When something is this broken, it’s time get a new one

It has never been sublime but now, by God, it is ridiculous: Media regulation in New Zealand has reached the point where the public it is supposed to serve are left confused and incredulous.

The fault lies with successive governments that have seen the issues, then walked away because they think the solutions are too hard or they do not have the guts to confront powerful foreign forces. Governments led by both National and Labour have wilfully ignored the fact that the entire system is anachronistic and needs urgent replacement.

Last week the outdated nature of the system was brought into sharp relief by the Broadcasting Standards Authority’s attempt to ram a round peg into a mouldy square hole. In order to claim jurisdiction over Sean Plunket’s online entity The Platform, the BSA was forced to squeeze every last morsel of possible meaning out of its empowering legislation. Continue reading “When something is this broken, it’s time get a new one” →

Let’s hope the gods smile on Stuff’s printing plans

The management at Stuff must have great trust in the weather and mechanical gods. The publisher faces multiple risks if its printing relocation from Wellington to Christchurch displeases the deities.

A willingness to risk displeasing the gods shows the problem Stuff has in addressing a predicament facing many newspaper publishers. Their large and expensive printing plants were built for an age that has passed.

Some media suggest Stuff has had its hand forced by the sale of the property housing its Petone printing plant to what might be described as a hostile party. The property had been retained by Nine Entertainment when it sold Stuff to Sinead Boucher for a token dollar. Last year the Australian media firm displayed its total disregard for its former New Zealand subsidiary when it sold the property. New owner Troy Bowker had made no secret of his dislike for Stuff (which Nine would have discovered when it did due diligence) and he lost no time in serving notice on the publisher to quit the premises by April next year.

Since the purchase, Boucher and Bowker have engaged in what could variously be described as a game of poker or a Mexican stand-off. If the new owner thought he would panic Stuff into paying over the odds to buy the property in order to keep printing, he was wrong. Last week, Boucher announced that the printing plant would be shut and all of the company’s printing requirements for the lower North island would be met by its modern plant near Christchurch Airport. She said the press consolidation had long been part of Stuff’s strategic plan. Her announcement made no mention, however, of any transport arrangements for getting the Stuff titles and third-party contract printing products to the North Island. Continue reading “Let’s hope the gods smile on Stuff’s printing plans” →

Ad spend milestone is nothing for New Zealand to celebrate

If it was possible for something to be epically depressing, it would be the advertising statistics released last week. For the first time, the annual digital-only advertising spend in New Zealand was double that of all other media combined.

The vast majority of that digital-only spend is with Facebook, Google, and TikTok. It disappears offshore with only a risible amount of taxation deducted from companies that are artful profit shifters. Worse, it has sucked the lifeblood out of our media industries along the way.

Figures released by the Advertising Standards Authority showed that the digital-only spend was $2.7 billion. All other media in New Zealand– through both their traditional outlets and their own digital platforms – attracted $1.35 billion in advertising revenue. The numbers could not have been starker.

The New Zealand Herald’s Media Insider, Shayne Currie, attempted to cast doubt on the digital spend after the ASA figures were released, noting that – unlike local media – the transnational platforms do not release actual figures. The digital-only spend is based on estimates. However, if anything, the digital-only estimates may be on the low side because the Interactive Advertising Bureau tracks only Facebook, Google and TikTok. It does not report on LinkedIn, Spotify, X and the like.

Nonetheless, the estimates released last week are not only consistent with revenue growth in other mature markets but reflect trends that have been apparent for years. Continue reading “Ad spend milestone is nothing for New Zealand to celebrate” →

Business at 6.30am: Good move but watch for knock-on effects

NZME’s latest video venture, Herald NOW Business, had a solid launch yesterday into an uncertain world strategic environment. It also raises some strategic questions for the media company itself.

The 6.30 am business programme, available on the Herald app and streamed through ThreeNow and YouTube, is anchored by the thoroughly professional Garth Bray. He was an obvious choice and represents some of the greatest depth of television talent within NZME.

A former London correspondent for TVNZ and then a stalwart of the (sadly, axed) consumer show Fair Go, Bray is already a regular on the new programme’s companion show Ryan Bridge Today. His professional ‘home’ is the NZME-owned BusinessDesk.

Herald NOW Business (let’s abbreviate that to HNB) could not be described as innovative. It follows the familiar look and content of morning business programmes elsewhere. That, however, is not a criticism: Why change an established formula just for the sake of looking different? Continue reading “Business at 6.30am: Good move but watch for knock-on effects” →