Mediawatch Media cop flak over MP’s startling downfall
The summer holidays are usually a dead zone for domestic political news - but the unseasonal and unexpected downfall of Golriz Ghahraman bucked the trend this month. Media copped criticism from some for reporting the allegations that led to her resignation - while others railed at media for failing to condemn her alleged crimes and playing the 'mental health card'.
The summer holidays are usually a dead zone for domestic political news - but the unseasonal and unexpected downfall of Golriz Ghahraman bucked the trend this month.
Media copped criticism from some for reporting the allegations that led to her resignation - while others railed at media for failing to condemn her alleged crimes and playing the 'mental health card'.
When Golriz Ghahraman resigned from Parliament on 16 January, her statement said work-related stress has damaged her mental health and led her to act in "out-of-character" ways.
It was six days since the allegations of theft had first hit the headlines, followed by reports of a second and later a third instance for which the ex-MP was charged this week. That latest charge related to an incident back in October.
What was clearly a closely kept secret broke on NZME's subscriber-only online service ZB Plus, which also reported the Greens had for some time had CCTV recording of alleged shoplifting.
The allegations also appeared on the blog and social media accounts of Marc Spring, a blogger clearly hostile to the former government and the Green Party judging by the topics and tone of his posts.
But there were no charges at that time and no on the record statement from police or any of the shops from which she'd been accused of stealing.
Some questioned whether allegations that were initially unconfirmed - and unacknowledged by the MP - should have been reported in the news at all while police investigations were ongoing.
But no news editor could easily ignore a lawmaker accused of breaking the law - and who also happened to be a party spokesperson on justice.
The fact that the Greens stood her down from those roles even before making a proper statement about the allegations was taken as a sign by the media that there was at least some fire to go with all the smoke.
The vacuum created by the lack of comment was filled by political commentators the media have on speed-dial, speculating on what might happen next and how the public felt about it all. The vacuum was further filled by political pundits criticising the Greens for failing to fill the vacuum themselves.
"The longer her silence is, the worse it's going to get for her. That is an absolute reality," TV executive turned spin doctor Janet Wilson told RNZ. …