What will Gerry do?

The Herald reports:

The Speaker has stepped into a stand-off between the National Party and TVNZ over the way two of its journalists – including political editor Maiki Sherman – tried to interview National whip Stuart Smith in a Parliament corridor late on Tuesday night last week.

Sherman and at least one other colleague could face a temporary ban from covering politics at Parliament if the Speaker has found TVNZ breached longstanding press gallery rules.

“The matters relating to gallery behaviour and that of the TVNZ political editor last week are being considered in a process long agreed by the gallery,” Speaker Gerry Brownlee said in a statement provided to Media Insider today.

He said he would “not be making any further comment at this point”.

The key document here are the rules on Interviewing MPs. Rule 18 says:

Members of the Press Gallery must not pursue members, staff, or users of Parliament who decline to be interviewed.

Pretty clear. You can question them and film them in the public area (the tiles) outside the House. But you are not allowed to follow them from there. On the basis of what has been reported, the TVNZ staff clearly broke that rule.

Interviewing, filming or photographing a member in the corridor outside the member’s office is permitted only if the member agrees.

Also very clear.

If the reports are accurate of what TVNZ did, there seems no doubt that they have broken the rules (which are long standing). The only real issue is what the sanction will be.

UPDATE: The Herald has reported a five day suspension for Sherman.

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