GayNZ.com responds to claims

24 June 2016, 12:00AM

The Content Editor of GayNZ.com, Jay Bennie, has refuted comments by Cindy of Samoa in a story titled “Cindy sets record straight” published on the front page of the Samoa Observer on Wednesday 22 June 2016. A statement from the GayNZ.com is published in verbatim below:

GayNZ.com Daily News stands by the accuracy and appropriateness of our reporting of criticisms of the Editor in Chief (and the publisher) of the Samoa Observer made by Cindy of Samoa.

When other attempts to speak directly with her on Sunday afternoon were unsuccessful our researcher contacted Cindy via Facebook reiterating that we wished to report on her position on the Samoa Observer's reporting of Jeanine Tuivaiki's death and publication of the accompanying photograph.

She advised she was too busy to talk but agreed to our researcher passing her Facebook comments to me, as the duty reporter that day. We have her conversation with our researcher on file.

It is worth noting that Cindy's Facebook comments were posted publicly by her and were therefore already in the public domain.

In writing up her position we selected from Cindy's Facebook statements several representative comments which we felt fairly and succinctly conveyed her stance. We quoted her accurately, in context and appropriately.

GayNZ.com Daily News reporters all adhere to high professional standards and these were followed in this instance. We utterly refute any suggestion that we acted in any way inappropriately in our reporting of Cindy's reaction to the Samoa Observer situation.

24 June 2016, 12:00AM
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