It always strikes me as a terrible indictment of the NZ media that, if you want to find unbiased reporting of the performance of our government, you have to look overseas to find it. I am sure there are other countries whose media pack do nothing but praise the government; in this, we have something in common with the People’s Republic of China, Russia and North Korea. Actually, even the Chinese press is allowed some scrutiny of the government, although no doubt there is a fine line which they must not cross. But here, our government must be absolutely perfect, because they face no scrutiny whatsoever. I am not sure that this is something to be proud of.
Our journalists who do want to scrutinise the government tend to write for independent media, such as The BFD, or overseas publications. Some write for The Spectator Australia, and the quality of their opinions is very good. Sadly, the average New Zealand punter does not read The Spectator. Shame, because it is so much better than Fairfax’s excuse for a daily woman’s magazine, Stuff.
Amy Brooke of The Spectator identifies the problem in a nutshell.
“Trustworthy, insightful, important” — one thing we can say for our mainstream media is that they must think we are a pretty thick lot. The New Zealand Herald’s generous assessment of its own performance is paralleled by Stuff’s brag of “truthful, independent and trusted journalism”, and incredibly enough, also asking us to support “Independent NZ-owned journalism”. Did they mean to say “Government-owned Journalism’?
Nothing is independent about Stuff – the media outlet that refuses to allow articles or comments about their own position on climate change. Nothing like being “insightful”, is there?
Both our main print media have bagged the trust claim. Perhaps many have been somewhat over-trusting, given how quickly the ambitious Jacinda Ardern was elevated to sainthood by so many media commentators. And then we have the consistent stories of her daughter, Neve, now three years old, as appealing as toddlers and little ones always are. So we get details of her birthdays, photos of her being carried around, even at official ceremonies; of the cakes her father and mother self-deprecatingly show they have made for her… the presents given… and the promise now of her parents planning to get married in summer in Jacinda’s partner’s home town. No doubt details of the bride’s dress will be available to hopeful female journalists in particular — probably, however, with fewer as enthusiastic as previously.
Of course they will. Jacinda always wheels out a soft story whenever she is receiving any form of scrutiny, but these days, she might have to try on 27 dresses to bat away the criticism of her government. She’ll do it though.
However, although our arguably now corrupt mainstream media outlets are signing up to follow the government line on the divisive agenda Ardern’s coalition is forcing upon the country, it is good to see the courage of some of our journalists beginning to challenge what is happening.
Corrupt. Yes, it is a harsh word… but how else can you describe a media pack which, almost without exception, treats the prime minister and her government like messiahs? They just about lick her godawful boots. This is ‘independence’, is it?
It is utterly untruthful of our media outlets to claim to be “independent and trustworthy” when being basically bribed by the government. In a display of largesse for which we taxpayers are forking out, officially (mis)called the Public Interest Journalism Fund, we now have what should more appropriately be called the Government’s Self-Interest Journalism Fund.
Stuff itself, in the recent pay-outs by government, has received $300,000, with the requirement to produce a “cultural competence” course for journalists “to fundamentally shift representation in New Zealand media”. The Spinoff, handed out $207,000, must agree to do a podcast series “to explore Maori issues”. This is pretty small beer, given that Maori Television, NZME, Pacific Media Network, Newshub and eleven so-called support partners, awarded more than $2.4 million, are reportedly required to hire 25 Maori and Pacific cadets, some of whom are required to be “diverse”.
Other news outlets are also to be paid by the government, as with the NZME, for producing a weekly bilingual section in the Rotorua Weekender… as long as it covers iwi (Maori neo-tribal) issues. Radio New Zealand, the biggest recipient, currently receives $48 million a year from taxpayers and gets an additional $806,000 for its podcast, The Detail. As has been pointed out, not only all these handouts, but the $3.5 million paid for the childish, misleading, and cartoonised television advertisements — misrepresenting the “Three Waters” theft of the country’s water — has taxpayers funding their own indoctrination.
That’s the tragic part. We are paying for this propaganda, and there is nothing ‘independent’ about it.
To use the word corruption is unchallengeable, when any government pays media outlets to propagandise the public — with the same outlets untruthfully claiming to be independent and trustworthy — while basically being bribed to follow a far-Left agenda. That this should happen in not (quite yet) a totalitarian régime, but in what was once thought of as a democracy, with a free press, is quite staggering.
Absolutely.
Ardern’s government is blatantly taking over the media, an important part of any plan to destroy a democracy. It is more than shameful for those at the top of media management to be accepting these bribes, with the inevitable resulting pressure on all journalists to conform. It is to the great credit of those few who are increasingly reluctant to do so –- but who are now at risk of losing their livelihoods.
The Spectator Australia
It troubles me enormously to think of how easily we have fallen down the rabbit hole of government control of the media, and no one in the mainstream media seems in any way inclined to stand against it. That they can support a government found to be wanting in so many important areas, just makes a complete mockery of what true journalism stands for.
But then again, I think we are clearly misquoting our beloved media. Surely The Herald means to say that it is – “Rustworthy, Inciteful and Impotent”. And Stuff? “Woeful, Dependent and Busted”.
There… fixed it for you.
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