Australian press council cycles into trouble

The Sydney Daily Telegraph has been rapped over the knuckles by Australia's Press Council for its news story about a protest ride by cyclists. It was found guilty of a "grievous invasion of privacy" by publishing the mobile phone number of the event's organiser in a headline. But when considering whether the article - which called the cyclists "selfish fools" - was fair and balanced, the council faced both ways at once. It cleared the paper from the charge of presenting opinion as fact - because of the piece's "obvious bias" (eh?) - but also found it unbalanced because it dealt only with the criticism of the protesters. Then the Telegraph compounded its offence by headlining its report on the ruling: "Press Council defends cycling's selfish traffic fools". Sounds like an episode from the days of Britain's former Press Council! (Via