ANNA WILDING AGAINST THE PRESS
Anna Wilding laid a complaint against The Press because the Editor, Paul Thompson, would not interview her or publish her media releases sent to him in February and March this year. The Press Council did not uphold her complaint.Anna Wilding had returned to Christchurch from Los Angeles where she is based. She expected The Press to publish her photos and details of her professional career as a local interest story. The Secretary of the Press Council advised Ms Wilding that the Council had consistently stated that editors were responsible for deciding the content of their publications and that such a complaint was unlikely to succeed. However she wished to pursue her complaint on the basis that other media overseas had published a portion of her press release, proving that it was newsworthy.
Paul Thompson responded to Anna Wilding’s complaint that, as editor, he had sole discretion on the content of The Press and was not obliged to publish any news releases or interview her.
The Press Council agreed with Paul Thompson and saw no grounds on which the complaint could be upheld.