893/2021 - Mr Tom Cooper and The Irish Times

Mr Cooper appealed the decision of the Press Ombudsman to the Press Council of Ireland on the grounds (a) that the Press Ombudsman had erred in his application of the Code of Practice and (b) that the procedures followed in making the decision were not in accordance with the published procedures for submitting and considering complaints.

Mr Cooper appealed the Press Ombudsman’s decision on the basis that the Press Ombudsman had failed to rule on the newspaper’s refusal to adopt the same policy online as in print with regard to the correction of errors.

Decision of Press Council on appeal

The Press Council considered the appeal at its meeting on Friday, 3 December 2021.  The appeal was rejected on both grounds because the Press Council decided that the corrections were made promptly and with due prominence and because it is not the function of the Press Ombudsman to determine the policy of member publications on how errors should be corrected in print and on-line.