TVNZ review of Taurima begins

TVNZ's review into political bias is due to start after revelations its former manager and presenter Shane Taurima used company resources to help Labour.

A review will begin this week into alleged political bias at TVNZ following revelations the New Zealand state broadcaster's premises were used as a Labour Party campaign base by former manager Shane Taurima.

The review panel will include media law expert Steven Price and CEO of the Radio Broadcasters Association Bill Francis, and will be chaired by Brent McAnulty, TVNZ's head of legal and corporate affairs, TVNZ said on Monday.

Mr Taurima, a senior presenter and manager of the network's Maori and Pacific unit, resigned on Monday last week after reports that meetings were held in TVNZ's offices to organise funding for the Labour Party.

The panel will have full access to TVNZ resources as they investigate whether there was any political bias in either the Maori and Pacific department's programs or Q+A interviews conducted by Shane Taurima from March to November 2012.

They'll also look into the inappropriate use of TVNZ resources over the past year within the Maori and Pacific programs department.

TVNZ chief executive Kevin Kenrick said the review panel would provide an objective, independent view of what happened and what changes could be made.

Mr Taurima has denied that his political affiliations have had any influence on editorial decisions made during his more than 12 years at TVNZ.

TVNZ says the final report, which will take a matter of weeks, will be made public.


2 min read

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Source: AAP


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