Brian Rogers Rogers Rabbits www.sunlive.co.nz

It started with SunLive asking readers which of the Tauranga suburbs is the ‘most dangerous'.

It ended with me apologising to a delegation of chanting, placard-waving, Merivale people this week, who impressively took their valuable time off work on a Monday to protest outside the Sun offices.

The good folk of Merivale got pretty worked up when the readership poll voted their neighbourhood the dubious title by 70 per cent.

It was notable on a number of counts.

Firstly, inspiring to see people standing up for their community.
Secondly, a major concern how the issue got twisted into a racial slur.

And then, a demonstration of how powerful and influential SunLive has become in the media scene and its role as a forum for community issues.

The poll was never a racist question, but somehow, a lot of those voting in the poll and commenting on the subsequent story, turned it into what some in Merivale perceived as a racial issue. For that, SunLive in the eyes of Merivale residents, became the messenger that needed shooting.

Let's be perfectly clear about this. The media and SunLive are quite entitled to provide freedom of speech. Just as the residents are entitled to it. And to protest.

It's the foundation of healthy democracy and a free society. It was the readership who voted Merivale most dangerous – not SunLive. In other words, the rest of you cold, heartless people out there.

At no time did the newsdesk infer any racial undertones.
People have the right to protest and the concerned residents of Merivale did so peacefully, yet firmly. Sure, one or two who stepped over the line of rational thinking, such as demanding all the land back and other irrelevant prattling. But we've seen those sort of extremes from both ends of the scale.

We've said sorry to the people of Merivale if they took offence. Clearly, many did.

Interesting that the BOP Times found the whole story suitably negative enough for them to send a photographer and reporter. Funny, Sun Media didn't make the cut into the BOP Times version of the news when we won the region's Westpac Best New Business Award or restored Tauranga's oldest commercial building or any of the other positive milestones in Sun Media's 12 year rise to the top of the BOP media scene.

Maybe this week they were waiting for a bit of biffo or some colourful language. All they got was a healthy demonstration of how the community can band together with a reasonable, balanced media and find a common result – plus a lot of good handshakes and hongi. Hardly sensational stuff, and clearly without violence and bloodshed, it was deemed not interesting enough to publish.
Here at The Sun, we continue to focus on being balanced and fair. When we get it wrong, we are man enough to say. And in this case, say sorry.

We also should have known there are divisive and negative people out there who could turn such an issue into a destructive rant.
As the region's leading news source (SunLive) and most read newspaper (The Sun, Nielsen surveys) we are growing with the community. We are all learning.

The growing number of comments on stories on SunLive will be moderated a bit tougher as a result, because it is clear that some gutless commentators are hiding behind a veil of anonymity to say things they don't have the balls to put their name on.
Good on you, the Merivale defenders, who put their name to their beliefs. We salute you and will continue to work alongside wherever possible.

The deep end
In other news this week, the Tauranga Silly Council is re-thinking its plans to slap you with more water charges, after a public backlash. Council's plan to increase water charges to $52 a year and up the volumetric rate by 11 cents encountered public opposition. Oddly enough, the water business is in the deep end because the introduction of water meters in 2004 enabled it to drop the fixed charge from $80 a year, to just $25, with the intention of recouping the difference with the volumetric charge and thereby putting more of the cost onto the heavy users.
What they screwed up, however, was that it worked, and all of us good citizens conserved water. So the metered charge didn't bring in the expected revenue. So other options are necessary to get the water department back on the right side of the ledger. Which means, that because we were careful and listened to calls for water conservation, we get to pay anyway.

A case of damned if you do, and damned if you don't. There's an online forum setup from Monday for you to pour out your water concerns and comments.

Parting thought

With thanks to Roger Bailey:
Evidence has been found that William Tell and his family were avid bowlers. Unfortunately, all the Swiss league records were destroyed in a fire, and so we'll never know for whom the Tells bowled.

A man rushed into a busy doctor's surgery and shouted, 'Doctor! I think I'm shrinking!” The doctor calmly responded, 'Now, settle down. You'll just have to be a little patient”.

A famous Viking explorer returned home from a voyage and found his name missing from the town register. His wife insisted on complaining to the local civic official, who apologised profusely saying, 'I must have taken Leif off my census”.