Two members of the public made Official Information Act requests to Radio New Zealand (RNZ), seeking information about the generation of the articles. The information sought included correspondence between RNZ staff concerning editorial deliberations and decision-making, communications between the reporter and the family of the person who was the subject of the news article, and communications with the agencies RNZ asked to comment on the stories before publication.
The information was supplied to RNZ by third parties in confidence and was referred to in internal discussions by news staff. RNZ argued that the release of the information would prejudice the willingness of third parties to provide information to news agencies and would create a chilling effect where news staff would become hesitant to engage in free and frank discussions. It also argued that it had an obligation to protect its sources.
RNZ said that the public interest in release was not enough to outweigh the need to withhold the information.
The Chief Ombudsman John Allen agreed and formed the opinion that RNZ could refuse the request.