The Examiner editor Mark Westfield gets booted from role after publication of misleading letter

An editor of a Tasmania newspaper has been dismissed from his role less than three months after his appointment after publishing false letter.

The owners of a Tasmanian newspaper have dismissed its newly-appointed editor less than three months after he got the role, following the publication of a misleading letter containing false reports.

Mark Westfield reportedly parted ways with his position at Launceston’s The Examiner on Tuesday night, less than a week after he stated it was “impossible” to check all personal accounts of reader’s claims in letters to the paper.

His statement followed the paper printing a false Letter to the Editor penned by a reader who outlined her “disgust” towards a council swimming pool that allowed a transgender male to use female facilities.

Mark Westfield has parted with his role as Editor at Launceston's The Examiner. Picture: LinkedIn

The letter was published in last Tuesday’s paper and online under the title ‘Girls getting changed, then walks in a man’.

“I am writing to express my absolute disgust at the Launceston aquatic centre and concern for our children,” a resident by the name of Olivia Nettleford wrote.

“Recently while getting changed in the FEMALE change rooms with many young girls present, an adult MALE walked in and started to undress, in front of the kids!”

She then explained a father of one of the girls who was in the change room “walked in and forcibly moved” the man, before the incident was reported to centre staff.

“They shrugged and said there was nothing they could do because the person ‘identifies as female’,” Ms Nettleford said.

The letter alleged the father who attempted to remove the man from the bathroom, copped a life ban from the facility “simply for protecting his child”.

It also later stated even if the man did identify as female they should not be allowed access to the female toilets and the facility should install non-gender specific facilities.

“Protect our children, stop this nonsense and potentially dangerous behaviour,” the letter concluded.

However, in the hours following its publication, the City of Launceston council, which operates the pool, released a statement acknowledging the report was false.

“The City of Launceston can confirm that a letter to the editor published in The Examiner (on Tuesday) on the topic of the Launceston Leisure & Aquatic Centre has no basis in fact,” it said.

“No such incident has occurred at the facility. It is regrettable that no attempt was made to check the veracity of the claim before publication.”

The Letter to the Editor section on Tuesday was titled 'Girls getting changed, then walks in a man'. Picture: Twitter / @JamieFromTas

The paper later issued a retraction verifying the letter contained incorrect information the next day, however it wasn’t enough to save Westfield from losing his role.

The former editor also tried to save face by addressing in another article that The Examiner “did all it could in the circumstances”, but readers and council members were quick to disagree.

It’s understood the paper’s staff were told at a meeting on Wednesday morning that Westfield was no longer their editor.

The former staffer to Liberal Candidate Katherine Deves and Malcolm Turnbull, was appointed to the role in January after a three-decade stint working in the media business.

“The appointment … came a bit out of the blue, but it’s been a challenge where I’ve had to employ all of my journalistic instincts developed over a 32-year career in print and TV journalism,” his LinkedIn bio reads.

“(I) have put my media consulting business Westfield Wright in the deep freeze for the foreseeable future while I focus on reshaping and rebuilding the second oldest masthead in the country.”

Westfield kicked off his career as a “humble copy boy” for the paper in 1971 and later fulfilled a number of business reporting roles at the Sydney Morning Herald, ABC’s Four Corners and The Australian.

Australian Community Media, the owners of the masthead, have been contacted for comment on the matter.

News.com.au has also reached out to Westfield.

Originally published as The Examiner editor Mark Westfield gets booted from role after publication of misleading letter