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Summarised by Centrist
Two media scandals show the media industry trying to manage reputational risk as election-year pressure builds.
Voyager Internet has lost its naming rights sponsorship of the NZ Media Awards after chief executive Seeby Woodhouse reposted a translated passage from Mein Kampf alongside commentary alleging “Jewish power” was working to destroy nations and manipulate world events.
Woodhouse apologised, saying he had reposted the material late at night “without reading it fully”. He said he removed it once it was raised with him.
But the Newspaper Publishers’ Association terminated Voyager’s sponsorship.
Stuff chief executive and NPA president Sinead Boucher rejected the accidental-repost defence, saying it “did not excuse the harm caused nor the reputational damage to our industry”.
At the same time, Stuff has examined whether a Substack article about TVNZ political editor Maiki Sherman was an organised political “hit”.
The article, by former National Party press secretary Ani O’Brien, alleged media organisations had covered up an incident in which Sherman reportedly called Stuff reporter Lloyd Burr a homophobic slur at Parliament last year.
O’Brien denied any collusion with National.
“There was ‘absolutely no’ collaboration or collusion with anyone related to the National Party for her article,” Stuff reported.
O’Brien acknowledged the story may have benefited National, but said that was not her aim.
“I accept that National having this conflict with [Maiki] in the media already, that this might have been seen as beneficial as well, but that was certainly not my intention,” she said.
