LINGNAN UNIVERSITY

CLE9002 Ethical Issues Facing Young Professionals

Second Semester 2018/19

Individual Presentation

The Sun's Hillsborough Front Page

Full Name: Hiba Boualoul

Student ID: 4038976

Date: 10th April 2019

Table of Content:

1 Introduction: ............................................................................................................. 3
2 Background of the incident: ....................................................................................... 3
3 Biography of Kelvin Mackenzie: ................................................................................. 4
4 Taylor Report/ Independent Panel Report: ................................................................ 4
5 Code of Practice: IPSO ............................................................................................... 5
6 Conflict of Interests: .................................................................................................. 7
7 Ethical Theories: ........................................................................................................ 7
7.1 Utilitarian Approach: .................................................................................................... 7
7.2 Deontological Theory: .................................................................................................. 8
7.2.1 Common Good:.................................................................................................................. 8
7.2.2 Human Rights: ................................................................................................................... 8
7.2.3 Justice/Fairness: ................................................................................................................ 9
7.3 Agent Centered Theory:................................................................................................ 9
7.3.1 Virtue ................................................................................................................................. 9
7.3.2 Care:................................................................................................................................. 10
8 Conclusion: ............................................................................................................. 10
9 Recommendations: ................................................................................................. 11
10 References: ......................................................................................................... 11

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1 Introduction:
On a daily basis, conflicts of interests occur in many different professions. It is a situation
when a person’s best interest is against another’s. In journalism, members of this profession
should avoid at all costs any interest that could be at odds with their professional duties.
However, it is not always the case. Many journalists find difficulties in upholding their ethical
values and at the same time preventing any reason for dissatisfaction related to the public.
The Sun’s Hillsborough front page is a great example. The objective of this paper is to
analyze the the conflict of interests arouse in this case.

2 Background of the incident:

On the 15th of April 1989, a football match between Liverpool and Nottingham forest took
place at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England. The number of people that gathered
for the FA cup semi-final match exceeded 50,000 while the normal capacity of the stadium
can only reach 29,800. At the time the match was about to start, there was about 5000 LFC
fans outside the stadium trying to enter through the turnstiles. In order to avoid any
fatalities outside the stadium, a policer officer who was in charge of the whole match gave
permission to another senior officer who was in charge of crowd control on the outside to
open an exit gate called gate C to relieve this bottleneck. However, many people end up
rushing to get inside and more than 3000 people were in a zone that has the capacity of only
1600. The overcrowding caused others who were at the front to crush against the barrier
and others to flee the standing-rooms. Within the first five minutes, the match was stopped.
Over 96 people died and 766 were injured.
In the days following the disaster, many newspapers reported the incident but with a
different pattern that caused many people to question what really happened. The press
ended up publishing articles where they blamed the Liverpool fans for the disaster saying
that their behavior was the main cause of such fatality. However, on Wednesday the day
following the Hillsborough disaster, one famous British newspaper called The Sun, published
an article that caused controversy and protest. The article was written by the Sun’s editor
Kelvin Mackenzie underneath a headline “The Truth”. The editor included in the story too
many details such as allegations and statements that at the end were found out to be false.

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Mackenzie mentioned in the article that a police officer avowed that “some fans picked
pockets of victims, urinated on the brave cops, and beat up PC’s giving the kiss of live.” The
Truth may seem like a simple word, but it is definitely daunting to use it as a headline.

3 Biography of Kelvin Mackenzie:

Born on 22nd of October 1946 in Thanet, Kent, England, Kelvin Mackenzie is an English media
executive and a former newspaper editor. He is best known for being editor of The Sun
newspaper. He is the son of two Other journalists Lan and Mary Mackenzie who worked for
the South London Observer. At only the age 17, he entered the profession of Journalism by
joining the South East London Mercury and by the age 27 he was already working for many
local and national newspapers such as the Daily Express. In 1978, Kelvin Mackenzie was
appointed as a managing editor of the New York Post in New York City. Later on, he moved
back to the United Kingdom to work again for the Daily Express. But in 1981, he Joined the
Sun newspaper and become editor in 1981. Although the Sun was constantly criticized for its
preoccupations and controversies, Kelvin Mackenzie played a huge factor in the success of
The Sun making it Britain’s the largest circulation newspaper with highest sales before
publishing “The Truth”. Nevertheless, this was not his first controversy.
In May 1982, Kelvin Mackenzie published an article underneath the headline “Gotcha” on
the front page of the newspaper. In this article, Mackenzie appeared to be glorifying the
death of the Argentinian Cruiser General Belgrano by a British submarine during the
Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom. Some commentators blamed
Mackenzie for celebrating such incident who felt that his headline Gotcha and the
subheading “Our lads sink gunboat and hole cruiser” are out of order. Again, he was the
reason behind a storm of protests and controversy.

4 Taylor Report/ Independent Panel Report:

Immediately after the unfortunate day, the ministerial department of the United Kingdome
or what’s called Home Office set up an official investigation under the Lord Chief Justice of
England Peter Murray Taylor. The aim of the inquiry is to take a deep look into what
happened at Hillsborough. After thirty-one days, a report was published under the name
Taylor’s report, and it included very interesting findings that differ from what the police told
the press. The overcrowding occurred due to the inability to access the central pens of the

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stadium once the exit gate was opened. In addition, some of the central pens such as 3 and 4
were already too crowded since there was no control over the audience. Also, a barrier
collapsed in one of the central pens (3) which caused other LFC fans to crush to death.
Overall, the lack of organization, the small size of the gates and the number of fans that
were allowed in were the main reasons of this disaster according to Taylor’s Report.
At this time, many newspapers apologized to the fans and the victims after what they wrote,
except one newspaper which is the Sun. In fact, during a business lunch with a law firm he
was quoted saying “All I did wrong was saying the truth. I was not sorry then and I am not
sorry now because we told the truth.”
However, in 2012, a report was published by the Independent Panel which was established
in 2009 by the British Government to investigate once again the Hillsborough disaster. The
findings were very shocking to everyone after they discovered that the sources behind these
false allegations are a press agency in Sheffield under the name The Whites, South Yorkshire
Police Federation, and the British business and conservative party politician Irvine Patnick
who was back then a member of the parliament of Sheffield Hallam. The findings of the
report led to a conclusion that no Liverpool fan was responsible for the disaster and the
main reason behind the crush was the lack of police control. After the second report was
published, Kelvin Mackenzie finally apologized by writing another article under the headline
“The Real Truth”; however, it was not in the front page of the newspaper.

5 Code of Practice: IPSO

The Independent Press Standards Organizations or what’s called IPSO, is the largest
independent regulator of newspaper and magazine industry in the United Kingdom. It was
established to promote and maintain the highest professional standards of journalism in the
United Kingdom. The Sun’s newspaper so as other press agencies are committed to follow
the rules, the regulations, and the code of practice that the organization enforces. IPSO’s
editor’s code deals with concepts such as accuracy, discrimination, reporting suicide,
invasion of privacy, harassment, etc. But in this case, four out of the principal rules were
violated. When it comes to accuracy, Kelvin Mackenzie broke all of the rules. According to
the code pf practice:
“i) The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information or
images, including headlines not supported by the text.

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ii) A significant inaccuracy, misleading statement or distortion must be corrected, promptly
and with due prominence, and — where appropriate — an apology published. In cases
involving IPSO, due prominence should be as required by the regulator.
iii) A fair opportunity to reply to significant inaccuracies should be given, when reasonably
called for.
iv) The Press, while free to editorialize and campaign, must distinguish clearly between
comment, conjecture and fact.
v) A publication must report fairly and accurately the outcome of an action for defamation to
which it has been a party, unless an agreed settlement states otherwise, or an agreed
statement is published.”

The editor of the Sun failed completely to do his most fundamental duty which is publishing
accurate information. Unlike other newspapers who highlighted and emphasized that what
they reported are officers’ claims, Kelvin Mackenzie reported the claims as proven facts. In
addition, when he was called for a reply and an apology of his false statements and
accusations, he immediately rejected and refused to correct what he said.
Furthermore, Kelvin Mackenzie didn’t aby by the rules. The fourth rule stats: “In cases
involving personal grief or shock, enquiries and approaches must be made with sympathy
and discretion and publication handled sensitively. These provisions should not restrict the
right to report legal proceedings.” In this case Mackenzie acted without sympathy and
compassion. People died, family lost their beloved ones, and others were injured physically
and mentally, yet he didn’t care about it. Normally, as a journalist, he should have treated
people with sensitivity specially when all that trauma was happening. Moreover, when it
comes to reporting crime, Mackenzie accused the fans without giving proper evidence. His
only backup was one police officer who later denied saying any of those allegations. Last,
under the rule of protecting the public interest, the code stats:
“1. The public interest includes, but is not confined to:
 Detecting or exposing crime, or the threat of crime, or serious impropriety.
 Protecting public health or safety.
 Protecting the public from being misled by an action or statement of an individual or
organization.
 Disclosing a person or organization’s failure or likely failure to comply with any
obligation to which they are subject.
 Disclosing a miscarriage of justice.
 Raising or contributing to a matter of public debate, including serious cases of
impropriety, unethical conduct or incompetence concerning the public.
 Disclosing concealment, or likely concealment, of any of the above.
2. There is a public interest in freedom of expression itself.

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  Editors invoking the public interest will need to demonstrate that they reasonably
believed publication - or journalistic activity taken with a view to publication – would
both serve, and be proportionate to, the public interest and explain how they reached
that decision at the time.”

Beside failing to protect the general public from misleading statements, the editor of the Sun
rejected to correct his errors as soon as possible. In fact, he waited thirty years to do so.
Although, his apology was seen as too late and cynical.

6 Conflict of Interests:
Journalists are usually facing different types of interests either organizational or individual.
But it is important to always keep in mind that the fundamental and first interest should be
the public, and all the other ones should be treated as secondary. In this case, an obvious
conflict of interests occurred between the Sun’s editor kelvin Mackenzie, the Liverpool Fans,
and the general public. On this matter, Mackenzie placed his personal interest over his
profession. Thinking about making profit by selling a catchy headline that will attract many
readers to buy the newspaper without taking into consideration his actions is not an act of a
true journalist. In addition, being the editor of the Sun for many years, Mackenzie used his
position for his own interest since no one in the company could confront him and if they do
so their opinion will be invalid and maybe even fired from their jobs. At this rate, the conflict
of interest is obviously out of role since it contradicts the morality of the profession and
violate the ethics of Journalism.

7 Ethical Theories:
7.1 Utilitarian Approach:
When analyzing the case using the teleological theory, it is safe to say that the negative
impact of this unfortunate situation touched many individuals. First of all, the victims
including people who lost their lives, others who were injured, families who lost their
beloved ones, and even fans who couldn’t handle the shock of seeing the outrageous
incident, were all devastated from the serious accusations. Not only that, the general public
was also negatively affected. After buying the newspaper, and reading those false
statements, the public was misled in every way. In addition, this does not go hand in hand
with the profession. Kelvin Mackenzie broke many rules and couldn’t fulfill his role as a

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professional journalist. But unlike the others, competitors of the Sun benefited somehow
from The Sun’s current situation. Now that the successful newspaper became the most
hatred one in Liverpool and was boycotted for years, other competitors have the chance to
steal the position in the market and profit from Mackenzie’s careless actions. Similarly,
during the short run, alongside Mackenzie and the company, Irvine Patnick, the South
Yorkshire Police Federation, and The Whites press agency benefited from the situation. After
writing the article, the headline caught the attention of many readers which increased the
selling of the company and eventually Mackenzie’s revenue. However, this was not the case
in the long run. Liverpudlians boycotted the newspaper and still do to this day which
decreased the company’s profit. Correspondingly, the sources behind the false allegations
that Mackenzie wrote in his front page which are Irvine Patnick, the South Yorkshire Police
Federation, and The Whites press agency gained during the short term since they weren’t
exposed at the beginning and their secret was in hidden for a period of time. Nevertheless,
after thirty years, their mystery was uncovered, and the majority of the public lost trust in
these individuals.

7.2 Deontological Theory:

7.2.1 Common Good:
In my opinion, Mackenzie did nothing good; therefore, there is no argument that could be in
favor or related to a positive thing he did. To me, a good society is where journalists should
work hard to ensure that the information they publish is true and accurate and avoid any
harmful inaccuracies that could cause grief and shock to the general public. As an
experienced journalist, Kelvin Mackenzie didn’t take this very seriously; he didn’t do any
effort to obtain accurate information from every possible sources, but he relied on the easy
way instead of taking the time to make sure that what he wrote was actually matching the
reality.
7.2.2 Human Rights:
In this case, human rights were compromised at every level. However, Kelvin Mackenzie did
nothing illegal. He is free to express his thoughts and ideas. At the same times, he is also free
to act in his own best interest. He wanted to make profit by doing what he is good at. But, in
the profession of journalism making profit out of other people by spreading lies and serious
accusations is unethical and wrong in so many ways. The community should not be harmed,

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and the general public has the right to know the truth. In general, Mackenzie’s behavior is
definitely unethical because the freedom of speech should not be used as a way to offence
and accuse others.
7.2.3 Justice/Fairness:
Based on article published by The Guardian, Kelvin Mackenzie said: “I too was totally misled.
Twenty-three years ago I was handed a piece of copy from a reputable news agency in
Sheffield in which a senior police officer and a senior local MP were making serious
allegations against fans in the stadium. I had absolutely no reason to believe that these
authority figures would lie and deceive over such a disaster.” It can be assumed that in this
matter, Mackenzie could have been misled as well and did not realize what he was told was
untrue. Yet, again, too many individuals were treated with injustice and unfairness. First, it is
unfair to the fans who went there to have a good time and ended up losing their families
and suffering from physical and mental illness. On top of this, crimes and false accusations
were appointed to them without even showing evidence to support these statements of
theft, violence and drunkenness (video tapes, alcohol tests, etc.) Second, it is unfair to the
general public for giving their trust and yet ending up reading fake news. And last, it is unfair
to the company for losing its reputation and the employees who may end up changing their
jobs since the newspaper is no longer making profit.

7.3 Agent Centered Theory:

7.3.1 Virtue
According to the five principals of Ethical Journalism, Mackenzie failed to obtain them all.
 Accuracy
When it comes to accuracy, sometimes it can be difficult for journalists to guarantee the
truth, but getting facts right is the fundamental principle of Journalism. This was not the case
for Mackenzie. The editor did not take time to carefully look into these allegations stated by
others.
 Independence:
Journalists should have independent voices and should not act in favor of another party. If
this is the case, then the type of affiliations and arrangements should be declared otherwise
a conflict of interest would occur. In this example, the editor of the Sun did not state that his
findings came from other parties and not only police officers.

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Fairness and Impartiality:
Fairness and Impartiality:
Objectivity plays an important role in journalism. Every story has at least two sides, but
Mackenzie failed to be impartial and focused only on one part of the story which is the fan’s
behaviors.
 Humanity:
Normally, professional journalists should do no harm to the general public. However, what
was published in the Sun’s front page was very hurtful and offensive to everyone, and
Mackenzie did not take into consideration the impact of his words on the lives of others.
 Accountability:
What is counted as an addition of professionalism in this profession is the ability of
journalists to hold themselves responsible. Kelvin Mackenzie refused at first to correct his
error and even if he chose to apologize many years after the disaster, his apology was taken
seriously and was perceived as very late.

7.3.2 Care:
In this situation, no care was shown for the public interest yet the the community depends
on Journalists to tell the truth and accurate information.

8 Conclusion:
To sum up, Kelvin Mackenzie, the editor of the Sun’s newspaper, was responsible of causing
a tragedy for many individuals by sensationalizing allegations under a headline “The Truth”.
Placing his personal interest over his professional duty caused an out of role conflict of
interests. Under the Independent press standards organization code of practice, Kelvin
Mackenzie violated many important rules such as spreading false statements, causing grief
for others, accusing LFC fans without proof, and harming the public interest. Furthermore,
under the three theories (teleological, deontological, agent centered) that were used, it can
be concluded that Mackenzie’s behavior was clearly unethical and against his profession. In
general, Kelvin Mackenzie didn’t strive to ensure the accuracy of his information; many
human rights were compromised at different levels; the injustice was faced by many
different individuals; and no care was shown for the public interest. These findings definitely
prove that the editor was acting wrong and unethically.

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9 Recommendations:
Working as a journalist for many years, Kelvin Mackenzie should have known the impact of
the words of the press on other people. Yet, this was not the case. Mackenzie should have
been more accountable and responsible when collecting his information. Besides, he could
have apologized immediately when he was called for instead of waiting many years to do it.
Last, in my point of view, training and educating journalists when reporting such cases can
be worthwhile specially when it comes to how they should present themselves in the press
or when they are responsible of private companies such as Kelvin Mackenzie.

10 References:

 https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/sep/12/hillsborough-disaster-
mackenzie-profuse-apologies-sun
 https://www.thedrum.com/news/2015/01/01/kelvin-mackenzies-return-sun-draws-
criticism
 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-17113382
 https://theconversation.com/why-the-sun-newspaper-will-never-shine-in-liverpool-
72940
 https://ethicaljournalismnetwork.org/who-we-are/5-principles-of-journalism
 http://www.contrast.org/hillsborough/history/taylor.shtm
 https://www.ipso.co.uk/editors-code-of-practice/
 https://www.thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelvin_MacKenzie

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