Clive Bibby: Woke agenda had the Grim Reaper watching

We should be thanking the new owners of our local newspaper for saving it from the "Grim Reaper", who was watching from the sidelines its slow demise as a result of self-inflicted wounds, writes Clive Bibby. Illustration / DAJ

OPINION

Readers will be digesting the changes made to our previously locally owned and operated newspaper by the new owners, NZME Ltd.

Opinions will vary as to whether the changes made to the format and editorial content enhance the overall quality of the presentation or not. My guess is readers will have mixed feelings about something in which we had no say. However, based on comments from fellow subscribers since the introduction of the new format - which to me looks decidedly like an NZ Herald clone - we have gained more than we have lost, and perhaps the changes will go some way towards ensuring its survival.

Given you can’t please all of the people all of the time, and in the current difficult publishing climate, satisfying even some of the people all of the time is hard work, perhaps we should be grateful to the Muir family that they were prepared to sacrifice so much of their own interests so our local voice would still be heard.

We are living in times in which readers source their news from different media outlets that are not only cheaper but can offer closer and more regular contact with others who share their beliefs and personal interests. While this new access more readily satisfies a reader’s personal needs, it also means loyalty to any one particular outlet becomes a thing of the past.

Consequently, advertising revenue - that used to be closely associated with a reliable audience - can no longer be based on a guaranteed market. As a result, newspapers that were once a profitable investment, quickly become non-viable. Many, like the 102-year-old Wairoa Star, have been forced to close.

But although a guaranteed readership and advertising revenue base are critical to the survival of any newspaper or publication, there is another equally important component to the viability equation. It is editorial content in all its forms (letters, columns and editorials), and in my humble opinion, it has more of an effect on a reader’s decision to pay for a subscription than just about any other part of a publication’s content. I believe the quality of that particular part of the newspaper will ultimately determine its survival against competition from the “social” media outlets more than anything else.

It could be argued the recognition of this fact alone is responsible for what is perceived to be necessary changes that have already been made to the Gisborne Herald editorial pages. Personally, l think those changes will be the one factor that ensures the survival of our local talisman, and l suspect most readers will join me in welcoming the long-overdue move.

Clive Bibby: Opinions will vary as to whether the changes made to the format and editorial content enhance the overall quality of the presentation or not.

My confidence is based on my personal assessment of the overall conservative nature of the Tairāwhiti region, which you underestimate at your peril. They were being treated contemptuously.

It is the reason why there was a huge backlash to the woke agenda being imposed on the nation before the last election. The voters decided en masse to bring a halt to the offensive distortion of news as if it accurately reflected the mood of the country.

It would appear the wiser heads in control of the traditional MSM outlets have recognised the need to take steps to get their own houses in order simply in order to stay in business. They are right to do so.

We should be thanking the new owners of our local newspaper for saving it from the “Grim Reaper”, who was watching from the sidelines its slow demise as a result of self-inflicted wounds.

Hopefully, readers will reward those life-saving efforts by renewing their subscriptions and, in the process, stop the bleeding. Time will tell.

Clive Bibby is a commentator, consultant and farmer who lives in Tolaga Bay.