Where are much-needed party policies on media?

Two months out from the election, and we have yet to see new policy from any of the seven main political parties on media and communication.

Only the Greens have a media policy on their website – and it is effectively a repeat of the 2023 policy that was heavy on high-minded rhetoric but very light on functional detail. No party has yet presented voters with practical initiatives that take account of the significant shifts in the media industry since the last election.

Admittedly, this is not the sort of policy that will sway voters, but manifestos are more than vote-grabbers. They represent commitments by each party to use their best endeavours during the coming Parliamentary term to give effect to what they say they will do in the interests of the public good.

Unless there is a sudden avalanche of media policy promises, the signal the parties are sending is that, in this area of public policy, they plan to do very little.

I do not believe our politicians are unaware of the precarious state of journalism in this country. They have been lobbied by every media organisation and left in no doubt that the cuts that have kept newsrooms in operation are not sustainable in even the medium term.

The have been warned we will see the loss of significant news publications and news broadcasts within the term of the next government unless there is a reset. The playing field needs to be levelled to overcome the pernicious effects of uncontrolled foreign digital players in our media market. Continue reading “Where are much-needed party policies on media?” →

Bromhead draws a line under his life

Peter Bromhead, the cartoonist who has died at the age of 93, would have appreciated the irony in the fact that his only newspaper obituary of any substance was written for the title he spent years competing against…and they put it behind their paywall.

Shayne Currie wrote a commendable tribute to Bromhead for the New Zealand Herald last week but it appeared only online. The one place I have seen it in print is the Daily Post in Rotorua, where he died. It republished Currie’s story yesterday. Apart from an eight-line brief in the Otago Daily Times and some online tributes, I could find no other reference to his death. By coincidence, the Sunday Star Times published an interview with him only days before he died.

It is sad, however, that the closing chapter was not more widely acknowledged. Although Bromhead’s personality caused issues in the course of his life, his body of work was such that it deserved widespread recognition in its own right.

The minimalist style he developed after joining the Auckland Star in 1972 became instantly recognisable. Those who saw his cartoons as hasty scribbles were mistaken. The style belied both keen observation and thoughtful rendition. The economy of line with which he captured the character of Robert Muldoon, for example, was masterful. It is, perhaps, to Bromhead’s enduring credit that Muldoon reputedly hated the caricature. Continue reading “Bromhead draws a line under his life” →

Posting profits but what is the future bottom line?

We have become all too familiar with New Zealand media company interim and full year reports oozing red ink, so it was pleasant surprise to see three of them reporting profits last week.

The biggest earner by a large margin was Sky, which announced its net profit had risen two per cent to $41.8 million on revenue that was up a solid nine per cent to $826 million. Over the past three years its share dividend has more than doubled.

Sky’s biggest drawcard is its sports offering and it added icing to the profit announcement by disclosing that it has secured rights to English Premier League matches. It also has long-term contracts with rugby, cricket, league and the Olympics.

Then NZME waded in with a post-tax half-yearly profit of $6.6 million that reversed a $400,000 loss for the same period last year. Radio was its standout performer, with operating revenue growing eight per cent to $61.8 million, significantly ahead of its publishing revenue.

Finally, TVNZ reported a profit of $16.3 million and an end-of-year dividend of $2.2 million. In total the state-owned company contributed close to $4 million to the government coffers in 2026.

Less pleasant was the realisation of how TVNZ and NZME achieved their profits. Continue reading “Posting profits but what is the future bottom line?” →

The truth is: You can no longer believe your eyes

Last week marked the start of landmark court action that a consortium of US states has brought against Meta over the effects of its social media platforms on young people. Much of the opening arguments focussed on the addictive effects of its algorithms and infinite scrolling. Those insidious features are bad enough, but my biggest fear is that these platforms will rob us of our grip on reality.

It remains to be seen whether the young can be protected by National’s 11th hour bid to introduce legislation banning under-16s from social platforms (ACT says not, and does not support the banning Bill introduced yesterday to Parliament). But let’s not stop at children in assessing the grip on reality: The potential to lose the ability to determine what is real is a danger facing all of us.

 Once upon a time, losing touch with reality was a quick way of being declared insane. Today, it can afflict all of us, and I have to admit that it is driving me mad.

Every time I addictively scroll down Facebook, I am confronted by images that look real, but which are the product of artificial intelligence. I see the reimagining of historical events, bikini-clad maidens with near-impossible torsos, idyllic scenes, horrific scenes, and cats and dogs that are endearingly cute.

Those are the ones that disclose their origins or which I can readily identify as AI-generated, but I have been caught out with images I took to be real. Continue reading “The truth is: You can no longer believe your eyes” →