Editorial: Winston Peters points to path for stronger fourth estate

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters. Photo / Mark Mitchell

EDITORIAL:

It's no secret these are difficult times for the media industry.

Local news organisations have battled Silicon Valley giants like Facebook and Google for more than a decade.

And competition is only getting tougher.

Various news giants are expanding globally to leverage their brands in niche markets, including New Zealand.

With a handful of local staff they can cover the biggest events of the day — in broad brush strokes.

But the country can't rely on foreign news organisations to tell our stories.

The problem of how to fund more in-depth journalism and news that matters to specific regions and communities remains fiendishly difficult to solve.

New Zealand First's announcement of support for a renewed bid by NZME for rival Stuff could unlock a big piece of that puzzle.

The pieces need to turn fast.

Stuff has been on sale for a year, with an owner (Australia's Nine media) that is seemingly no longer interested in its future. Jobs are at risk, and so too are some regional papers.

When you look at those cold facts it's not hard to see why Winston Peters, a long-time champion of regional employment, has a keen interest.

He will never get a free ride from New Zealand journalists. For all his wry barbs, he knows that very well. His support reflects the interests of his constituency. Whether it reflects wider government support remains to be seen.

Without a Fonterra-style act of parliament, which appears unlikely, any purchase must still pass through the Commerce Commission.

NZ First's announcement of support for a renewed bid by NZME for rival Stuff could unlock a big piece of that puzzle. Photo / Jason Oxenham

In May 2017, the Commerce Commission declined to allow the two companies to merge. Minister of Broadcasting Kris Faafoi said yesterday: "The challenges that the media faces are probably more complex now." That's debatable, but the evidence of those challenges is certainly more stark.

With a nod of support from Cabinet and a "KiwiShare" proposal included to reassure around issues of commitment to editorial jobs and diversity of voices, it may be a very different proposal before the commission. For all involved, it must be a quicker process this time around.

The Government is already considering the future structure of state media companies TVNZ and RNZ. The one certainty in media is that change is constant.

New Zealanders, through political and regulatory channels, as well as commercial, should take control of that change.

Organisations such as the Herald aren't asking for handouts, just the opportunity to compete on a level playing field, with the scale to offer commercially realistic opposition, to the global giants.

As a nation we need to the recognise the value of the fourth estate; one that has the scope to dive more deeply into issues and range broadly across the country.

It needs the strength and security to keep doing its job, for all New Zealanders, as it has for more than 150 years.