A complaint from a woman quoted in a local newspaper’s front page story about would-be cannabis thieves has been dismissed by the Press Complaints Commission.
The Dorking Advertiser ran a story on 15 September headlined ‘Dopey thieves stealing wrong kind of hemp’, about the theft of industrial hemp from a field in the mistaken belief that it was cannabis.
The story quoted local farmer’s wife Paula Matthews as saying that people had been having parties in the field where the crop was growing.
She complained to the PCC claiming the article was in breach of the Editors’ Code of Practice regarding privacy and accuracy.
Ms Matthews told the watchdog that she had been contacted by a reporter three times who wanted a comment for a story but had told him on each occasion that he would need to speak to her husband.
When her name and partial address appeared in the paper she complained that it was an invasion of privacy and the story had misrepresented her as someone who was in a position to comment on the theft of hemp.
After considering her complaint the commission this week ruled that there had been no breach of the code.
In its decision the PCC said: “In terms of the complainant being unaware that the journalist would quote her, the commission made clear that it has previously issued guidance in this area which states that ‘people should be aware that if they speak to a journalist and do not categorically state that the conversion is ‘off the record’, it may well be regarded as ‘on the record’.”
“In this instance, the reporter had not informed the complainant that he intended to quote her but, equally, the complainant – while making clear that another individual may be better placed to comment – had not stated that she had no wish to be quoted.
“Newspapers are entitled to select material for publication as they see fit and, on this occasion, the decision to publish the complainant’s comments, did not raise a breach of Clause 1.
“The complainant plainly had some experience of individuals mistaking the hemp crop for cannabis and was able to remark on that issue and how it had affected Manor Farm.
“While her husband may have offered more specific comment, the commission found that the complainant and her position had not been misrepresented to any significant degree in the article. Readers generally would not have been misled by the inclusion of her quote, the accuracy of which was not in dispute.”
Chief reporter Sam Blackledge said: “We are pleased that the PCC has ruled in our favour in this case. It was an accurate report with no intrusion into privacy and it is a shame that Mrs Matthews felt so upset.
“The ruling shows that the commission still supports honest and hardworking local newspapers.”
Despite there being no breach, the newspaper removed her name from the online version of the story. It also wrote to her to assure her that she would not be quoted in the future without permission.
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Hemp is cannabis.
very shoddy journalism, if you can call it that.
could somebody with an ounce of intelligence in your news agency explain why the paper/editor/journalist use propaganda terms such as “Dopy” regarding the use of a substance less toxic than alcohol, and with over 25,000 industrial uses, not to mention the medical benefits.
Yellow journalism at its worst.
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Not from their “news agency” but I’ll do my best:
Dope is a common nickname for cannabis, among both users and non-users.
The people stealing industrial hemp displayed a lack of intelligence in thinking a giant crop of illegal drugs would be grown in plain view in rural Surrey.
Newspapers like puns….think about it Penny.
p.s. dopey has an “e” in it.
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Well said Gary.
Penny – it’s very easy to throw insults at newspapers from behind a computer, isn’t it?
A good story, Penny, and a good defence Gary. Surely, Penny, you don’t want a “council wins award for doing job” newspaper – or do you?
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Penny is quite correct.
The word ‘Dope’ regarding cannabis and its users, is historically linked to Harry J. Anslingers yellow journalism against cannabis and its users back in 1930’s USA.
“”There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US,
and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers.
Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage.
This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations
with Negroes, entertainers and any others.”
To continue using the word shows a distinct lack of intelligence towards the subject matter and stinks of prejudice against people that are associated with cannabis use.
You can not get ‘high’ from industrial ‘hemp/cannabis’ but it does contain high amounts of CBD which is very beneficial medicinally.
Clare
Oxford.
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Clare,
The word ‘dopey’ was used once in the original piece, in the headline. It was a pun around the fact that the thieves thought they were stealing cannabis. A pun. A joke.
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Every person I’ve ever known – including members of my own family – who use cannabis have ended up dimmer, dumber, and dopier. Dope is not a harsh enough slang word for this personality killing poison.
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Toby
October 20, 2011 at 11:44 am
Clare,
The word ‘dopey’ was used once in the original piece, in the headline. It was a pun around the fact that the thieves thought they were stealing cannabis. A pun. A joke.
Subbo
October 20, 2011 at 3:09 pm
Every person I’ve ever known – including members of my own family – who use cannabis have ended up dimmer, dumber, and dopier. Dope is not a harsh enough slang word for this personality killing poison.
LOL- science in action.!
Yes its just a word isn’t it Toby, see Subbo’s comment the propaganda lives on!
Subbo, do you know that the use of cannabis protects your brain
– Cannabinoids and neuroinflammation
Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, U.S.A.
and promotes new cell growth
-Cannabinoids promote embryonic and adult hippocampus neurogenesis
and produce anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects
Jiang W, Zhang Y, Xiao L, Van Cleemput J, Ji SP, Bai G, Zhang X.
Neuropsychiatry Research Unit
Department of Psychiatry
Canada.
Maybe you’ve herd of GW Pharmaceuticals.? A company in the UK growing, under government licence, 50,000 strong THC cannabis plants and their ‘medical’ cannabis called sativex which is a staggering 51%THC.
But don’t let something like ‘science’ get in the way of your moralistic propaganda.
Another fantastic fact of science is that cannabis actually protects against alcohol damage in the brain
-White matter integrity in adolescents with histories of cannabis use and binge drinking
SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology.
VA San Diego Healthcare System
University of California San Diego, Department of Psychiatry
University of California San Diego, Department of Radiology
Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry
VA Connecticut Healthcare System
University of Cincinnati, Department of Psychology
Thanks for you time
Penny. x
Anyone got a spliff?
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Penny,
Cannabis rots the brain. I’ve seen it destroy once vibrant personalities amd turn users into fruitcakes. No dubious research or facetious comments from you will persuade me otherwise. And by the way, extensive ‘research’ was once published about nicotine in cigarettes. Not only were cigarettes ‘healthy’ but it was positively ‘beneficial’ to smoke. Lungs of smokers were said by scientists to be stronger than the lungs of non-smokers. Only a gullible idiot, or someone like yourself, would claim all that ‘research’ was similarly unimpeachable.
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…’Cannabis causes chaos in the brain as nerve activity becomes uncoordinated and inaccurate, a study has found.
The results may help explain links between cannabis and schizophrenia, scientists believe.’ – The Independent newspaper and other media, October 26, 2011.
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