The Right to Know

This commentary based on my book, Complacent Nation, appeared in three New Zealand metropolitan newspapers on Monday 15 August 2016.

The Right to Know and Supreme Law

The New Zealand public are a perplexing paradox.

They leap into paroxysms of patriotic fervour at the sight of 15 men charging with an oval ball, or one woman hitting a small round one with a stick.

They break out ‘The End is Nigh’ signs when attempts are made to regulate what lightbulbs they may use, and have strong views on a symbolic piece of cloth (even if they don’t vote to change it).

Yet, when a fundamental human right is threatened and eroded, they fall strangely silent. Continue reading “The Right to Know” →

Complacent Nation

My new book, Complacent Nation, about the erosion of our right to know and the politicising of official information disclosure is published on 12 August. I hope it will lead to broad public debate and demands for more robust processes to protect a basic human right. This is what the publisher’s media release says about the book:

Continue reading “Complacent Nation” →

Aggregation of editorial power

New Zealand’s two major newspaper groups, Fairfax New Zealand and NZME have announced their intention to merge and have lodged an application with the Commerce Commission seeking its approval for the union.

The commission invited submissions on the application. I made a submission on the basis that, should it grant the application, the commission impose conditions to overcome potential issues that could have serious civic and democratic implications.

The Commission’s State of Preliminary Issues addressed a number of issues relating to readers but did so largely in the context of the relationship between NZME/Fairfax and competing media. My submission suggested that it must also examine a number of issues that were not relational but internal and regulatory. Specifically, these relate to the aggregation of editorial power and regulatory influence. This is my submission: Continue reading “Aggregation of editorial power” →

Media marriage

WHEN MEDIA DECIDE TO MERGE

This column was written for the June 2016 edition of the PANPA Bulletin

Once upon a time there would be cries of democratic indignation at the prospect of most of a country’s newspapers being owned by one company. There would be demands that the plan be stopped in its tracks.

However, only fairy tales begin with “once upon a time” and merging the New Zealand assets of Fairfax and APN will pass largely unnoticed by most of the residents of that complacent nation. Within the media, there will an air of resigned acceptance and the monopoly watchdog Commerce Commission will be persuaded that it is the only available survival strategy.

Continue reading “Media marriage” →