Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume. 33, Number 10. 8 July, 1970

Journalist Rent Firm, Sue NZUSA

Journalist Rent Firm, Sue NZUSA

NZUSA is the object of two libel suits arising from the June/July issue of the magazine Focus.

The suits relate to the issues's editorial and to an article entitled 'Renting Roguery'.

The first suit, from Sunday Times journalist John Steed, involves the issuance of a writ for $10,000.

The other suit, from Franco Enterprises Limited, has been settled out of Court. An apology has been made to the firm and a sum by way of costs paid.

In the case of the Steed suit, an apology has already been published in the Sunday Times (on 28 June). The text of the apology, published under the heading Apology to reporter', read as follows:

The June-July issue of the New Zealand University Students' Association's publication "Focus" contained an editorial attacking an article in the "Sunday Times" of May 24 by John Steed.

This article under the heading "I Am Scared of Drugs But I Must Have Them" described an interview with a young girl who had been using cannabis.

In its editorial "Focus" attacked Mr Steed's article, and made a number of serious imputations against Mr Steed.

An attack was also made on Mr Steed's article in the "Sunday Times" of May 31, headed "After L.S.D. Man Tries to Kill Nurse", which was described as "lies".

The New Zealand University Students' Association and Mr Gruar, the Editor of "Focus", now admits that all these imputations are untrue and entirely without foundation.

They unreservedly withdraw them, and apologise to Mr Steed.

The association has offered to pay Mr Steed a sum by way of damages, and the association and Mr Gruar have asked that this apology be published in the "Sunday Times".

When we asked John Steed about the 'marijuana story', Mr Steed told Salient: 'As far as I am aware, there are no errors of fact in the story'. Later in the conversation. Mr Steed told us that we could not quote these or any other remarks he had made.

Mr Steed told the two members of the Salient staff who spoke to him that Salient had "better be very careful" about what was said about him. He said he "would have no hesitation" in taking appropriate action if circumstances warranted.

Mr Steed refused to say whether or not he believed that the girl named in the Sunday Times article had told him any lies.

In his editorial, Bill Gruar, the Editor of Focus, said that Lisa was sixteen years old, not 21 as was asserted in Mr Steed' s Sunday Times article. Mr Gruar said that the girl "does not work as a receptionist, as stated, but in the accounts department of a large city firm." He said that she had freely admitted telling Mr Steed some lies.

Mr Gruar also said that Lisa had been emphatic on the point that "she had never given Steed to think that she was in any way dependent on marijuana.

"The Focus editorial, in a 'Stop Press' item, also referred to a second article by John Steed in the Sunday Times (on 31 May). This article, headed 'After LSD, man tries to kill nurse', was attacked by Mr Gruar who wrote: "No 'tall, slim, 23-year-old Canterbury University student', or any other student for that matter, has been recently admitted to the Wellington Hospital 'seeking treatment for drug dependency."

The apology in the case of Franco Enterprises Limited related to some errors of fact in a Focus article and to the conjunction between the headline 'Renting Roguery'—which related to another article — and the article which mentioned the firm.

The Chairman of the Focus Administration Board, Charles Draper, said that as far as he was aware Mr Gruar had not submitted the material in the June/July issue of Focus to a lawyer for scrutiny prior to publication.