Shock, horror, probe and Truth

Shock, horror, probe and Truth

A popular history of one of New Zealand's greatest media institutions is the subject of a new book from Craig Potton Publishing this month.

Both loved and hated, the New Zealand Truth newspaper prospered throughout the twentieth century and wielded considerable influence at all levels of society. Its colourful warts and all story is being told for the first time by author and former staffer Redmer Yska in Truth: The Rise and Fall of the People's Paper.

Tilly Lloyd, co-owner of Wellington's Unity Books who are hosting the book's launch later this week, says of the influence the paper had on her life, "before I read Truth I thought god made us pregnant."

In its hey day Truth was read by every second household, "it sold an astonishing one copy for every ten people in the country, but you could never find anyone (aside from Tilly) who would admit to reading it," says Kevin Sinclair, a former Truth Chief Reporter.

Best remembered for its page 3 girls, sex and crime scandals, reactionary politics and general muck-raking, the paper did have a close and long association with the Secret Intelligence Service. It left lasting scars on the people it smeared and would pursue any individual broadcaster it saw as having left-of-centre views. Brian Edwards, who was targeted in 1969, recalls answering the telephone and finding a Truth reporter on the other end as "a scary experience. It was unbelievably unpleasant and extremely frightening. This was a very powerful publication." While former New Zealand Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer worked as a teenage law clerk in the paper's offices because, "I was interested in the law of defamation so I sought a job at Truth to learn the rudiments, from a practical point of view."

Truth journalists also sought, and were granted, a legendary and unique award that put their pay above standard industry rates. "It was negotiated by agreement, you'll never see it written down," says Tony Wilton, a Truth sub-editor who later headed the Journalists' Union. "It was for odium, contempt and physical danger. It might be described as sleaze money, but it was also danger money."

Author Redmer Yska first worked as a copy holder for Truth in 1977, soon picked up the signature outraged tone and became one of is reporters. The second time Redmer worked for Truth was as entertainment editor, during the 1981 Springbok tour. Thirty years later, he applied for and was granted a National Library Research Fellowship and this book is the result. "Truth was New Zealand's first modern newspaper, it was part of the great New Zealand clobbering machine and it shaped the media we have today."

Truth: The Rise and Fall of the People's Paper is available from bookstores nationwide and online at www.craigpotton.co.nz

ENDS

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