Politicians target news media at our collective peril

All elections have targets. They include anyone or anything that might be perceived as a threat. I have a nasty feeling that in the 2026 New Zealand general election our news media will be one of those targets.

My premonition is driven by two factors. The first is the emboldening effect of the American president’s unremitting and debilitating war against journalists who do not kowtow. And the second is the growing belief that various forms of social media and AI-driven search engines have diminished the politician’s need for news media to reach constituents and they are therefore dispensable.

Attacks on the media by politicians are nothing new and they can be part of a healthy contesting of ideas and views. News media are – and rightly should be – as accountable as those they hold to account. However, when those attacks diminish or undermine the role of journalism itself, politicians and would-be politicians risk damage that extends well beyond their own self-serving aims. Continue reading “Politicians target news media at our collective peril” →

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” →