Criticism of tour cover ‘unjust’

Press, 3 August 1981, Page 6

Criticism of tour cover ‘unjust’

PA Wellington Radio New Zealand's news, current affairs, and sports staff were covering the Springbok tour with great care and impartiality, the radios director-general, Mr Geoffrey Whitehead, said yesterday.

"The editorial standards of public service radio have always been high," he said. “Our programmes, such as ‘Morning Report' have built an enviable record of credibility of the years."

Mr Whitehead was commenting on criticism of public broadcasting coverage of the Springbok tour by the Minister of Broadcasting (Mr Cooper).

"It is completely unfair and unjust for Mr Cooper to say that competition between radio and television forces news producers to embellish the facts, Mr Whitehead said. "Neither do our journalists slant an item to create interest.

"This is not the case, and the Broadcasting Tribunal

knows it from evidence put forward and debated at many public hearings." Mr Cooper said that every letter on the Springbok tour issue received by nis office contained allegations of biased media reporting. “Not one letter argued that there has been pro-tour bias." Mr Cooper said. “The writers are unanimous in their echo of exasperation and frustration aft.er weeks on the receiving end of biased programming." He recognised that it was "part of the journalist’s prerogative to slant an item to create interest," Mr Cooper said, "but I do not think that my correspondents are wrong in their assessment." “Simple logic” suggested that he would receive a different spate of letters if the public thought that pro-

grammes pursued the opposite tour line.

Mr Cooper said that within the context of clauses in the Broadcasting Act about impartial news gathering and presentation of different viewpoints, there was little doubt that "there must be serious misgivings about the impartiality of over-all editorial direction in brodcasting." He could not condone violence and intimidation by rugby supporters against broadcasting staff, but "I wonder whether the chickens may have come home to roost," he said. Broadcasters would not be meeting their responsibility to present accurate news and maintain law and order "until the letters coming across my desk represent both sides of public opinion," Mr Cooper said. One question which could be asked was whether viewers had been subject to "an unprecedented level of news and current affairs on the tour and its ramifications," he said.

“Personally, I consider we could have done with a great deal less of the glare of publicity."