A media row has blown up in New Zealand about the naming of a policeman who shot dead a man advancing towards him with a hammer after smashing up a flat and a car. While the country's mainstream TV, radio and newspapers have observed a convention not to name the officer, a weekly tabloid, Truth, has named him.
The paper explains why here, and its chief reporter, Jock Anderson, defends the decision here . Essentially, Anderson's point is that the purpose of news is to name names. News judgment, he says, should not be exercised on the basis of "is this going to have a negative or a positive impact, or is this going to be a nice story or an unpleasant story."
Police deputy commissioner Rob Pope says the media has acted responsibly in not publishing the man's name, referring to Truth as "a sensationalist fringe publication", and adding: "We think that most members of the public will be disgusted at Truth's actions."
