OHO Media is committed to providing content that contributes positively to our readers and the regional communities that we write about.
OHO Media is a private company (ACN 613 642 265). Our journalists are predominately located in regional areas of Australia with the headquarters located in Healesville, Victoria.
Editorial Policy
We conduct our journalism in accordance with the guidelines of the Australian Press Council.
If you wish to lodge a complaint, please visit our Complaints Policy page.
The General Principles
Accuracy and clarity
1. Ensure that factual material in news reports and elsewhere is accurate and not misleading, and is distinguishable from other material such as opinion.
2. Provide a correction or other adequate remedial action if published material is significantly inaccurate or misleading.
Fairness and balance
3. Ensure that factual material is presented with reasonable fairness and balance, and that writers’ expressions of opinion are not based on significantly inaccurate factual material or omission of key facts.
4. Ensure that where material refers adversely to a person, a fair opportunity is given for subsequent publication of a reply if that is reasonably necessary to address a possible breach of General Principle 3.
If you feel a writers opinion has been presented with bias, please visit our complaints page to lodge a complaint.
Privacy and avoidance of harm
5. Avoid intruding on a person’s reasonable expectations of privacy, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.
6. Avoid causing or contributing materially to substantial offence, distress or prejudice, or a substantial risk to health or safety, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.
Integrity and transparency
7. Avoid publishing material which has been gathered by deceptive or unfair means, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.
8. Ensure that conflicts of interests are avoided or adequately disclosed, and that they do not influence published material.
Additional guidelines developed internally include:
DISCRIMINATION
OHO Media will not act in a way (nor accept views that are) discriminatory of race, age, gender, nationality, marital status, sexual orientation, nationality or disability.
OPPOSITION TO EDITORIAL CORRUPTION
We do not accept payment or receive gifts in exchange for our editorial content. Our journalist do attend press events and occasionally arrange for complimentary tickets and experiences with PR representatives depending on the local and industry conventions. However, we always ensure our coverage of these experiences is independent, that complimentary access to venues or events never influences our reviews, and that no conflict of interest occurs.
If you wish to lodge a complaint regarding editorial corruption, please visit our Complaints Policy page.
ACCREDITATION OF CONTRIBUTORS
All text and images are attributed to the author and clearly labelled alongside the published content. In some cases where images have been supplied by a partner company, the images will be marked ‘images supplied’.
COMMERCIAL CONTENT
Our journalism is always independent of advertisers and commercial partners. Content produced in partnership with an advertiser is always labelled clearly.
Commercial content includes content highlighting experiences and products from our own e-commerce store.
On Privacy
Privacy Principle 1: Collection of personal information
In gathering news, journalists should seek personal information only in the public interest. In doing so, journalists should not unduly intrude on the privacy of individuals and should show respect for the dignity and sensitivity of people encountered in the course of gathering news.
In accordance with Principle 5 of the Council’s Statement of Principles, news obtained by unfair or dishonest means should not be published unless there is an overriding public interest.
Generally, journalists should identify themselves as such. However, journalists and photographers may at times need to operate surreptitiously to expose crime, significantly antisocial conduct, public deception or some other matter in the public interest.
Public figures necessarily sacrifice their right to privacy, where public scrutiny is in the public interest. However, public figures do not forfeit their right to privacy altogether. Intrusion into their right to privacy must be related to their public duties or activities.
Privacy Principle 2: Use and disclosure of personal information
Personal information gathered by journalists and photographers should only be used for the purpose for which it was intended. A person who supplies personal information should have a reasonable expectation that it will be used for the purpose for which it was collected.
Some personal information, such as addresses or other identifying details, may enable others to intrude on the privacy and safety of individuals who are the subject of news coverage, and their families. To the extent lawful and practicable, a media organisation should only disclose sufficient personal information to identify the persons being reported in the news, so that these risks can be reasonably avoided.
Privacy Principle 3: Quality of personal information
A media organisation should take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information it collects is accurate, complete and up-to-date.
Privacy Principle 4: Security of personal information
A media organisation should take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information it holds is protected from misuse, loss, or unauthorised access.
Privacy Principle 5: Anonymity of sources
All persons who provide information to media organisations are entitled to seek anonymity. The identity of confidential sources should not be revealed, and where it is lawful and practicable, a media organisation should ensure that any personal information which it maintains derived from such sources does not identify the source.
Privacy Principle 6: Correction, fairness and balance
In accordance with Principle 3 of the Council’s Statement of Principles, where individuals are a major focus of news reports or commentary, the publication should ensure fairness and balance in the original article. Failing that, the media organisation should provide a reasonable and swift opportunity for a balancing response in the appropriate section of the publication.
A media organisation should make amends for publishing any personal information that is found to be harmfully inaccurate, in accordance with Principle 2 of the Council’s Statement of Principles. The media organisation should also take steps to correct any of its records containing that personal information, so as to avoid a harmful inaccuracy being repeated.
Privacy Principle 7: Sensitive personal information
In accordance with Principle 8 of the Council’s Statement of Principles, media organisations should not place any gratuitous emphasis on the categories of sensitive personal information listed in Principle 8, except where it is relevant and in the public interest to report and express opinions in these areas.
Members of the public caught up in newsworthy events should not be exploited. A victim or bereaved person has the right to refuse or terminate an interview or photographic session at any time.
Unless otherwise restricted by law or court order, open court hearings are matters of public record and can be reported by the press. Such reports need to be fair and balanced. They should not identify relatives or friends of people accused or convicted of crime unless the reference to them is necessary for the full, fair and accurate reporting of the crime or subsequent legal proceedings.
