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

[Don’t] read all about it!

mastheads
The latest readership survey shows New Zealand newspapers are very good at reporting other people’s bad news but not their own.

Last September the New Zealand Herald bragged that its Nielsen readership statistics had “soared to record levels” and this year ran an extensive story about NZME titles increasing readership in the February Nielsen survey, which it claimed was “highlighting Kiwis’ love affair with print”.

Last week Nielsen released its latest survey. It received no coverage in the Herald or in the Waikato Times or in the Dominion Post or in The Press or in the Otago Daily Times. Continue reading “[Don’t] read all about it!” →

Name change: Knightly Views

UPDATED: White Knight News has become Knightly Views. Nothing changes but the name – a move made necessary by unfortunate associations. The old URL will still bring you to the site but please amend saved links to www.knightlyviews.com

Knightlyviews.com  emphatically has no connection with any white supremacist organisation and utterly rejects any the doctrines of hate to which they adhere. The knight image envisaged here is a chivalrous champion and one prepared to ride to the rescue of (in this context) journalism and the principles for which it stands.

The current image depicts a knight slaying a dragon. The previous knightly image on the banner was the white knight from the Lewis chess pieces, carved from walrus ivory in the late 12th or early 13th century (probably in Trondheim, Norway).  Such a shame that his good name has been sullied by bigots.

A victim of white supremacists

I have always despised white supremacists and now it’s personal.

Their misappropriation of symbols and language has hit me right in the website.

When I started whiteknightnews.com I drew on the subtitle of a book I had written about alternatives to traditional media ownership as ways of sustaining journalism. That book was called Trust Ownership and the Future of News: Media moguls and white knights. I don’t need to tell you about the media moguls, but the white knights were the people who were prepared to ride to the rescue of journalism. Continue reading “A victim of white supremacists” →

How afraid should NZME be?

New Zealand Herald publisher NZME should be afraid. It remains to be seen whether it should it be very afraid.

The abrupt exit by company chairman Peter Cullinane last week was the first move against the company by Australian fund manager shareholders but it will not be their last.

Cullinane resigned only hours before a shareholders’ meeting at which he was up for re-election and later conceded that “it recently became apparent that I didn’t have the support of significant Australian fund managers.”

He said the obvious reason was the depressed share price. Continue reading “How afraid should NZME be?” →