Bristol Evening Post gets knuckles rapped by PCC

Posted by Helena Humphrey on November 30, 2009 at 4:41 PM

The Press Complaints Commission today upheld a complaint against the Bristol Evening Post under Clause 5 (Intrusion into grief or shock) of the Editors' Code of Practice, after the local newspaper ran a story on the funeral of a young man who had committed suicide, the Guardian reported.

The complaint was made by the young man's mother who found the coverage upsetting and intrusive. The offending article included messages from flowers left outside the crematorium as well as photographs of the mourners, which were allegedly taken by a reporter hiding in the bushes in the surrounding area. The newspaper defended itself by stating that crematoriums were public events.

The complaint was upheld however and the newspaper in question has since made an official apology.

Following the ruling the following adjudication was published:

"Newspapers have an important role to play in the reporting of tragic events, which the Commission did not wish unduly to restrict. For instance, some funerals are public celebrations of a person's life, at which the presence of reporters is welcome. However, given the age of the complainant's son - and the manner in which he died - the need for restraint and sensitivity on the part of the press was great, as this would inevitably have been a time of intense grief and shock for the boy's family.

In this context, it was incumbent on the newspaper to demonstrate that it had paid appropriate regard to the feelings of the family. It was not able to do so. In the Commission's view, the newspaper should have taken steps to establish the parents' wishes before sending a photographer and a journalist to the funeral. Once the photographer had been warned away from the funeral, it should have considered the likelihood that the family would object to the publication of his photographs.

The newspaper's behaviour was not appropriate in the context of this untimely and tragic death. Parents grieving for the loss of their child should not have to be concerned about the behaviour of journalists, or the likelihood that details of the funeral would be covered without their consent."

Source: Guardian