Summarised by Centrist
A complaint lodged by journalist Ian Wishart and researcher Catriona Atkinson challenging RNZ’s headline: ‘Record-breaking heatwave hits Hamilton’ has been upheld.
The Media Council found RNZ breached Principle (6), which requires headlines and captions to accurately and fairly convey the substance of the report.
“The headline was absolute in tone, yet the article itself referred to ‘one of the hottest days on record’ and quoted a local meteorologist describing it as ‘exceptionally hot’ rather than definitively record-breaking,” the Council said.
Wishart and Atkinson cited historic temperature records from 1935 showing higher readings than those reported in 2025, arguing the headline was “demonstrably false.”
The Council noted the body of the article was “not inaccurate,” and accepted RNZ’s argument that data from NIWA and other meteorological sources supported the claim. The core issue was with the headline’s overstatement, not the reporting itself.
RNZ defended its story by pointing to NIWA data and editorial discretion, but acknowledged the subheading had since been changed.
Notably, the complaint was not upheld under Principle (1) (accuracy and balance), Principle (4) (comment and fact), or Principle (12) (corrections).
Read more over at The Media Council of New Zealand
Image: Christchurch City Libraries
