MEDIAWATCH: Watching Stuff panicking over their reader backlash a lesson for everyone

I thought I’d explain Stuff’s stance on Opinion pieces

The Backstory is an occasional column from Stuff Editor-in-Chief Keith Lynch offering behind-the-scenes insight into stories and newsroom decisions.

It’s glorious watching Stuff shit themselves over their reader backlash.

Normally poor old Keith just has to juggle the never ending complaints about whatever Damien Grant publishes, but last week he published an opinion piece by Sir Ian Taylor that was an attack on Jacinda and all hell broke lose with a tsunami of readers cancelling their subscriptions and donations.

This column isn’t about the right or wrong of Ian’s column (other than to say playing the Captain Hindsight routine is fucking garbage, we were in a once in a century pandemic Ian, you didn’t know any better than anyone else).

This column is about the wider implications of columnists in the modern media era and the reliance of those platforms on donations.

Here are my thoughts.

The first is that as Editor, who you appoint as a columnist is your total editorial right and you should never bend like a coward over who you appoint.

The second is because of the constant begging of donations, media become dependent on that revenue stream and begin to pull their punches and become too frightened  of platforming controversial opinions.

That’s why at TDB we always ask you to donate IF you believe in the importance of having an independent voice NOT because you like something we have written. Trust me, if you like us this week, you might hate us next week, but you donate because you appreciate the importance of independent media in a democracy.

Stuff on the other hand are always begging for donations if their news moved you, so they have formed an emotional bond with their readership and when their readership is pissed off, the donations dry up.

The third point is the disingenuousness of Keith’s argument (which is hilariously behind their pay wall which despite my signing up to, still doesn’t work Keith)

Keith argues that Stuff appoint a wide range of opinions, but they don’t really do they?

Over Covid they dumped opinion writers because of a fall in revenues, but those who were already rich could keep supplying their columns and they didn’t charge for it.

Stuff platforms elite opinion from those rich enough that they don’t have to pay.

Sir fucking Ian Taylor has a Sir in his name for Christ’s sake.

So, I stand with the editors decision to appoint who they want, I laugh at mainstream media panicking that the readers they’ve formed a donation relationship with have turned on them and I mock Stuff’s range of columnists especially when a former researcher for the free market NZ Initiative is their Political Editor.

Stuff is for rich people who don’t live in Auckland.

All that said, I think Verity Johnston is amazing.

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.