The rise of National Party conspiracy theories and fringe politicians highlight the desperate need for public broadcasting 

ByMartyn Bradbury

I honestly think one of the things that has been horribly exposed in this pandemic alongside many other structural weaknesses – is how important well funded public broadcasting is to the health of a democracy.

For those abused by the Government and for indiginous people who have been oppressed by the State, the rise of MAGAtanga conspiracy theory politics makes sense.

Those who have been let down by the System won’t believe the experts when it matters.

They will drift further away from a mainstream media who exist to sell them things they can’t afford and draw their news increasingly from only Facebook, an International Corporation who makes money by emotionally manipulating readers into staying online by prompting users with more and more outlandish content.

These fears are exploited by the National Party promoting conspiracy theories alongside fringe party politicians. 

The reform of public broadcasting which Kris Faafoi has been doing sweet bugger all with is now eroding the actual democracy it is supposed to be protecting.

The fundamental problem is that the advertising market has been bled dry by Google and Facebook while being owned by vulture capitalists who are only interested in using profits to cover the debt they’ve used to buy the companies.

Labour are allergic when it comes to big ideas needed to combat neoliberalism and market failure, they need to inoculate and inoculate fast because some huge ideas need to be invested in to see the media market stabilise.

1 – Public Funded Media in the nations interest

The RNZ-TVNZ merger should be occurring immediately with the following inclusions.

      • TV1 commercial free (so existing advertising can go to Mediaworks).
      • RNZ launch a commercial free youth radio station.
      • RNZ/TVNZ launch a 24 hour news station on one of their existing Freeview+ channels.

2 – Tax Google & Facebook and ring fence that for direct funding of corporate journalism

Google & Facebook charged a percentage on all revenue from NZ, that money is specifically ring fenced to a contestable fund available to established Media to specifically provide Fourth Estate Journalism.

3 – NZ on Air ‘Read between the Flags’ Kiwi journalism 

In a world of disinformation, we need journalism we can trust. We all get the ‘swim between the flag’ model of surf life saving, NZ on Air should be given extra funding for ‘Read between the flags’ Kiwi Journalism. This money is to break the current elite opinion NZ on Air circle jerk and provide revenue for smaller blogs and citizen journalism who become eligible if they agree to a set of Journalistic Principles. If you do agree and sign up, you are entitled to funding and must have a Kiwi Journalism flag on your site to show you are obliged to the Journalistic Principles Code of conduct.

You would have an awareness campaign to urge NZers to ‘read between the flags’ for trusted information.

The NZ population has always been too small for advertiser funded journalism, it has ALWAYS needed State support, add a broken market where vulture capitalists use media profits to pay the interest on their debt and you have a hollowed out Fourth Estate that can’t be a watchdog to anything other than their self interest and it has eroded trust in the media which is being exploited by Facebook and unscrupulous politicians.

Big ideas are needed but where the hell is Labour?

Willie Jackson needs to be the new Broadcasting Minister.

 

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7 Comments

  1. Gee whiz. Nine years in opposition and this lot don’t have a broadcasting policy, nor the faintest clue of how to implement? This is an excellent example of how government has become a non governing government. The worst of all possibles.

    1. Philj,

      Your babble is nothing more than that of a quintessential blue troll. Have you got any thoughts on the matter yourself or is regurgitating verbatim what Collins and her “strong team” of divisive and sulking attack poodles spout off?

      You’ve even included Chucky’s “this lot” in your BS.

      Everything you say is bitter, vile and toxic. It speaks volumes to the mindset of the entitled National Party still angry that someone other than them has the audacity to Govern NZ. As per usual, you offer absolutely far king zero on what your Blue Gods would do and did do during their 9 long years of divisive carnage, yet ridicule the “despised enemy”. Give yourself two upper cuts and a poke in the eye.

      As for the lovely Clare Curran. I’m genuinely shocked that even the lowest of blue trolls would totally misrepresent the true situation in regard Clare “finding her role too hard”. Did you deliberately set out to misrepresent reality in an obnoxious manner or does that just come naturally for your ilk?

      Clare Curran committed he deadliest of atrocities in her former role. As a very busy Minister, she used the incorrect email and didn’t record an official meeting. For this she was incessantly mocked, ridiculed, undermined and attacked by the vile National Party that came up with a misogynistic attack plan to claim her scalp. She was targeted by National and their media excrement masquerading as journalists in a manner that would have led to criminal charges had it been “others” involved. She became the sacrificial lamb and National all gave each other high fives. Job done.

      For her mental health she announced her retirement to put an end to the attacks against the Government and the very personal merciless attacks against herself. In her valedictory speech Clare stated the following,

      “Outgoing Labour MP Clare Curran described the political system as “sick” in her final speech to Parliament, and directly criticised the media.

      The former broadcasting minister said politicians deserved to be held to account but not treated as “prey” by reporters who acted as if they were unaccountable themselves.

      “You are not unaccountable though you act like you are. You are neither judge nor jury. To be credible you must turn the mirror on yourself.”

      “She said that at one point during her fall from power in 2018 she felt suicidal, but instead sought mental health support”

      “Our political system is sick, and we all know it,” Curran said.

      ”Politicians and the news media focus on conflict. The objective is to catch people out and take them down.”

      ”Politicians should be held accountable, but we are not prey.”

      “Curran said this was not a view held only by politicians, and the public was also disgusted by the news media.

      She suggested that the state-funded RNZ had “lost its way” and was no longer holding the rest of the news media to a higher standard.

      Last week following National MP Sarah Dowie’s valedictory speech, which also criticized the news media, Curran said she feared a politician would kill themselves before journalists “took a look in the mirror.”

      New Zealanders find it more than ironic and sickening that Curran was subjected to the very deliberate, relentless National Party campaign targeting her that JLR later acknowledged and apologized for.

      As we all know, “Misogyny” and the National Party go hand in hand. JLR himself as a prominent National Party MP was very much involved in skulduggery in one form or another like so many other of his former colleagues. The moment mental health was “used” everyone including the media were quiet and respectful. Exactly the same situation unfolded with Todd Muller with the same respectful outcome. Not Clare Curran. Her activities apparently warranted her being boiled in oil.

      National are known to “use” the media in other ways that also reflect on the National Party. Michelle Boag now described as a “public relations executive” was very busy sending messages. Hamish Walker was also very busy sending “messages” to the media. Andrew Falloon was also very busy sending messages to multiple young ladies. “Merv” from Manurewa aka Roger Bridge also found a way via media to undermine, ridicule and misrepresent another female who just happened to be a National Party candidate.

      Yes Philj, the National Party do have the faintest clue how to implement what they want. Unfortunately for them it’s been an epic fail that more and more Kiwis are now confronted with and rejecting. The National Party are not fit to be in charge of a pet hamster.

      1. ” Michelle Boag now described as a “public relations executive”
        Wonder how that’s going? With her reputation I suspect it’s more than going. I’d say gone-before lunch time.
        What idiot firm would seek to employ her skills?

  2. I agree Chris Faafoi has been a fail after he promised us a public affairs channel and we got RNZ instead turned into a National Party bullhorn; how shocking is that!!!!
    https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/rnz/govt-consider-replacing-rnz-tvnz
    I recall back in 2014 another “labour supporter who was voted onto run RNZ then and National shamed him exposing him as a Labour party card carrying member and disqualified him for running a public media channel remember that?

    1. I recall 21 years ago at an election meeting sitting next to then Broadcasting Minister, Marion Hobbes. Given the poor public TV quality, I asked ” Was it too much to ask for just one commercial free public channel?”
      ” Oh” she replied, ” we have a new man (Ian Fraser) on the job to fix it!”. Lol!
      I think he lasted about 1 year and, like Clare Curran, found it too hard, and departed.

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