Good afternoon Hunter

“RNZ acknowledges receipt of your OIA request. Under the Official Information Act 1982 we have 20 working days to respond and will contact you via email /post. If for any reason our response is delayed we will advise you.”

Kind regards
Maggie Hedge| OIA Administrator RNZ
[email address]

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Kia ora, Hunter,

 

Please find attached the response to your OIA request.

 

Regards,

 

Andrew

 

 

Andrew Holden

Complaints Custodian
RNZ, PO Box 123, Wellington, New Zealand, 6140 

DDI +64 4 474 1424

Mobile: +64 21 568 253

[1]www.rnz.co.nz 

 

 

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Thanks for coming back to me so quickly, Hunter.

Essentially no one knows if there is an obit prepared for them. Yes, some are arguably obvious, but there are others who may be surprised, or offended, that an obit has been prepared.

We also regard this as part of our newsroom preparations, and we don't make information available under the OIA. For that, I cite Section 9(2)(g)(i) of the Act: 'to maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through the free and frank expression of opinions by members of an organisation in the course of their duty'.

The other issue is whether someone, knowing that we have prepared an obit on them, would seek to review it. We regard information about RNZ's internal news and content gathering as sensitive, and withhold this information to enable our newsroom to operate free of influence. RNZ's Editorial Policy states:
'(Independence) is central to our integrity and credibility. It demands staff or contractors not be influenced by pressures from political, commercial or other sectional interests or by their own views or activities. There must be no external interference in the presentation or content of our work or any improper influence brought to bear internally. It is fundamental to our independence that RNZ's editorial values and decision-making processes are generated and managed internally. RNZ alone has the legal and editorial responsibility for what is published.'

For the same reason, I wouldn't reveal what stories are being planned, whether RNZ has any major investigations under way, or who we might wish to interview for broadcast.

What we stand by is what we broadcast or publish, and for that we can be challenged at the Broadcasting Standards Authority or the Media Council (online stories).

Hope that helps you understand our position.

Regards

Andrew

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