We publish two findings by the Media Council today.
See: NZ Media Council upholds complaints
Roy Pilott
They have ruled that I have not upheld their principles as editor of Good Local Media.
In January I celebrated the 50th anniversary of my start as a reporter at the South Waikato News. For 46 of the following years, I can think of only one instance where work I was involved with was reviewed by a media overseer as a result of a complaint.
When a complaint went to the Media Council three years ago, it was the first I had encountered for more than two decades. But in recent months there has been an avalanche of complaints or threats of complaints.
Greyhound racing, election coverage, cyclists on footpaths… they are the latest. Complaints are frequently up to 1000 words long and make ridiculous allegations and demands. I understand complaints to the council are up 30 per cent. Every one can take hours to deal with and there comes a point where the allegations become so toxic I don’t bother reading on. We are in esteemed company – our little community offerings and the two business news titles in Waikato and Bay of Plenty are lined up by the council for scrutiny alongside Radio New Zealand and Stuff and NZME dailies.
Last week came a complaint that we didn’t interview children who rode on the footpath in the Cambridge town centre. In response to my answer, the author fired back: “maybe next week’s headline should be “Cambridge News reporters taken to the Media Council, no comment from the Cambridge News, just one side of the story…”
Hamilton mayoral candidate Rudi du Plooy is upset that we have not profiled all 12 candidates. We ran a story in the Waikato Business News about four Hamilton mayoral candidates, following the lead shown by Waikato Chamber of Commerce whose members said those four were the only ones they wanted to hear from at a public forum this month.
He now wants me to provide “clarification on… any editorial ties to the Waikato Times or Chamber” because I once worked for the Times and he suggests a potential conflict of interest.
I expect the Media Council will accept two more complaints.
I believe most communities want robust community papers rather than ones which simply regurgitate press releases. With other companies closing mastheads because they are not viable, Cambridge, Te Awamutu and Te Kūiti-Ōtorohanga have weekly community papers only because of the passion of publisher David Mackenzie. He has kept the model financially viable in the face of huge prices rises in newsprint and delivery costs and we continue to publish wonderful papers full of everything from parish pump to national stories.
Our small team, including pensioners working part time, produced 70 editorial pages across three community papers last week. I’m proud of that dedication and effort and we are admired by our peers.
Our election coverage is second to none – particularly in Waipā where it’s no surprise the candidates line up to advertise with us even if the district council itself snubs Good Local Media readers.
I am stumped as to why there is such a strong desire among some to take us down. Is it tall poppy syndrome?
We don’t always get it right, but regardless of the decisions and my view of them, we will continue to produce the last community papers standing in Waipā and the northern King Country – without fear or favour.
