A thousand books and papers in economics and business strategy are about the topic of product differentiation - ensuring that what you sell is different from others in order to build your own customer base you can make money from. On that note, David Farrar at Kiwiblog did a survey to work out how right or left-leaning are our major media outlets.
Over 2,500 people ranked the outlets on a -100 to +100 scale that went from "strongly left" to "strongly right-leaning" (0 is "neutral"). The weighted average for each media outlet is:
1. Radio New Zealand -80 (most left)
2. The Spinoff -78
3. Stuff -72
4. One News -62
5. NZ Herald – 59
6. Newshub -51
7. Scoop -46
8. Newsroom -46
9. NewstalkZB +16 (most right)
In other words, our community of leftist journalists has managed to try out-competing each other for the attention of those members of the public who are left-wing. Amazingly, Newshub, Stuff, One News, Radio NZ and the NZ Herald all have scores veering toward "strongly left wing" - that is, from -51 to -80. They are all competing for the same market, together with a whole bunch of smaller leftist outfits like The Spinoff, Scoop and Newsroom. Given we have a National-ACT-NZ First coalition, only a minority of Kiwis even voted "left" at the last election. So we have five major news outlets - and three less significant smaller ones - all competing like mad for that minority.
If the journalists working at Stuff, Newshub & Herald think they're smart by writing & doing shows with ever-more leftist slants & insults to Luxon, Peters & Seymour, and thought they were clever trying to fix the last election by smearing the new coalition, well they just went & bankrupted their own companies by doing so. I mean, how dumb can you get? Don't go blaming social media and Google for not paying for your low quality "content". Go take a look at the man or woman in the mirror. By the way, have you worked out that Mike Hosking must be loving you for it? He practically has the whole right-wing market to himself.
Sources
https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/InformationOpinion_edba5e64-96f3-4d24-9139-649cee58c0b3.pdf
https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2020/06/which_media_are_seen_as_most_left_and_right_leaning.html
2. The Spinoff -78
3. Stuff -72
4. One News -62
5. NZ Herald – 59
6. Newshub -51
7. Scoop -46
8. Newsroom -46
9. NewstalkZB +16 (most right)
In other words, our community of leftist journalists has managed to try out-competing each other for the attention of those members of the public who are left-wing. Amazingly, Newshub, Stuff, One News, Radio NZ and the NZ Herald all have scores veering toward "strongly left wing" - that is, from -51 to -80. They are all competing for the same market, together with a whole bunch of smaller leftist outfits like The Spinoff, Scoop and Newsroom. Given we have a National-ACT-NZ First coalition, only a minority of Kiwis even voted "left" at the last election. So we have five major news outlets - and three less significant smaller ones - all competing like mad for that minority.
If the journalists working at Stuff, Newshub & Herald think they're smart by writing & doing shows with ever-more leftist slants & insults to Luxon, Peters & Seymour, and thought they were clever trying to fix the last election by smearing the new coalition, well they just went & bankrupted their own companies by doing so. I mean, how dumb can you get? Don't go blaming social media and Google for not paying for your low quality "content". Go take a look at the man or woman in the mirror. By the way, have you worked out that Mike Hosking must be loving you for it? He practically has the whole right-wing market to himself.
Sources
https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/InformationOpinion_edba5e64-96f3-4d24-9139-649cee58c0b3.pdf
https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2020/06/which_media_are_seen_as_most_left_and_right_leaning.html
Professor Robert MacCulloch holds the Matthew S. Abel Chair of Macroeconomics at Auckland University. He has previously worked at the Reserve Bank, Oxford University, and the London School of Economics. He runs the blog Down to Earth Kiwi from where this article was sourced.
10 comments:
So obvious actually and once the Govt. cuts the final two subsidy streams the $55m and soft advertising they will be dead.
Surveys of te reo use and of anti colonist attitude would likely also be revealing.
Robert, spot on. The scrutiny that the left are under is enormous especially the media.
The great team here are holding them to account and its hurting them big time. How do I know the left are hurting, because the squealing and the abuse from the left is loud. We must now keep going for the good and really focus on tvnz and our stuffed education system. Those in universities are just as evil and biased as the journos.
I would place a small wager that over 80% of university lecturers have left or far left ideologies.
Despite the lunatics screaming that I'm racist (lol), a badge which I wear with honor as I know I've won the argument with them, all I want is fair honest, balanced and unbiased reporting. Seems nz journos are not up to the job! However as witnessed this week, journos are in massive trouble, under massive scrutiny and tvnz....guess what, you are next! :)
Makes sense from an economics point of view.
But there is more at stake than mere economics, I think. For media to provide the most accurate and informative news, I would argue for any major outlets striving as far as possible for a neutral (0) position.
As for the point that most NZers voted for a right-wing government in the last election: yes, I did too, even though my political outlook is a little left of centre. The left-wing parties in my opinion have forsaken the basic principles of democratic, fair governance. That said, for the core media I watch or read I’m still looking for evenhandedness and well-contextualised reporting – not just click bait.
LFC
Don't blame Winston...just look in the mirror
Even zb is turning woke. Hosking sounds like he is just going through the motions and can't wait to leave. Then you listen to the platform, sean plunket and the difference could not be more obvious. He talks all the issues that kiwis are interested in and is so relevant and is anti all the woke bs.
Our household no longer watch any TV News cos unbalanced, biased reporting. This survey proves it so TV1 better get your act together we taxpayers are paying your wages .
A thing that reinforced my own thoughts about the nature of our MSM is their lack of condemnation of the Gang occupation of Opotiki.
The local schools closed, businesses in the main street closed ,the local bus service shutdown. Locals packed their bags and left. A town shut down for a week by criminal gangs
I thought there would have been clear outrage and condemnation by both our MSM and Government. But no, far from it. I heard nothing like condemnation from either of them.
Dippy Chippy told us how it was a "complex and demanding situation that needed careful handling " etc etc. So he did nothing, and he and the MSM sat and watched for a week. And by their inaction and prolonged tolerance in the public opinion they tacitly condoned what was going on.
The public have been so conditioned by 6 years of near total MSM support for all policy and performance by the left wing parties they seem to have forgotten they have a right to be outraged by what went on in Opotiki.
A MSM that totally supports anything woke, Maori, second rate, or any group that can be described in any way as ever having been persecuted, disadvantaged or suffered discrimination or belonged to a minority. And Green of course. But its actually purposeful indoctrination to create acceptance of such viewpoints.
Does anyone believe a gang could take over a small town in Australia ? The Government, the media and the public would have howled for blood . And they would have had it. There would have been a most forthright and immediate response. It just wouldn't be tolerated. And the media would have led the charge. But not in New Zealand.
This wouldn't be tolerated in Australia, This wouldn't be tolerated in any other Western Democracy. Just New Zealand. Here it's ok, or in te reo, it's kapai bro. The media barely said boo.
And Luxon's campaign statements that a coalition government led by him would go hard on gangs was met by derision and denial by both Hipkins and the MSM.
I don't know when I last turned on TV1, TV3 or RNZ. The same predictable pap on all 3.
And though I live in Auckland I can't remember when I last bought a copy of the Herald, and I certainly won't pay for it on line. So I never have to listen to that Rodney bloody Wilson thank Christ. Or listen to attempted indoctrination by left wing and 3rd rate media.
I try to see more of Sky News Australia but can only do so via You tube - it’s the only ‘grown-up’ news channel!
I think the major problem is that MSM management and journalists are incapable of analysis of any sort as evidenced by their commentary since the Newshub announcement.
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