Farrar calls Nicky Hager's Panama Papers work a "fizzer" (Jul. 8, 2016)
JULY 8, 2016 9:00AM BY DAVID FARRAR
Radio NZ and Hager
A reader has sent me this OIA response from Radio NZ regarding their collaboration with TVNZ and Nicky Hager. It outlines how taxpayer money was spent on paying for an exclusive that turned out to be a fizzer. Remember all this information was being released publicly anyway. They just spent taxpayers money on trying to get an exclusive.
I wouldn’t think they should hold out hope for more funding the next time they make a budget bid!
Key points of interest are:
The idea to pay Hager seems to have come from Guyon Espiner
Despite all the talk of how restricted their funding is, they had their chequebook ready to go from the beginning
They appear to have both paid the ICIJ to become a “partner” and paid Hager as an “independent investigator”
They appear to have offered setting up Gmail addresses for people
They have with-held some info on the basis of it being a trade secret!
UPDATE: Just had a phone call from Guyon Espiner who has clarified that he did not propose paying Hager. His e-mail references are about Radio NZ joining the ICIJ, not hiring Hager. I accept this entirely. The e-mails I got sent are a partial set, and it was not clear what the references were in relation to.
Update2: A fuller set of e-mails has been released to me and can be viewed here.
….”For example, it’s been noted by many people that John Key and his ministers only appear on RNZ when they absolutely have to.”….
They might be more inclined to front up if they knew they were to answer genuine questions rather than face another gotcha session by lefty journalists pushing barrows.
Morrissey
Hager is internationally renowned for his brave and principled journalism. Calling his work on the Panama Papers scandal a “fizzer” seems to be a desperate and politically motivated attempt at belittling his work.
Maggy Wassilieff
Q. How do journalists do research?
A. Get their audience to do all the donkey work and come up with the key questions.
Nicky Hager is not a journalist by any even semi-credible definition of the term. He doesn’t check his facts, he doesn’t give subjects right of reply, he won’t retract or correct when he is proven wrong, and he is willing to accept even the shadiest sources when it suits him. He follows none of the accepted standards of journalistic professionalism.
Hager is just a far-left writer, and an extremely unethical one at that. He is not a journalist.
Radio NZ and Hager
The idea to pay Hager seems to have come from Guyon EspinerShare this:
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nasska
Morrissey
Maggy Wassilieff
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