Editor fires parting shot on press freedom

Outgoing New Zealand Herald editor-in-chief Gavin Ellis yesterday warned against an erosion of press freedom in a farewell speech to colleagues at the newspaper in Auckland.

Ellis, who left the Herald yesterday after 32 years, said freedom of expression was a right that must be "jealously guarded".

"Every month there is another measure that chips away at the edifice," he said.

He urged journalists to stand up against encroachments on their right to inform, quoting Irish politician and philosopher Edmund Burke: "It is necessary only for the good man to do nothing for evil to triumph".

Yesterday's speech marked the end of 40 years in journalism for Ellis.

He leaves to do a doctorate at Auckland University.

Ellis became editor-in-chief in 1999.

Herald editor Tim Murphy praised his contribution. "Gavin revolutionised and modernised the paper," he said.

Murphy said Ellis encouraged people to think.

"He also gave the paper its voice."

Ellis began his career at the Auckland Star in 1965.

He joined the Herald, then owned by Wilson and Horton, in 1972.

Ellis was confident his colleagues would uphold the Herald's reputation as a great newspaper. "As a humble if not impoverished student, I'll watch with pride and delight as you take that reputation to new heights," he said.

* Gavin Ellis' responsibilities as editor-in-chief have been assumed by the editor, Tim Murphy.