RNZ: WHITEWASHING GENOCIDE

Throughout the course of Israel's military assault on Gaza, RNZ has refused to acknowledge that Israel has committed genocide. But its coverage of events in Gaza have been assessed as meeting acceptable editorial standards in a report written by a former RNZ editorial policy manager.


EVER SINCE ISRAEL began its genocidal assault on Gaza in October 2023, RNZ's Mediawatch has failed to provide any assessments of local media coverage. Even the grim reality that well over 200 journalists have been killed in Gaza, deliberately targeted by the Israeli military, has not moved Mediawatch to comment.

It's less than satisfactory, then, that Mediawatch presenter Colin Peacock should only have something to say about Gaza when he can show RNZ in a positive light. He has reported that a review of RNZ's coverage of Gaza has given the public broadcaster a pass mark: 'A review of RNZ coverage regarding the conflict in Gaza has concluded RNZ has abided by its own editorial policy—as well as the standards and principles of the Media Council and the Broadcasting Standards Authority watchdogs.'

When it has been clear for well over a year that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza and, indeed, the International Court of Justice says Israel has a case to answer, RNZ decided that 'due to the complex nature of the conflict and the level of feedback RNZ receives, it warranted an independent assessment'.

Although RNZ claimed it wanted an 'independent assessment', it probably ensured it got the report it was seeking, by giving the job to former RNZ editorial policy manager Colin Feslier, now an 'independent communications consultant'. It would have been more appropriate to have given the job to someone outside of RNZ's orbit.

While RNZ might glibly talk about 'the complex nature of the conflict', too often its reportage has reduced the Gaza crisis to an 'Israel-Hamas conflict' and it has exposed many failings in RNZ's coverage. These have included the underreporting of Palestinian civilian casualties, lack of in-depth storytelling about personal stories of loss and suffering, and inadequate representation of Palestinian perspectives.

Typically, RNZ has prioritised the Israeli narrative over the Palestinian narrative, relying heavily on official reports from the Israeli side without adequate fact-checking.

Journalist Gordon Campbell has commented: '…the imbalance in the analytical commentary has been striking. Think about it. How many times have you heard a Gaza news update where a Palestinian analytical framework was the first port of call for RNZ? Almost all the non-Israeli contributors are only being called upon to re-act, and to wring their hands about the latest fait accompli.'

None of this is accepted by Colin Feslier. His final recommendations are little more than a series of suggested editorial 'adjustments' to a journalistic model that he can find no real fault with. But to interpret the mass slaughter of innocent men, women and children in Gaza by a barbaric Israeli military as simply an 'Israel/Palestinian issue…of exceptional sensitivity' is truly appalling. It whitewashes genocide.

It comes as no surprise that Paul Thompson, who is now both RNZ'S CEO and 'editor-in-chief' has embraced a report that largely agrees with RNZ's coverage of Gaza.

'We want everyone to understand the steps we are taking as a public media organisation to ensure our work is always underpinned by fairness, accuracy, independence, respect, decency, and diversity.' he told Colin Peacock. 'This is a continuous process of improvement and review, and independent audits such as these allow for objective assessments of our work.'

But Thompson sits atop a national public broadcaster that has so comprehensively failed the people of Gaza that even its own journalists have had nothing to say. As noted New Zealand journalist David Robie has observed:

'…it is shameful that the New Zealand media has been so silent over this most horrendous episode of our times — genocide, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity in front of our very eyes for 15 months. To my knowledge, journalists in Aotearoa have not made even made statements of solidarity with the journalists of Gaza and their horrific sacrifice to bear witness to the truth.'