Darryl Dawson against the Whakatane Beacon
Case Number: 3899
Council Meeting: 12 October 2026
Decision: No Grounds to Proceed
Publication: Whakatane Beacon
Principle: Columns, Blogs, Opinion and Letters
Ruling Categories: Letters to the Editor, Closure, Non-Publication
Darryl Dawson complained that his letter to the editor dated February 8, 2026, was cut in half by the editor. This was explained to him via
email from the Editor that she had removed “the list of lefties” from his letter to fit it into the remaining space in the letters page.
He included the same list in a follow up letter, but this was not published.
Mr Dawson said that “If a person writes a letter naming who he thinks are right wing media, I should be allowed to name who I think are left wing media...I believe some people are being stopped from having their opinion printed in the Beacon by the editor because she does not agree with their opinion,” he said.
The Media Council has always regarded the publication of letters to be a matter of editorial discretion. It is an editor’s prerogative to decide what letters they think might be of interest to their readers. They also have the right to set rules and edit letters where necessary, for example, when there is little space.
No case has been made to show the Whakatane Beacon’s editing decisions were unfair.
Decision: No grounds to proceed.
He included the same list in a follow up letter, but this was not published.
Mr Dawson said that “If a person writes a letter naming who he thinks are right wing media, I should be allowed to name who I think are left wing media...I believe some people are being stopped from having their opinion printed in the Beacon by the editor because she does not agree with their opinion,” he said.
The Media Council has always regarded the publication of letters to be a matter of editorial discretion. It is an editor’s prerogative to decide what letters they think might be of interest to their readers. They also have the right to set rules and edit letters where necessary, for example, when there is little space.
No case has been made to show the Whakatane Beacon’s editing decisions were unfair.
Decision: No grounds to proceed.