“I don’t think that is palatable.”
Cumin supported Act Party leader David Seymour’s call for Broadcasting Minister Willie Jackson to launch an independent inquiry into the state-owned media organisation, saying it was “vital if there is to be any trust in our fourth estate”.
A spokesman for the Minister of Broadcasting, however, said it was important politicians didn’t get involved in any decisions about RNZ in order to maintain the organisation’s editorial independence.
“There are no powers under the Broadcasting Act to initiate a review of the content. Any government review or inquiry should consider the current RNZ process and wait for the outcome of the investigation,” Jackson’s spokesman told the Herald.
A panel to head an independent review and its terms of reference were announced earlier today.
“The minister looks forward to the findings of the review and hearing what action has been taken,” Jackson’s spokesman said.
The minister’s spokesman said RNZ would be meeting with the Ukrainian community this week. The first edits were found in stories on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The three-person panel was appointed to undertake a review of RNZ’s editorial processes after the radio station’s board met last night.
The panel will include media law expert Willy Akel, who will chair the panel. It also features Linda Clark, a former journalist and media law expert.
Alan Sunderland, the former director of editorial standards at ABC News in Australia is the final member of the panel.
RNZ’s board chairman, Dr Jim Mather, said the panel is made up of a long history of editorial and legal expertise.
The board decided a review by an independent third party was “the most appropriate course of action” and that drawing from such expertise was the best way forward.
Mather said the focus was restoring public confidence in the broadcaster.
“We have tasked them to conduct a robust and comprehensive review of RNZ editorial processes,” said Mather.
“This is in the interest of achieving and protecting the highest standards of journalism at RNZ.”
The board agreed on the terms of reference last night, which Mather said will allow rigorous scrutiny of RNZ’s editorial processes.
It’s expected this will allow for rigorous scrutiny of the broadcaster’s editorial factors and processes that allowed one of its staff members to make “inappropriate” changes to at least 15 stories about the Ukraine war.
RNZ journalist Michael Hall was stood down for editing Reuters and BBC stories republished by RNZ to include “pro-Kremlin garbage”, as chief executive and editor-in-chief Paul Thompson called it.
Hall revealed he had edited stories “that way” since he started working for RNZ and was never spoken to about it.
Thompson earlier called the edits “inexcusable”, saying they breached the organisation’s standards.
He claimed an audit of stories had revealed the problem was isolated to “one area” and said “of course” the journalist responsible was spoken to.
Hall, however, told RNZ’s Checkpoint show: “I have done that for five years and nobody told me I was doing anything wrong”.
More changes to Reuters content emerged yesterday, appearing to be sympathetic towards Palestine and the militant group Hamas in the conflict in Gaza and China’s position on its treatment of Uyghurs.
RNZ’s self-published list of problematic stories also included an article about a North Korean ballistic missile launch and one about Serbia accusing Ukraine of bomb hoax threats on Air Serbia planes.
Seymour said RNZ’s assurance the issue was limited to stories bout the Russian invasion of Ukraine is “clearly incorrect”.
NOTE: This article has been edited for clarity by removing the reference to the Israel Institute of New Zealand as an independent think tank, instead using the organisation’s full title at first reference.
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.
