MEDIAWATCH: Wikileaks Exclusive: NZ Mainstream media held hostage by American interests

We need an immediate explanation from our Mainstream Media Owners if they changed any editorial stance that aligned us with America while taking this money.

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Devastating leak from Wikileaks that the NZ Mainstream media will be held hostage by American interests.

Here’s the bait and tell me if you see the hook?

This was the announcement in 2023…

GroupM NZ launches ‘Back to News’ programme to support responsible journalism

GroupM New Zealand is introducing ‘Back to News,’ an industry-first programme aimed at enabling brands to support quality journalism by reallocating media budgets to credible news publishers.

- Sponsor Promotion -

The programme provides New Zealand advertisers with access to high-quality, brand-safe ad environments on vetted local, national, and international news sites.

GroupM is working with Internews, the world’s largest media support non-profit, as part of a global partnership announced in February. In New Zealand, GroupM and Internews are launching with a list of 25 metro and regional news sites on board that have been vetted. These include Stuff, NZME, Business Desk, Newshub and 1News, and will continue to expand. 

The initiative was launched with a panel event with New Zealand journalists; Newshub’s multi-award-winning Investigative Reporter Michael Morrah, NZ Herald Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie, and Nadia Tolich, Managing Director of Stuff Digital, to showcase the importance of strong, local journalism in New Zealand.

Back to News is the latest initiative that sits under GroupM’s Responsible Investment Framework designed to drive results for clients and demonstrate the power of media to positively impact society. 

New Zealand has been called a nation of news junkies, with 82 percent of Kiwi’s accessing news at least once a week (Nielsen 2023).

Investing in news delivers results for brands: ads seen on high quality news sites are perceived as 74 percent more likeable and receive 20 percent higher engagement than the same ads on lower quality sites (IAS). 

Back to News is backed by global research from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) that shows that advertising in news environments has a positive or neutral impact on 84 percent of consumers. News advertisers benefit from purchase consideration among 43 percent of consumers, while 39 percent agree they are comfortable recommending brands that advertise in news environments.

John Halpin, GroupM New Zealand CEO, says: “News Media plays an important role in democracy and the economy but there has been a drop in ad investment in news in recent years and the newsroom has borne the brunt of the erosion on advertising revenue. We as buyers and advertisers have a role to play to ensure that advertising investment supports a credible news media ecosystem here in New Zealand. Advertising allows publishers to invest in journalists, which leads to responsible and reliable information that consumers can trust. This then attracts audiences and provides a quality environment for advertisers. We hope that Back to News will facilitate advertisers investing more media dollars in news.” 

Back to News is underpinned by Internews’ Ads for News initiative, which was founded in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, and the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). Ads for News helps brands and agencies reach engaged news audiences on more than 12,000 trusted local news websites from more than 50 countries. 

The news sites vetted by Ads for News, using extensive criteria developed by a multi-stakeholder industry coalition, can be accessed directly through a local market inclusion list, private marketplaces (PMPs) or a package of inventory against a biddable price.

Melissa Hey, GroupM Australia & New Zealand Chief Investment Officer, adds: “We’ve all seen as consumers and as an industry the damage that can be done to society when mis-information spreads. The War in Ukraine, local and global election cycles and the pandemic have all shown the importance of supporting credible, fact-based journalism. Supporting responsible journalism is one of the key pillars of GroupM’s Responsible Investment Framework which governs our approach to Investment. Through it we are continually working to ensure that our clients advertising dollars are invested effectively and responsibly.”

Chris Hajecki, Director, Internews’ Ads for News adds: “Responsible journalism is an essential part of society, and the business of brands. In New Zealand, the work of GroupM and Ads for News has created a diverse inclusion list of trusted news websites, reaching audiences in communities across the country. Now, it is up to progressive brands to take the lead by more sustainably investing media budgets in responsible journalism— ensuring their customers have access to fact-based news to make informed decisions about their lives.”

…now here’s the Wikileaks allegations…

…we need an immediate explanation from our Mainstream Media Owners if they changed any editorial stance that aligned us with America while taking this money.

Every single one of those 25 media need to explain the funding and its possible impact on the way news was angled in favour of America.

Now.

This needs to happen now.

Because otherwise – what the fuck?

Increasingly having independent opinion in a mainstream media environment which mostly echo one another has become more important than ever, so if you value having an independent voice – please donate here.

 

14 COMMENTS

  1. It’s how the woke brain degenerating disease was imported from Democrat America.
    If people thought their “progressive” ideas were from their own kind souls, they were being spoon fed them.
    People knew this, but now there is proof.

  2. I gave up on stuff because the content of the world page was usually 80% USA based or covering some event of their interest, instigation or involvement. I could see there was some feed bias in this small world news. It might even report on some attack or human-interest story of theirs, not of news interest to anyone outside the actual State or that country.

    A line from an advertisement for Palmolive about their dish detergent being kind to hands and how to get soft skin ‘They’re soaking in it’ reflects how retentive the memory can be to propaganda. We need to take our country back! Now that’s another good line that comes from The Great Impostor Country.

  3. Under the waffle it seems to be a brokerage for herding advertisers-and there are always strings and editorial demands attached.

    Capitalist owned media enterprises do not call for socialism! Quite the contrary when you look at the reactionary position of Rupert Murdoch and recently Jeff Bezos at the Washington Post when he banned pro Harris editorials.

    More facts needed on this one, treat with high suspicion.

    • I agree that more facts are needed.

      How much money did USAID actually put into Internews? What percentage of NZ Media outlets income came from Internews?

      I suspect in both cases, quite small.

      Almost certainly not enough to change any editorial policies in NZ media. In short they (NZ media) are not “hostages”.

      • This has been widely reported (OUTSIDE the NZ controlled media).

        $415 million in 2024 US dollars from USAID.
        $57 million more in 2024 US dollars from the US Department of State (i.e. also CIA).

        How much came to NZ? Enough to make the likes of Stuff completely compromised, that’s for damn sure.

    • The Murdoch take is interesting given none of these organisations ever took any stories from Fox News. Would suggest there is no involvement from Murdoch much to your disappointment.

  4. “Back to News is underpinned by Internews’ Ads for News initiative, which was founded in collaboration with the World Economic Forum…”

    Says it all.

    • The Chairman 100%. WEF. WEF- Ardern- Key- Hipkins- Luxon; deeply flawed AI now the operating system of Kiwi companies. Fortunately though, hopefully, fewer and fewer people engage with local media, search alternative news sources, and will never regard govt as the sole source of truth, or of very much truth at all.

  5. Wait until you hear about the ‘National Endowment for Democracy’ and their racist puppets like Anne-Marie Brady.

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