Global Courant
WELLINGTON – New Zealand’s national radio broadcaster said it has launched an independent review of its editorial processes after it published a series of stories on its website, including about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which had been altered to “create a false report of events”.
Radio New Zealand (RNZ), which is government-funded but has editorial independence, had corrected 22 stories on its April 2022 website on Wednesday for what it called “improper editing”.
The broadcaster, which revealed the issues last Friday, said its board decided an independent review is necessary.
The panel will review editorial processes and “examine factors and red flags that led to international wire stories being edited with inappropriate content,” it added.
Reuters provided 21 of the edited stories and one came from the UK’s BBC, RNZ’s list of stories that have been corrected.
Most of the corrections in the 22 stories indicate that the editors changed the original stories to present pro-Russian interpretations of some events in Ukraine as fact.
Stories on other topics, including China-Taiwan and Middle East relations, have also been corrected.
RNZ said it would continue to review stories published on its website and restore the copy to its original state where issues have been identified.
RNZ is a media client of Reuters, which said it had discussed the matter with the broadcaster.
“As stated in our terms and conditions, Reuters content cannot be modified without prior written consent. Reuters is fully committed to reporting the war in Ukraine impartially and accurately, in accordance with the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles,” a spokesman said.
Earlier this week, a BBC spokesman referred Reuters’ request for comment back to RNZ.
RNZ Board Chairman Jim Mather said the review, conducted by three independent experts, is “in the interest of achieving and protecting the highest standards of journalism at RNZ”.
“We are focused on restoring public confidence in us,” he added.
