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Archive for November, 2007

Press Council review: it’s a bit weird

Thursday, November 29th, 2007

The good As I said earlier, I agree whole-heartedly with almost all of the recommendations made by the reviewers of the Press Council, Sir Ian Barker and Prof Lewis Evans. Yes, scrap the requirement for complainants to sign away their rights to go to court: as the reviewers say, it’s of very doubtful legality. Hell […]

Why did Radio Waatea pull its interview with Clint Rickards?

Monday, November 26th, 2007

The media don’t usually go along with requests from an interviewee’s lawyers to pull a plum interview. I can’t think of any legal rule they’d be breaking by running the interview. If Rickards is breaching his agreement with the police, that’s his problem.  [Update: the interview has now been broadcast]

S-G contacts Fairfax about contempt

Friday, November 23rd, 2007

The Solicitor-General is reportedly asking Fairfax newspapers to explain their actions (publishing the “terrorism files” information), saying they may be in contempt. The story doesn’t say whether he’s suggesting they breached the Crimes Act, too, by publishing information obtained by interception warrants. A “please-explain” letter strikes me as a bit odd in the circumstances. What […]

Comments on Rogers case

Wednesday, November 21st, 2007

The missing angle in the media Did anyone in the media report that virtually all the Supreme Court judges seem to believe that, as Blanchard J puts it, “the police would appear to have acted beyond their powers” in releasing the videotaped confession to the media, because they are required to treat evidence as secret […]

Sunday and the Rogers case

Monday, November 19th, 2007

Okay, I’ve seen the programme now. Interestingly, TVNZ has also posted the whole interview with Noel Rogers. Good on them for that, I think. As I’ve said all along, I think there was public interest in the videoed interview, for at least three reasons: 1. It allows us to better judge whether the Court of […]

Press Council review is out

Friday, November 16th, 2007

The review of the operations of the Press Council has now been released. It’s long. There’s an extensive list of recommendations, and most of them look pretty sensible to me. They involve: —      a much expanded budget and administration; —      new fast-track complaints mechanisms (a mediation option involving a Chief Executive, and a rapid-consideration option […]