Hauraki to stay on air

Press, 12 July 1980, Page 6

Hauraki to stay on air

PA Auckland The Auckland private radio station, Radio Hauraki, has been told its licence to broadcast will be renewed. But the Broadcasting Tribunal, hearing an application from Hauraki Enterprises, Ltd, reserved its decision on the licence length,•‘•iand any changes to it, until it had considered, all '(he evidence chairman of the threemember, tribunal, Mr B. H. Slane, said' it would have to look"'at the,period of renewal and any amendments to the licence. On the second day of the hearing yesterday, the publisher of the “New Zealand Herald,” Wilson and Horton, Ltd, who were;, objecting to the application; and Radio Pacific, presented further submissions.

The general manager of Wilson and Horton (Mr K. W. McCook) said journalists at the “New Zealand Herald” were exasperated that complicated articles they had re-

searched and written were reported almost word for world, or in condensed form, over private stations. He cited two examples of reports broadcast on Radio Hauraki that he felt had been “pirated” from the “Herald.” The reports, which both appeared in the "Herald” last month, concerned the row about the Marginal Lands Board decision and the return to New. Zealand of Mr Peter Hillary, who had been held in Thailand on drug charges. Mr McCook said both reports had been exclusive to the “Herald” in all respects. He said that over a large field, Radio Hauraki waited for other people to initiate news, and then made a quick telephone call to obtain a

voice report which merely repeated what was in the newspaper. Under cross-examination by Mr A. Satyanand, Mr McCook said he accepted that no copyright existed in facts. It was the way in which they were presented that mattered. In his closing submissions, Mr Satyanand said that the case made out by Wilson and Horton against Radio Hauraki was weak. No clear evidence had emerged regarding the “lifting” of news by the station. He said his client had denied any impropriety, and there was no evidence beyond suspicious to the contrary. Thursday’s submissions, Page 7