Thursday, April 7, 2011

[pima.nius] NZ: Probable NZPA closure sends media shockwaves

2:32 PM |


Title – 7382 NZ: Probable NZPA closure sends media shockwaves
Date – 8 April 2011
Byline – None
Origin – Pacific Media Watch
Source – Scoop/PMW, 7/4/11
Copyright – S/PMW
Status – Abridged
----------------------------
* Pacific Media Watch Online - check the website for archive and links:
www.pacmediawatch.aut.ac.nz

* Post a comment on this story at PMW Right of Reply:
pmediawa@aut.ac.nz

* Pacific Media Centre on Twitter - http://twitter.com/pacmedcentre

PROBABLE NZPA CLOSURE SENDS MEDIA SHOCKWAVES
http://www.pmc.aut.ac.nz/pacific-media-watch/2011-04-07/nz-probable-nzpa-closure-sends-media-shockwaves

By the Scoop team

AUCKLAND (Scoop/Pacific Media Watch): Shock waves went round New Zealand's tightly knit journalism community today as news of probable closure of the NZ Press Association (NZPA) sank in, reports Scoop.

According to reports on Stuff and the New Zealand Herald websites, the NZPA board - read executive members of the Newspaper Publishers Association - heard today from a major member, the Fairfax NZ group, that it no longer wanted to buy NZPA's coverage.

That means almost-certain death for the struggling news agency, which employs around 40 reporters and subeditors, and which has been operating since the early 1870s.

NZPA underwent major change in 2005 when Australian newspaper group Fairfax - new buyers of the former INL newspaper group (then NZ's largest media group) - said it would withdraw from the traditional press association system, which saw all daily papers contribute stories to the network and share them.

That forced NZPA to become an independent news agency in terms of its coverage, although it was still jointly owned through the NPA by Fairfax, APN (NZ Herald group) and Allied Press (Otago Daily Times).

Since then it has survived longer than most predicted, dependent on continued subscription by Fairfax and APN and other news organisations to whom it sold news, like TV channels, radio networks and others.

Recently the NZPA board instructed the organisation to stop selling news to some of its clients, creating a hole in the organisations finances and increasing its reliance on Fairfax and APN funding.

Grave situation
Public confirmation that Fairfax intended to cease its funding - Scoop understands that the Australian media giant indicated its intentions around Christmas - has made the financial situation for the organisation grave.

The biggest risk to the national news discourse – and the democratic process – of NZPA closing down will be that readers will be dependent on news sources that are not truly national.

Both Fairfax and APN have blind spots in their national coverage, provincial regions where they don't own newspapers to feed into their internal news networks.

A Facebook group called Save NZPA <http://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-NZPA/105749602844081> was started by journalists this evening and was growing rapidly as the night went on with many commentators condemning Fairfax.

"Opposition [has been] silenced by Fairfax on a sad day for democracy," wrote Neil Watts on the blog.

"In a disturbing sign of things to come, the National-led government continued its war on independent media, with the announcement that the public broadcasting channel TVNZ7 was to get the chop.

"Typically, Fairfax provided the government with free reign to defend the decision without a single word of comment from any opposition."

Gavin Ellis, a former editor-in-chief of the New Zealand Herald now researching for a media doctorate, added:

"NZPA played an important role in establishing our national identity - by telling citizens in one part of the country about events in other parts of NZ.

"That is an ongoing role that armed media camps will not fill with the same impartiality and commitment as our national news agency has exhibited for 131 years."

* Comment on this item pmediawa@aut.ac.nz

+++niuswire

PACIFIC MEDIA WATCH ONLINE
www.pacmediawatch.aut.ac.nz

PACIFIC MEDIA WATCH is a media and educational resource compiled by the AUT Pacific Media Centre for the Pacific region.

(c)1996-2010 Creative Commons
http://creativecommons.org

Items are provided solely for review purposes as a non-profit educational service. Copyright remains the property of the original  producers as indicated in the header. Recipients should seek permission
from the copyright owner for any publishing. Copyright owners not  wishing their materials to be posted by PMW please contact us. The views expressed in material listed by PMW are not necessarily the views
of PMW or the Pacific Media Centre.

For further information or joining the Pacific Media Watch listserve, visit:
http://mailman.aut.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/pacific_media_watch_list

Email:
pmc@aut.ac.nz
Fax: (+649) 921 9987
SnailMail: Pacific Media Centre, School of Communication Studies, AUT
University, Private Bag 92006, Auckland 1142, Aotearoa/New Zealand

Website: www.pacmediawatch.aut.ac.nz
_______________________________________________
Pacific_Media_Watch nius mailing list
pacific_media_watch_list@aut.ac.nz

_______________________________________________
Pacific_media_watch_list mailing list
Pacific_media_watch_list@aut.ac.nz
http://mailman.aut.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/pacific_media_watch_list


--
----------------------------------------
pacific islands media association
pima.nius@gmail.com
aotearoa, new zealand
----------------------------------------
The pima.nius googlegroup is a facility for discussion and distributing information. Content sent by this googlegroup are forwarded from various networks and media publications.
 
DISCLAIMER: These emails are unedited and discussions made through this googlegroup are unmoderated. Announcements made through this googlegroup do not constitute endorsement for the organisations, individuals or opinions featured. Please check the integrity of organisations and individuals before exchanging personal information with them.
 
- - - - - - - - -
comment here:
http://groups.google.com/group/pima-nius/topics?hl=en
 
send an email comment here:
pima-nius@googlegroups.com
 
unsubscribe:
pima-nius+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
 
more options
http://groups.google.com/group/pima-nius?hl=en?hl=en
 
- - - - - - - - -

0 comments: