2003-1121 - Lynley Hood - Final comment to BSA

Mr Edmunds dismisses the comments of viewers quoted in Appendix 2 of my original complaint on the grounds that ‘some popular presenters attract fierce criticism on the web and in telephone calls whatever they do’.

I have checked the web for viewers’ comments on the other interviews conducted by Brian Edwards in his Edwards at Large series. Apart from some comments on his interview with Rodney Hide, I could find no specific references to any individual interview. Therefore, viewers’ criticism of Edwards’ interview with me cannot be explained away on the ground that ‘some popular presenters attract fierce criticism...whatever they do’. This finding supports the argument that viewers described Edwards’ interview with me as ‘hostile’, ‘appallingly bad’, ‘bullying’ and ‘biased’, because it was indeed hostile, appallingly bad, bullying and biased.

It is clear from Mr Edmunds’ letter that TVNZ has still failed to grasp, or has simply chosen to ignore, the distinction between ‘playing devil’s advocate’ and ‘doing a hatchet job’. He notes that it was agreed beforehand that the interviewer’s approach would be that of ‘devil’s advocate’. If that agreement had been upheld I would have had no complaint. Indeed, I have had several live interviews of that sort on radio and television (but not on TVNZ) in relation to A City Possessed, and have found them to be stimulating, challenging and worthwhile encounters.

My two interviews with Linda Clark on National Radio are good examples. The first took place after A City Possessed had won the History Prize, the Readers’ Choice Award and the Montana Medal for Non-Fiction in the 2002 Montana New Zealand Book Awards. The second took place following the launch of a petition for a royal commission of inquiry into the Christchurch Civic Creche case. The tone and direction of some of Clark’s interviews on related topics, and her choice of questions in her interviews with me, led me to suspect that she was unsympathetic to Peter Ellis. Nonetheless, I have no complaints whatsoever about her interviews with me. Her questions were challenging and probing. They covered all relevant issues. Unlike Brian Edwards, she was thoroughly professional in her approach. Unlike Edwards, she did not trivialise, misrepresent or belittle my work. Unlike Edwards, she did not make repeated use of derogatory words and phrases (in fact, she did not use derogatory words or phrases at all). Unlike Edwards, she listened carefully to my answers, acknowledged them if they were adequate, and challenged them if they were not. Unlike Edwards, she did not ignore or talk over me. Unlike Edwards, she showed that it was possible to play devil’s advocate, and to conduct a probing interview on a controversial issue, without compromising her own professional integrity.

I trust the Broadcasting Standards Authority will give this complaint serious consideration.

Yours sincerely

Lynley Hood