Kerry Packer yesterday lost a defamation case against rival media group John Fairfax Pty Ltd. Packer claimed that a satirical caption appearing in The Sydney Morning Herald on 16 December, 1999 construed him as ‘a power-crazed greedy man.’ Unsurprisingly, Fairfax-owned newspaper The Age was quick to carry the story.
The alleged defamatory material was the following caption, which appeared alongside a photo of Mr Packer:
‘[Fairfax’s barrister] said the article did not constitute defamation because “one can injure a person’s pride without injuring that person’s reputation”.
He used examples of celebrity spoof shows such as Fast Forward and CNNNN which sent up powerful and influential people all the time.
“There can be no doubt that ordinary reasonable readers understood this as a joke,” Mr Blackburn said.’
The jury inclined seemed to agree, deciding that the article should be construed in the comical tone in which the newspaper made the statement. The Court awarded Fairfax its costs of defending the claim.
