by holdthefrontpage staff
The majority of complaints made to the Press Complaints Commission, which raise a possible breach of the Code of Practice, are resolved directly between the Commission's staff, editors and complainants.
These are either settled to the express satisfaction of the complainant following some remedial action by the editor or are not pursued by complainants following an explanation or other response from the publication.
Below are summaries of the latest complaints involving the regional press which fall into the first category.
South Wales Echo
Mr Kohnstamm of Cardiff complained that a number of articles invaded his privacy. (Clause 3)
Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper published a full apology on the matter and agreed to donate £1,000 to charity.
The Northern Echo
Marie Bean, company secretary of System Enterprises, complained that the newspaper had inaccurately suggested that a doctor, who has admitted making obscene pictures of children, worked for System Enterprises. This incorrect information remained on the newspaper's website. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The newspaper, having published a correction and apology, removed the article from the website. More recent articles about the doctor have not mentioned the company.
Sunday Herald
Max McCance of Fife complained that an article was wrong in its suggestion that a mountain in Skye had recently been conquered for the first time. He explained that he had climbed the peak in 1979. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The newspaper published a letter from the complainant recounting his ascent.
Cambridge Evening News
Mr and Mrs Reynolds of Fulbourn, near Cambridge, complained that an article inaccurately reported that their son had assaulted a man in a churchyard. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The newspaper published a correction and apology making clear that the incident had occurred elsewhere in the village.
Grimsby Evening Telegraph
J King of Grimsby complained that an article invaded her privacy by publishing an aerial photograph of her home as well as describing its location. (Clause 3)
Resolution: The newspaper published an apology.
Eastbourne Herald
Reverend Barrett of Westham complained that the newspaper’s coverage of his decision to ban bell ringers from his church contained a number of factual inaccuracies – especially in its suggestion that the church was falling into comparative disuse and the organ into disrepair. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The newspaper published a number of letters from aggrieved parishioners, offered to publish a letter from the complainant and amended its records to reflect all of the points under contention.
Rhyl Journal
George Porteus of Wales complained that two articles inaccurately reported the outbreak of a fire at his property and that he had not been offered an opportunity to reply to those inaccuracies. (Clauses 1, 2)
Resolution: The newspaper published a correction and apology.
Birmingham Evening Mail
M S Mansuri of Birmingham complained that an article was inaccurate when it stated that T-shirts with sexual slogans were on sale in his shop alongside school uniforms. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The complaint was resolved when the newspaper published a correction and apology.
Kent & Sussex Courier
S Collinson, of Kent, complained that the newspaper published inaccurate comments relating to aspects of his previous employment. (Clause 1)
Resolution: The complainant's original contentions were resolved when the publication allowed him a right to reply in the form of a published letter.
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