One Plus One Equals Three

Edition Twenty

2022 has already proved to be an eventful year with new Covid-19 restrictions put in place for Omicron, the announcement of a phased reopening of New Zealand’s borders, and a growing number of anti-mandate protesters gathering at Parliament. The Prime Minister has just announced that vaccine mandates are likely to come to an end in March after the Omicron wave peaks. What will happen next?

Our industry is also seeing changes. New additions to the news landscape, a re-vamped look for The Spinoff and national discussions about the role of public funding for journalism. Here is our snackable summary of the latest haps.

The Spinoff gets a new look

New Zealand’s coolest little news site says it’s moving on from its reputation as “the mid-shelf red wine of New Zealand journalism, “going after a more sophisticated content offering and a fresher look, with a brand new campaign called ‘Aotearoa published daily’. “[It] speaks to the vibrantly different way we operate as a 21st century media company, from our dedicated te ao Māori coverage and live reports from the Beehive, to our slower, more in-depth publication cycle. It’s great to finally have a guiding star that encapsulates our work,” says editor Madeleine Chapman. The website got a new look and feel late last year, opting for lots more colour and a more radical sense of design. Expect contrasting colours as well as contrasting content.

Sean Plunket hosts The Platform

Veteran broadcast journalist Sean Plunket has launched the fledgling news site with the aim of “building a revolutionary multi-media platform, free from political bias and dedicated to robust debate.” He says The Platform will not allow itself to be constrained by cancel culture or “politically correct witch hunts” and will remain independent from corporate and taxpayer money. The Platform will host talkback radio, opinion pieces, and will produce podcasts, video and social media content. This week it polled the protesters at Parliament to find out more about who they really were, with fascinating results. With a tagline like ‘join the resistance’, we can expect The Platform not to pull any punches.

The Government’s public interest journalism fund comes in for criticism

The three-year journalism fund which started in 2019, has become a contentious topic, as a growing number of people express concern about media bias. “The team of $55 million,” is how it is being referred to by sceptics, particularly about Covid-19 and vaccine roll out coverage, which is seen by many as biased. The fund is for projects that fall into three categories – to support journalism projects delivered to deadline; to support the employment of journalists; and funding to support the industry, which is in financial deep water. Critics have included National Party MP Judith Collins, who has asked if it “buys compliance. “The fund has been used to support the upskilling of Māori journalists at the country’s 21 iwi radio stations, a project overseen by Mihingarangi Forbes. “this was an opportunity for the first time I think in about 20 years that there’s been any real investment into Māori training so we just went for it,” she says.

Will TVNZ merge with RNZ?

A proposal to merge two of the country’s biggest state-owned media organisations will be considered by Cabinet in the near future, a spokesman for Broadcast Minister Kris Faafoi has confirmed. There are concerns that  RNZ’s public media mandate might get diluted if the merger goes ahead, lobby group Better Media Public says. The group argued that not enough information about why it is being suggested has been given by the Government. While RNZ chairman Jim Mather is supportive, outgoing TVNZ chief executive Kevin Kenrick said it was right to question whether a merger would increase existing public concerns about bias in the media. However, a report commissioned by the Culture and Heritage Ministry into media plurality reported several stakeholders had expressed concern that funding decision had crossed into editorial decision-making, “suggesting that New Zealand On Air is effectively holding a ‘beauty contest’ to choose which proposed stories/investigations merited support.”

The National Business Review promotes its editorial independence

Perhaps it’s not surprising that in the midst of the ongoing public debate about media funding and consolidation, NBR is seeking to highlight its independence from advertisers and government. The Goat Farm has produced a campaign for the country’s most high-brow business news team promoting its 100 per cent subscriber funding, called ‘Proudly brought to you by you.’ Creative director Vaughn Davis says this is the second time he’s produced a campaign for the news outlet: “I was lucky enough to write ads for the NBR in my first gig at Bates in the 1990s. The brand is just as powerful 25 years on and we look forward to being part of its continued success.”

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