871/2021 Presentation College Carlow and The Nationalist

The editor of The Nationalist appealed the Press Ombudsman’s decision to the Press Council of Ireland on the grounds that the Press Ombudsman had erred in his application of Principle 1 (Truth and Accuracy) and Principle 2 (Distinguishing Fact and Comment) of the Code of Practice.

Decision of Press Council on appeal.

The Press Council considered the appeal at its meeting on Friday 11 June 2021 and decided to reject the appeal on the grounds that the Press Ombudsman had not erred in his application of the Code in his conclusion that there had been a breach of both Principles 1 and 2 of the Code. 

The Council made its decision on the basis that the newspaper had failed to demonstrate that the article was supported by adequate and verifiable sources to confirm its accuracy and accordingly was a breach of Principle 1.  It also found that the Press Ombudsman was correct in his conclusion that Principle 2 was breached for the reasons that he gave – that the newspaper failed to demonstrate in the article that it had appropriately distinguished between fact and comment, conjecture, rumour and unconfirmed reports.

11 June 2021