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

Trolls and fellow travellers in the general election

It’s a fair bet that the New Zealand general election will not cause much of a ripple inside 55 Savushkina Street.

That is the St Petersburg address of the headquarters of the Russian Internet Research Agency (pictured above), which played havoc with the Brexit vote and the US Presidential election.

It may well be gearing up for another campaign among the all-too-susceptible voters of the United States, but we can be reasonably certain that the only danger we face is a bit of mischief during a troll’s lunch break. Continue reading “Trolls and fellow travellers in the general election” →

There’s life in them yet

Pic 21 July

Bauer’s most significant New Zealand magazines have been saved from the mortuary slab, but they will need more time in the intensive care unit.

And, like the Covid-19 virus erroneously blamed for their near-death experience, there may be as-yet-unknown side-effects from their period out of circulation. Continue reading “There’s life in them yet” →

NZ media in a Covid world

Magazine closures and mass redundancies threw the New Zealand industry into a state of shock and uncertainty. From it could emerge a new media landscape. New Zealand can be a model for vibrant sustainable titles if it capitalises on the qualities that already drive our media entrepreneurs. I took part in a FIPP Insider webinar discussion of the possibilities with Magazine Publishers Association executive director Sally Duggan and, from London, the CEO of the periodical publishers international body (FIPP), James Hewes.

Post-lockdown NZ media revert to attack journalism

Journalists endanger one of the cornerstones of their profession when they lose sight of the fact that politics is a contest for power. And in New Zealand right now their vision is blurred.

Emboldened by opposition politicians eager to exploit real or imagined weaknesses in the post-lockdown management of Covid-19, some news media are indulging in a blame game.

They are the eager messengers of ‘knocking stories’ that seek to reverse public perceptions that the Government and its ministries did a good job in containing a virus that is decimating other countries.

Not that the Labour-led government did everything right. It didn’t. However, in the giddy pursuit of accusations and culprits, journalists are losing their sense of balance. And, in the process, public confidence in our health systems is being undermined. Continue reading “Post-lockdown NZ media revert to attack journalism” →