Clark on media

Helen Clark’s office has spent months and months refusing OIA requests for a copy of what she said to a journalism conference last November, about the media. They claimed there were no notes, no formal speech and no transcript.

They did finally admit there was a tape recording of the speech, and after eight months of effort by a member of the public, the PMs Office has been forced by the Ombudsman to release the audio tape.

It is especially ironic that it took so much effort to get a copy of what she said, after all the denials. Because one of the things Clark complained about to the conference was the perception that politicians are dishonest!

Colin Espiner covers some of the transcript:

On the tape, Clark is severely critical of journalists for their alleged lack of knowledge of world events, historical context, and “letting the facts get in the way of the story.”

She singles out TV3 political editor Duncan Garner, claiming he had told a seminar that “politicians always lie”.

“I’m sorry, politicians don’t always lie. I’m quite appalled by that statement. I think it’s important that scrutiny is not confused with cynicism,” Clark said.

Garner contests Clark’s remark, and says what he actually said was that the first instinct of politicians when cornered was to lie. …

Most journalists were too young to remember seminal events in the country’s history, she says.

“Today’s political editors of the two main TV channels were barely in their infancy, if born, when Norman Kirk brought the troops back from Vietnam, the Springbok tour, sent the frigate to Mururoa – events that to many of our age group were seminal events,” Clark said.

Oh dear. How dare the media employ anyone not born in the 1950s or earlier.

Whale Oil has further quotes from the tape.