How Far Left Are New Zealand’s Journalists?

The Worlds of Journalism Study, conducted by Massey University and released in October 2022 asked a number of interesting questions of NZ journalists. The aspect that most interested me was their self-professed political views. The results were:

• Left of centre 81%
• Right of centre 15%

Of the 81% who said they were left of centre, a quarter (or 20% of all journalists) said they were hard or extreme left. Of the 15% who declared right, most are near the centre.

If you look at those who say they range from left to extreme left (42%) to those who range from right to extreme right (1%) it shows how the worldview of most journalists is out of kilter with society. They are so far left they think soaking-wet liberals like Christopher Luxon, Chris Bishop or Nicola Willis are to the right of Genghis Khan and Attila the Hun.

This doesn’t necessarily mean they are consciously biased. It just means many have a worldview where they simply don’t understand the values of half the population. Their reporting cannot help but be coloured by their red-coloured perception of society.

Frankly speaking now, why do you bother to give your eyeballs to them, and the resulting advertising revenue? They simply do not reflect your views and beliefs.

There are precious few media outlets that do any more. They are a lock for the left.

That’s why we are unashamedly conservative in our editorial stance. Now let me explain why this is important.

The survey tells us that:

As far back as the 1970s, surveys of journalists have asked them what the role of a journalist should be, usually by asking their level of agreement with a standard battery of statements, such as “The role of a journalist is to let people express their views.”

The mean (average) response on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being “extremely important” shows where most journalists sit. So, the mean of 3.99 for “educate the audience” in 2022 shows that on average New Zealand journalists think this is an extremely important role in journalism. On the other hand, the mean of 1.89 for “support government policy” shows most think this is not at all important.

… most journalists still believe strongly in the traditional roles of the journalist, such as to “educate the audience” and “provide analysis of current affairs” and be a watchdog of business and politics.

In general journalists are less interested in a more activist role, such as influencing public opinion, or being for or against the government. However, there has been an interesting change; journalists’ support for the traditional neutral/ observer role (such as being a detached observer and letting people express their views) is dropping.

Worlds of Journalism study

The study further summarises that as:

While still committed to the traditional non-biased neutral observer role, journalists now feel their most important role is no longer letting people express their views, but educating the public.

Worlds of Journalism study

Let me put it plainly, as I am wont to do: these journalists, who are self-reporting as left-wing in almost every regard, think they know better than their readers, no longer believe their readers’ opinions are important and want them silenced so that they, the trained and skilled journalists can “educate” you as to why you are wrong and they are right.

They don’t trust their readers to be smart enough to discern the truth from reading, watching or hearing multiple and often disparate viewpoints. No, you must not form your own views, you need to be “educated”.

They have become censorious, doctrinaire, and biased, all the while professing to adhere to journalistic ethics and standards to be fair and impartial observers and report the facts.

In short, they despise their conservative readers and their views. Again I ask you, why do you give them your eyeballs, your money and your loyalty?

This is why the Public Interest Journalism Fund has been so pernicious in corrupting our media. The government also has the same traits as our media, especially its censorious nature. Our media organisations, by taking funds requiring them to bend the knee to revisionist history, heroic liberal interpretations and outright editorial control, have capitulated and become the media wing of one of the most divisive political parties in the history of New Zealand.

Those who signed up received $55 million and in the process ceded their integrity and independence. They are nothing other than paid shills of the regime, despite professing otherwise.

Media organisations that refused didn’t get any funding at all. The BFD has not received, nor will we ever take any government funding. We value our independence and our readership far more than a few pieces of tainted silver.

Now you can see why it is so very important that we have our own journalists in the Press Gallery. This is why it is so very important that we have our own NewsDesk so that we can deliver better and more relevant news stories to our smart and resourceful readership.

We haven’t got government funding. All we have is members and donations. Every membership helps, every donation gets us closer to our goal. We can be your voice, but only if you help us.

But as we at The BFD ask you, our readers, to dig deep, to fund our free and fearless journalism as we head into 2023, you can do so in the knowledge that your money is going to great use.

What a hell of a year it’s been – another 12 months defined by the battle between ordinary people and our increasingly illiberal and anti-democratic elites, from the Parliament Protest to the backlash against Big Tech. And it’s been 12 months in which the anti-human irrationalism of green policies has been laid bare, as energy prices soar and middle-class millennials glue themselves to things.

Through it all, The BFD has been on the side of freedom, democracy and common sense. We’ve continued to publish the best, punchiest, most principled journalism and opinions out there, all while upping our game.

Most importantly, we’ve held the line on all the issues that matter. We’ve continued to defend free speech, no ifs and no buts, against the cancellers, state censors and the police, Ministry of Health and Department of Internal Affairs who have all wanted us silenced and shut down.

We’ve stuck up for reason and women’s rights against the gender extremists. And we’ve argued for a more plentiful, democratic world, against green elites who want lower horizons, smaller carbon footprints and everyone to pipe down and put up with less.

We’ve been able to do all of this because of you – our readers. If it wasn’t for your donations, memberships and our small but defiant team, The BFD wouldn’t be here, still going strong.

To those who have donated this year, to those who donate regularly, and especially to those who have become BFD Members – thank you! Your generosity has allowed us not only to survive, but to thrive. We’ve gone from reaching a few hundred thousand people a month to reaching millions of people a month. And we simply wouldn’t have achieved that without you reading, listening, watching, sharing and, of course, donating.

So please do consider donating or becoming a member of The BFD this Christmas. For us, it has never been more important. In recent years, we’ve been hobbled in a way that many other dissenting voices now are. Even as our readers go up, our advertising revenue goes down. We’re constantly finding that ad services have blacklisted us, often because some illiberal activists have bombarded them with complaints. We are also being censored by Facebook in collusion with faceless bureaucrats entrenched at the Ministry of Health, the Police and the Department of Internal Affairs.

This is why, next year, our aim is to hugely expand our membership base, so we can insulate ourselves from the whims of activist groups, tech platforms, government censors and ad agencies. We’ve also got big plans for 2023 – for new features, new writers and of course our NewsDesk to spread our pro-freedom, pro-democracy, anti-woke and anti-bullshit message as far around the world as possible.

You can help us achieve all of this by becoming a member today, or donating towards the NewsDesk. If you use the discount code CHRISTMAS when you join or upgrade your membership you will get a lifetime 20% discount.

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