Dear Craig,
RE: Complaint against Kenji Sato for incorrect and false reporting
I am writing to you with regard to an article that Kenjii Sato authored and was printed and also put online in the Mercury on the 7 June 2022.
The article named “Anti Trans feminists lodge complaint over ‘f—king flag” was regarding a number of code of conduct complaints against the Mayor Anna Reynolds and a Councillor Bill Harvey of the Hobart City Council.
Kenjii Sato wrote in this article:
In an email to the Mercury Ms Robertson also claims that Mr Harvey
“threatened a security firm into withdrawing their services from the event”.
I would like to make a complaint against Kenji Sato for alleging statements that
1. Were never made in the Code of Conduct Complaint to the Hobart City Council,
and
2. Never made to him personally via phone or email.
I did not speak to Kenji Sato about this issue. I received an email from him asking for further information about the Code of Conduct complaint against Councillor Bill Harvey and I emailed back with the attached email. ( both emails are attached for your perusal). Nowhere in that email is there any statement by me accusing Councillor Bill Harvey of having threatened a security firm into withdrawing their services. This has been inferred by Kenji and could have been clarified if he had followed with me before allowing his article go to print..
Kenji Sato has chosen to report factually incorrect information about statements made by me, along with other factually incorrect, biased and outright vindictive reporting in the rest of the article. Matt Denholm wrote an article for the Australian in an unbiased and professional manner printed on 7 June 2022. ( attached for your perusal – I couldn’t find the direct link so have copied and pasted the text from another online forum )
I would like a correction and an apology from Kenjii Sato for his not only misleading but outright false and liable reporting.
Since your position as editor at the Mercury is recent I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that previous attempts at getting redress on reporting of incorrect facts and outright biased opinion by Kenji Sato has been futile. For some reason Kenji Sato has taken a completely biased view on any of his reporting of social impacts of gender identity laws and negative physical and psychological impacts of gender medicine on some individuals within the transgender community. These impacts are well known and can be backed up by facts and scientific studies. There are many experts from within the Gender Medicine field and from within the social services and healthcare sector who are willing to be interviewed on these issues. This information is in the public interest (especially since there is likely to be an anti Conversion Bill put before the state parliament in the next few months) and needs to be reported by someone who can do it justice, without bias and personal agendas, a reporter who is able to read all sides of this debate. The topic of gender identity laws is too important to relegate to clickbait. It would be worth considering another reporter who has more integrity and understanding of journalistic ethics to undertake reporting on these issues for the Mercury in future.
Sincerely yours,
Lynne Robertson