McCann and the Sunday Independent

The Press Ombudsman has decided not to uphold a complaint by Mr Rory McCann that an article in the Sunday Independent on 30 October entitled “Loud and proud gays want to take over rest of society” was in breach of Principle 8 (Prejudice) of the Code of Practice for Newspapers and Magazines.

Mr McCann complained that the article concerned encouraged hatred against people based on their sexual orientation, against people who are not in traditional married familial relations and against people of minority sexual orientation who are in familial relationships.

The newspaper responded that it had published a response from a spokesperson for the LGBT organization, which was given equal space and prominence to the original article, and had also published a substantial number of letters from correspondents taking issue with the opinions it expressed.

The complainant rejected this as inadequate, and said he believed that the newspaper should have admitted that the article was a breach of the Code of Practice, and should have apologized.
The article concerned included pungent and provocative comments on a number of matters that are the subject of current political and social debate. It undoubtedly offended some people, and it was ill-served by a headline that exaggerated its content. However, the fact that an article offends some people, as is frequently the case in matters of public debate, does not necessarily mean that it presents a breach of the Code of Practice. Publications generally perform a public service by encouraging and facilitating public debate, in accordance with the Code of Practice, on matters which are or may become the subject of legislative or even constitutional change.

20 December 2011

The Complainant appealed the Decision of the Press Ombudsman to the Press Council of Ireland.