APN chief denies muzzling press

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APN chief executive Martin Simons has rejected allegations he muzzled the press by getting involved in a newspaper story retraction concerning National Party leader John Key.

Kerikeri's Bay Report, after defending its story for weeks, published a retraction yesterday saying a December article may have left its readers with the impression Mr Key wanted a drop in New Zealand wages.

It quoted Mr Key as saying: "We would love to see wages drop."

The retraction published by the newspaper accepted the report was incorrect.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen told Parliament "the chief executive" had played a role in organising the retraction by working in tandem with the National Party to bring it about.

Mr Simons said the National Party had approached both the newspaper's editor and company management, asking for the context of the quote to be clarified.

"The approach was not in the form of a demand and no other requests were made.

Following an examination of the transcript of the interview and the context of the comments made by Mr Key during the interview, the editor agreed readers may have gained an incorrect impression and a clarification was warranted," Mr Simons said.

He said the wording of the clarification, published by the Bay Report, was edited in the normal manner by the editor of the newspaper.

"The wording was discussed and agreed prior to publication by the journalist who wrote the original piece and the subeditor who edited the story," Mr Simons said.

The national secretary of the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union, Andrew Little, said the fact Mr Key was on record as communicating directly with Mr Simons on the matter made it suspiciously murky.

- © Fairfax NZ News