A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
Opinion
One definition of a news story is that it’s something that someone doesn’t want printed on the front page.
The Herald obviously had such a story in Saturday’s edition because it had the effect of getting right up the nose of the GDC chief executive Nedine Thatcher Swann.
Step back
a bit and recall that the council has form when it comes to hissy fits over coverage. It has previously complained to the Media Council about the Herald’s coverage of it and those complaints were not upheld.
Obviously, since that tactic to bully and muzzle the Herald didn’t work, they decided that this time a full frontal assault was required. To do that you need a strong case. The chief executive’s claim that the story shouldn’t have been published is just plain wrong when the council was given the chance to respond and explain their position and refused the offer. There is no case to answer.
This is no time for oversensitive snowflakery. More worrying is that the chief executive clearly sees a role for herself as editor-in-chief of the Herald in that she seems to be wanting to decide what gets published and when.
