obtain a story that is clearly in the public interest.

CARTOONS

The Press Council is on record as declaring that an editorial cartoonist traditionally uses caricatures, grotesque representations of persons and things, to express satirical opinions on political and social issues. It also believes it is appropriate for newspapers to exercise wide latitude in expressing opinion, no matter how controversial or unpopular, and it recognizes cartoons as expressions of opinion. But it maintains that opinion should be based on accurate information.

ADVICE FOR WOULD-BE COMPLAINANTS

Candidates for political office should be careful not to make remarks to reporters, even in jest, that they wouldn't want to see published in the newspaper.

Complainants in most cases should give newspapers an opportunity to redress complaints before writing to the Press Council.

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