Apology by TV1 not necessary — Edwards

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34127, 13 April 1976, Page 1

Apology by TV1 not necessary — Edwards

The possibility of a confrontation on television independence was brought closer yesterday when Brian ' Edwards dissociated himself from a TVI apology to Sir John Marshall, and the Federation of Labour announced it would complain to the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) about the “Moynihan” series.

A special meeting of the “Edwards on Saturday” show production team today will discuss the apology given to Sir John, a former Prime Minister.

The apology was read just before the start of Saturday’s Edwards show, and concerned a skit by Dave Smith the previous Saturday, in which he and another person took part. After the apology wa s given, the announcer said the television station would also communicate directly with Sir John Marshall.

Dr Edwards said yesterday that he felt TVI was perfectly entitled to apologise and he was quite sure the apology was made in good faith, and that it believed it was necessary, the Press Association reports from Wellington.

But he did not believe it was necessary. “I would dissociate myself from the apology,” Dr Edwards said. “I think it is an extremely dangerous precedent. I think TVI, in particular, has shown a lot of courage and a lot of sense in the area of satire and we have made great strides in that area. ‘A precedent’

“I think this precedent now opens the way for every politician to demand an apology for any little piece of satire, regardless of how innocuous it might be, and I think this is very dangerous.”

Dr Edwards said the situation as he understood it was that Sir John made a complaint to TVI. “I also assume that he sought an apology. There has been some discussion on the matter between TVl’s lawyers and Sir John’s lawyers and the product of that discussion was the apology which was broadcast before the programme,” he said.

“As far as I was concerned — I cannot speak for Dave Smith — this matter was drawn to my attention early in the piece by Des Monaghan (controller of programmes). “He asked me what my feelings were about the question of an apology. I put those feelings in writing — in a memorandum — which I sent to the Director-General (Mr Alan Morris) and to Mr Monaghan, which basically said I considered there were no grounds for an apology and certainly that it was my opinion that the skit was not legally actionable in any way. “Every week. New Zealand politicians are called liars and other names and they accept all of it. “The curious thing about this is that of all the National Party politicians. Sir John Marshall is the one I have most admired in the past, and therefore it strikes rhe as ironic that he should be the map who should take offence.” Dr Edwards said he had no quarrel with TVI, but would like it to be under-

stood that he dissociated himself from the apology. The national executive of the Federation of Labour will express condemnation of television’s trade union series, “Moynihan,” to Mr Muldoon when he returns from overseas in about a month. By then at least five episodes of the series which the president of the F.O.L. (Sir Thomas Skinner) yesterday described as “totally unrelated to the trade union movement as it exists in New Zealand,” will have been screened.