Author: Gavin Ellis

Gavin Ellis is a media consultant, commentator and researcher. He holds a doctorate in political studies. A former editor-in-chief of the New Zealand Herald, he is the author of Trust Ownership and the Future of News: Media Moguls and White Knights (London, Palgrave) and Complacent Nation (Wellington, BWB Texts). His consultancy clients include media organisations and government ministries. His Tuesday Commentary on media matters appears weekly on his site www.whiteknightnews.com

JM&D’s media ownership report is another draft of history

If the Auckland University of Technology wants to give the country a Christmas present, it will guarantee ongoing funding for the Aotearoa New Zealand Media Ownership project.

The project, run by AUT’s Research Centre for Journalism, Media & Democracy (JM&D), provides a unique annual snapshot of the state of the media in this country, as well as the influence of giant puppeteers pulling international strings.

However, its real worth lies in the accumulation of reports since 2011. When combined with the earlier work of economist Dr Bill Rosenberg (who stopped compiling his annual media ownership report in 2008), they represent an extraordinarily rich source of data for longitudinal analysis of the ways media structures and control have changed over time…and how they have stayed the same.

That is why, even in straitened times for tertiary institutions, the maintenance of this project – and the other work of JM&D on issues such as media trust – is so important. We cannot plot a worthwhile future for public information and discourse without a clear understanding of what has gone before.

The first JM&D ownership report was 29 pages. This year’s report launched last Wednesday is 143 pages long and includes new sections that did not challenge mainstream media 15 years ago. Now Internet media, streaming, and podcasting are serious contenders not only for eyes and ears, but for influence and control over so-called legacy media.

The increasing roles that information and communication technology companies are playing in New Zealand is a central theme running through the 2025 report. You can access the report – and the 14 that preceded it – here:

(https://www.jmadresearch.com/new-zealand-media-ownership)

At the report’s launch, Professor Wayne Hope outlined the enormous power of the world’s top seven corporations – all tech related – that have a combined market capitalisation of $US21.9 trillion. That number is almost meaningless when you consider New Zealand’s nominal gross domestic product in under $US250 billion. Their power, however, is far from meaningless. He outlined links between the owners of those corporations and the entities that control media. Continue reading “JM&D’s media ownership report is another draft of history” →

Battle for media thrones: Coming ready or not

Our media are no strangers to doing battle and 2026 is looming as a cross between Game of Thrones and Adolescence.

The GOT analogy is easy: It relates to territory, treasure that is real or imagined, and a touch of fantasy.

Our mainstream media will continue to wage the ongoing war for whatever territory in Westeros (or is it Essos) they can get their hands on. They will send raiding parties to snap up what remains after the Iron Throne of the Seven (transnational) Kingdoms has plundered the treasure house. And, symptomatic of the paranoia borne of years of attrition, they will scan the skies for signs of dragons.

The battle plans for territorial gain have been progressively revealed over past weeks and will be primarily fought out in the once-glittering realms of audio and video.

RNZ has signalled that it will deploy new forces in the fiercely contested territory of breakfast radio. This is a strangely undeclared war: Although the state-owned broadcaster is desperate to reclaim the crown from NewstalkZB’s Mike Hosking, it maintains a fiction that they cannot be directly compared. Yes, one is commercial and the other is not. Yes, they have separate rating surveys. However, at the end of the day their conflict is simple: they are both fighting for as many sets of ears as they can get. Continue reading “Battle for media thrones: Coming ready or not” →