Pushback against the Media Council

Stuff reports:

Two recent Media Council decisions have been called out by media, with one labelled “a serious error” with “potentially wide reaching consequences”, and the other “alarming” and “potentially dangerous“.

NZME and RNZ have publicly criticised Media Council decisions upheld in relation to its stories. Such moves are highly unusual and speak to serious frustration at recent decisions.

It is rare for media outlets to say they disagree with the Media Council decision. 95% of the time the publisher accepts the Media Council decision.

In both these cases, I am with the minority of Council members who would not have upheld the complaint. I think both restrict journalists from doing their jobs.

Former Herald Editor Gavin Ellis writes:

Let me put it bluntly: The Media Council majority got it wrong.

How can the Daily Post have acted unfairly when the accused man’s name can be found in a simple online search and the accusations and investigation were well-known in the area. How can it be unfair when – for more than a decade – his name and association with the case had been referenced in a readily accessible Wikipedia article on Mona Blades’ disappearance?

Rewriting history is almost always a bad idea!