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RR RUEHDT RUEHPB
DE RUEHWL #0105/01 0792329
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 192329Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5153
INFO RUEHNZ/AMCONSUL AUCKLAND 1640
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 5146
RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY 0654
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 WELLINGTON 000105 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR STATE FOR EAP/ANP 
PACOM FOR J01E/J2/J233/J5/SJFHQ 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM NZ
SUBJECT: POLITICAL OBJECTIVITY OF NZ MEDIA QUESTIONED 
 
WELLINGTON 00000105  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU)  Summary.  The Labour Government's relationship with the 
New Zealand media has become increasingly tense and prompted Prime 
Minister Clark to call into question its behaviour and political 
objectivity.  At the same time, opposition National Party leader 
John Key has received lighter press criticism, with Labour's dive in 
the February polls given front-page headlines and endless op-ed 
commentary suggesting the 2008 election is already over and Key has 
won.  Political analysts (and some media) admit that Labour simply 
produces more grist for media comment than the opposition or minor 
parties.  Once National begins to unveil more policy and a sense of 
how it will govern if elected, the media will provide greater 
scrutiny and any perceived notion of uneven media attention will 
dissipate. End Summary. 
 
NZ Media Objectivity Called into Question 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU)  Since the start of 2008 election year, the Labour 
Government and Prime Minister Clark have been regularly subjected to 
intense analysis and criticism by New Zealand's media.  Conversely, 
the opposition National Party and its leader John Key have had far 
less scrutiny during this period.  In response, the Government has 
lashed out repeatedly at the press, characterising the media as less 
than well-informed and calling into question journalists' 
objectivity.  One of the country's most seasoned and well-respected 
journalists, Richard Harman, dismissed suggestions of media bias and 
offered that this was "par for the course."  He noted that in the 
run-up to every election since the early 1970s he has been accused 
of bias by both major parties. 
 
Fissure in the Labour-Press Relationship 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU)  Since coming to power in 1999, Labour's relationship with 
the press has been reasonably good.  However, in 2007 two pivotal 
events signalled that the character of this relationship was headed 
for a downturn.  The first was the introduction of the highly 
contentious Electoral Finance Bill legislation, which sought to cap 
political campaign spending by an individual or organisation.  The 
Bill sparked uniform, and often acerbic, press criticism of Clark 
and her Government; the media argued it was an abuse of power which 
unfairly restricted free speech.  Leading the charge was The New 
Zealand Herald, the country's most widely read newspaper, which 
launched a visceral front-page campaign against Labour for 
introducing the Bill.  Even though the Bill became law on December 
19, 2007, the Herald's campaign continues unabated.  The Herald 
publishes a monthly 'name and shame' graphic of the Labour MPs who 
voted for the Bill. 
 
¶4. (SBU)  The second event was a speech Clark gave shortly before 
the Electoral Finance legislation became law.  Embattled by the 
steady diet of press condemnation about the Bill, Clark questioned 
the quality and judgment of New Zealand journalism.  She asserted 
that Kiwi journalists lack general knowledge and are too young to 
remember seminal events in New Zealand's history.  Citing the 
Herald's anti-Electoral Finance bill campaign as an example, Clark 
questioned whether journalists are upholding their professional 
duties to be truthful, fair and balanced.  The Herald was not alone 
at the receiving end of Clark's wrath.  She also singled out New 
Zealand's second largest newspaper, The Dominion Post and the 
Political Editor for TV3 News for criticism. 
 
Clark Detects Right-Wing Bias in Some Publications 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶5. (SBU)  In addition to questioning the professionalism of some 
journalists, Clark also suggested that Labour's difficulty in 
attracting positive press reviews in recent times was the result of 
an ideological bias against Labour.  She believes that The New 
Zealand Herald, in particular, lacks objectivity and has a long-held 
political prejudice against Labour.  On February 27, Clark accused 
The Herald of running "a silly campaign" against the Electoral 
Finance legislation and added that "it was a Tory paper which has 
shown no charity to Labour in the party's 91 years of existence." 
The paper rejected claims that its campaign is ideologically driven 
and maintained that it is simply fulfilling its role in questioning 
authority and meeting its obligation to guard against the outright 
abuse of power and constrictions against the freedom of speak. 
 
¶6. (SBU)  Clark's assertion of right-wing bias was not limited to 
the mainstream publications.  In the March edition of the New 
Zealand Law Journal, its editor questioned whether free and fair 
elections could be held under new election funding rules.  The 
editor also characterized present conditions in New Zealand under 
the new funding rules as "Putinesque." Clark responded by saying 
 
WELLINGTON 00000105  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
that such comments came as no surprise, given the editor was "at the 
opposite end of the political spectrum" from her. (Comment: Clark's 
remark is accurate regarding Law Journal editor Bernard Robertson. 
End Comment) 
 
Liberal Media Also Critical of Clark 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶7. (SBU)  Clark's assessment that competing ideology is behind some 
of the media's lack of enthusiasm towards her and Labour can, 
however, be challenged by the recent writings of Chris Trotter, New 
Zealand's most identifiable left-wing political commentator.  Over 
the past month, Trotter has been sharply critical of Clark's ability 
to lead her party to victory in this year's election.  In light of 
successive polls showing Labour well behind National in the party 
vote and Clark consistently coming in second to Key in preferred PM 
polling, Trotter has argued that Labour's only hope of winning the 
election is for Defence Minister Phil Goff to replace Clark as party 
leader.  Another openly left-friendly writer, Matt MacCarten, has 
also been as critical of Labour and Clark in recent columns. 
 
Journalist: Boredom Causing Uneven Media interest 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶8. (SBU)  An Australian journalist who once reported on NZ politics 
for a major Australian newspaper and who also worked for The New 
Zealand Herald does believe that there exists an uneven balance of 
critical attention towards Clark and her Government at the expense 
of Key and his National Party.  But according to Australian 
journalist Claire Harvey, this bias is not based on ideology.  In a 
radio interview on March 9, Harvey opined that any bias against 
Clark and Labour is largely based on the NZ media's fondness for 
political novelty, with John Key representing a fresh face. 
Additionally, Harvey posits that NZ reporters implicitly yearn for a 
change in political management because they do not want to spend the 
next three years continuing to report of yet another Labour 
government consisting of many of the some personalities from 
previous years.  She believes that the NZ press are simply bored 
with Clark and Labour and claimed that "everything that needs to be 
written about this Labour Government has already been written." 
 
Clark Finds Disfavor, Key Gets a Waiver 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU)  Whereas the media appear to be relishing the problems 
facing Clark and Labour, with front-page banner headlines trumpeting 
its recent poor poll results, they seem to be savoring Key and his 
party's ascendancy in the polls.  Notably, two of New Zealand most 
distinguished political commentators have all but anointed Key as 
the election victor.  In his recent columns, The Herald's John 
Armstrong has referenced Key as the "Prime Minister-in-waiting." 
His Herald stable mate Colin James, normally seen to be relatively 
Labour-friendly, has been found to using "when" when talking about 
Key as Prime Minister, not "if."  Moreover, in an address to the New 
Zealand Institute of International Affairs on March 11, James 
forecast that "Clark will likely give way to Key" at this year's 
general election.  When asked by post to comment on perceived 
notions of media bias, James rejected the suggestion that he writes 
from one particular ideological perspective. 
 
¶10. (SBU)  Key has not been completely free from critical media 
scrutiny in recent times.  In the week of March 3, Key received 
media criticism for a succession of gaffes he made relating to his 
misinterpretations of his party's policy and a lack of clarity on 
the issue of state asset sales.  Some of this criticism from 
columnists, however, resembled advice rather than censure.  Tracey 
Watkins of The Dominion Post, for example, appeared to warn Key that 
if he does not lift his game he would wear Labour's "slippery John" 
label.  Journalists have told Post's Media Specialist that they are 
becoming very frustrated with National's lack of stated policy and 
its unwillingness to take positions on issues of public interest. 
They have noted that Key sometimes has reacted angrily to their 
desire to pin down his position on issues and they have wondered 
aloud how he will stand up to the rigour of an election campaign. 
 
The NZ Media's Political Influence 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU)  The degree to which mainstream media in New Zealand 
influence voting patterns is not fully defined.  There is little 
capacity for editors and publishers to become political kingmakers 
nor is there great receptivity among the New Zealand public.  Unlike 
in the United States, it is not customary for the mainstream media 
to explicitly endorse a candidate for political office.  Moreover, 
the tighter controls on publishing political opinion, as a result of 
 
WELLINGTON 00000105  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
the new campaign funding rules, give the press little leeway to take 
a biased position.  There does exist in New Zealand authentic 
political bias in the country's blogosphere, where some of New 
Zealand's main political pundits have their own blogs where they 
voice a more jaundiced perspective in contrast to their mainstream 
media reporting.  However, the ability of the Internet to influence 
the political landscape is limited because in New Zealand its viral 
reach falls far behind that of the mainstream media. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶12. (SBU)  Clark is no different from most politicians who are 
predisposed to blame their political woes on the press. 
Nonetheless, her criticism that the media are pacing public opinion 
rather that simply reporting it has some validity and has raised 
questions from more neutral observers.  However, Clark's hypothesis 
that the lack of positive stories on Labour and herself is 
ideologically motivated is excessive.  The media's true bias is 
often conflict and political drama, which is most compelling to the 
general public - and Labour has provided a series of bad news 
stories since late last year that make for good copy and sell 
papers.  One of Key's advisors also discounts that National is 
getting a free ride and has told us that the media can be just as 
vicious with National; he anticipates the press will be just as 
tough on a National Government, should it win, as they are with 
Labour.  End Comment. 
 
McCormick