The murder of Newshub, Winston’s big lie and neoliberal capitalism as culture: Why NZ Democracy is in so much danger as Fourth Estate Guard dogs are euthanised
Let’s be very clear.
Newshub was murdered by the broken market that is news media.
They didn’t fail because their journalism was poor or because they were failing in their obligation to be the Fourth Estate, they ‘failed’ because a trans National Corporation couldn’t give a fuck about funding the journalism of the country they are exporting American soft power culture to!
We are so consumed by capitalism and the mythology it requires that we simply see Newshub as a justifiable failure because the market has failed which is fucking garbage!
NZ has always been a sparsely populated country on two giant Islands, it has ALWAYS needed the State to be the foundation upon which everything else gets built and it’s the same with our public broadcasting.
A Democracy only functions because of the fourth Estate, if you do not provide support for those Fourth Estate obligations to survive then we allow it to die which strangles Democracy!
Newshub hasn’t failed because it’s journalism is bad, they’ve failed because legacy media have been reliant on revenue streams from platforms that were always inflating ratings rather than the brutally honest online stats.
That’s a failure of the revenue model in a broken media landscape, that’s not a failure of their journalism!
Winston’s big lie that the entire media were bribed is the same big lie Trump uses about his election being stolen. Tearing the Fourth Estate down rather than ensuring its role is protected are the actions of a dictator.
Allowing Newshub to fail is an abdication of responsibility by this Government that benefits them by limiting accountability at a time when their abuse of power demands accountability.
Writing this off as a ‘market failure’ is like calling a miscarriage a market failure.
Tone deaf, offensive and utterly misunderstanding of the problem.
As for the thing that limps along in its wake, my understanding is Stuff have grotesquely underestimated the cost and it could cause the financial implosion of the whole company.
The real question over the next 6 months for NZ Media is what goes under first? Stuff or The Spinoff.
Suggestion. Recruit some out of work Newshub journos to provide Hard Copy for TDB, publish on Google News and YouTube, do some friend get friend marketing – see what happens.
As long as people would rather believe a lie as it suits their selfish desires, you will not get them to accept some sort of a sacrifice (even a small one) if it benefits people they don’t know.
Bonnie Every day, in every way, volunteers, church groups, and NGO ‘s contribute expertise, time, hard slog, and money, for the benefit of strangers who they don’t know. Even when dubious of the doings of charities, or of outcomes, they still do it, and that’s a fact.
Yes I know that however the majority vote is what matters and there are not enough of the people you mentioned to get a similar government elected. By its nature politics tends to attract selfish people who don’t have the ability to improve things so they punish people they don’t like so that the privileged classes can get a bit more of the wealth.
It’s called The Conscience of the Rich, but is more pondered among intellectuals, academics, and monks, than politicians, which is another reason why we need a fourth estate with integrity, knowledge, and brain cells. Luxon’s bald dome is hellishly symbolic of much that’s wrong with Parliament Hill and it’s hangers-on.
Newhub died cos its kept producing product no one wanted to watch.
Well looks like the Nats are in fact very very thick and now going to push Willies “fair” news bill to tax social media and subsidize the almost exclusively leftist MSM, or in other words to subsidize a non functional sector to be an actual Rod for their own, but not Labours back.
National can’t help themselves. They always turn into Labour lite.
Evidence of how National are worse than Labour. Not supporting Willie’s news bill and yet now saying it’s a great idea because they thought of it.
Add that National have axed funding to over 60 budget services when there has been a 25% increase in those needing it. Also with violent crime increasing under National they are failing on every measure except rewarding the wealthy property investors.
But goldsmith is only concerned about saving shortland street for fuck sake .Well past time it was gone and it sucks up 20 million a year to push edge agendas .What the fuck ?
The Government certainly has an obligation to fund public broadcasting consisting of a public service news media with associated neutral analysis and content that is a reflection of NZ’s cultural activity.
It has an obligation to fully fund these things adequately.
It has no obligation to provide free to the public pure entertainment services nor fund/underwrite private media companies. Those rightly remain entirely discretionary.
broadcast media has changed formats. uhf and dish don’t carry a lot of weight these days.