Graham Reinheimer against the New Zealand Herald

The New Zealand Herald published an article October 24, 2025, titled Relief teacher Graham Reinheimer censured after students record him talking about sexual endeavours.

The story, which was also syndicated to the Otago Daily Times and Newstalk ZB, was about a Teacher’s Disciplinary Tribunal ruling which censured Mr Reinheimer for talking about his sexual escapades with his 15-year-old students.

Mr Reinheimer complained about several points in the story. In response the NZ Herald made some minor changes to clarify who said what when he was talking to the boys. It also removed the word “bragging” from the intro and moved it down the story as a show of good faith.

However, it did not agree to Mr Reinheimer’s request to include reference to one detail of his conversation with the boys which had not been included in the NZ Herald’s summary of the ruling. That was a line where the boys asked: “Sir, have you ever stuck it in the wrong hole.”

Mr Reinheimer argued this should have been in the NZ Herald story as “It reflects both the most egregious taunt, and the demanding nature of the personalities present in the class and is essential for an accurate, fair and balanced appreciation of the situation on the ground on the day in question.

The Media Council notes the NZ Herald amended the headline and made minor changes to the story at Mr Reinheimer’s request.

But the Council did not believe the story was unfair or unbalanced because it did not report one line from the ruling. This was a summary of a lengthy ruling which inevitably omitted some detail.  The New Zealand Herald was entitled to publish material based on the report of a reputable independent decision-making body.

The reference to the “wrong hole” question was not a crucial element that needed to be included to fairly convey the gist of the story.

Decision:  No grounds to proceed.