The Government is taking immediate action to support New Zealand’s media and content production sectors, while it develops a long-term reform programme, Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith says.
“Firstly, the Government will progress the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill with amendments, to support our local media companies to earn revenue for the news they produce.
“I have looked closely at the design of the legislation and will be changing the approach to align more closely with the Australian digital bargaining code to give all companies greater certainty....…
“ACT have indicated they will not support the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill. However, the leaders of the three coalition parties have agreed ACT can hold a differing view. This means the bill will rely on the support of other parties to pass.
This is both an unprincipled and a stupid decision. I can handle principled stupid decisions and even unprincipled smart decisions but this is neither.
It is unprincipled because it is forcing successful companies in one industry (social networks and search engines) to fund failing companies in another industry (media). The only rationale for this is that Google and Meta have money and Stuff doesn’t. Will we see Netflix levied money to fund home video rental stores? Will we see Foodstuffs levied money to find Whitcoulls?
It is also a very stupid decision. Most media is already left leaning as most journalist have a left worldview. The Government is going to pass a law to fund a media that will oppose almost everything that supporters of the Government believe in. Even worse, it will set up a structural incentive for the media to become even more left leaning. Let’s say the Government forces Meta and Google to hand over $20 million a year to local media. Well Labour and Greens next election will insist that levy be doubled to $40 million, and of course that will create an institutional bias in favour of the parties that will benefit media the most. And Te Pati Maori will no doubt insist 50% of the left go to Maori media companies.
It is also very possible that the proposed law will fail, in that Meta will simply block all NZ news links rather than be forced to pay a levy.
David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders.
10 comments:
I'm struggling to understand what the Coalition think they're going to get from actively funding a MSM that despises them.
It makes no sense and makes you wonder about the reasoning capacity that top level ministers have.
We all know the last lot had virtually none. Now I'm starting to wonder about our current crop, most of which sit in the National Party.
This crap is right up there with 3 waters, Te Huahua and co-governance.
If the govt thinks for one minute that the bill will change the way media operate or even soften their views on centre right govt, they should join the bill in the "for destruction" bin.
The problem isn't just media organizations being left leaning. I don't have a problem with that, as I read the Guardian.
Organizations like Stuff are anti-democracy, with its one sided promotion of co-governance and Te Pati Maori as well as its support of the last government's restrictions on public information (to be fair Andrea Vance did complain about that for a couple of weeks, but then she must have been told to shut up). Then there were the constant praising of Jacinda, such as stories that she was a front runner for a Nobel prize repeated in the week prior to the 2020 elections, conspiracy theories complaining abot conspiracy theories in "The Fire and Fury and, the blatant promotion of Tory Whanau at the last local body elections.
Since then I've been avoiding the website in the belief that the fewer people who go there the less advertising and income they will receive. That's all for nothing thanks to National.
Supposed corporate guru Luxon PM has let the side down again on a simple unneeded issue .
It beggars belief that he would hand an own goal to the media to trash the right.
Even worse he is deliberately propping them up with taxpayers funds .
Maybe Twyford wasnt that bad a politician after all.
Thank goodness ACT has said they agree to disagree
A large section of the community just wants balanced, honest news. Those struggling legacy media companies who fail to meet this criteria because they won't or just can't pivot from their far-left view of the World should 'rightly' be 'left' to fail. I have to agree here that the Government is shooting themselves in the foot with this one, and stand to lose mightily whichever way this pans out. BTW; the last thing we need is any more Government-led 'reform programmes'. Oh dear!
Now it is very clear why Melissa Lee was pushed aside. She would not have proposed or agreed with this garbage.
Someone in the National caucus needs to start "doing the numbers".
Give the media what they want, then when that turns to custard you can push the blame back on them!!
Any more of this cods wallop and Luxon could score honorary membership of the Labour Party (or would that just be associate membership?) - whatever ... Willie mastered the art of the $55M bribe and this is just a top up that he can also claim kudos for because National will likely find that the media will in its case, bite the hand that feeds it. An own goal indeed.
Support for this Bill is self-flagellation by National.
Yet more confirmation that I was right not to vote National and, frankly it's fast approaching time for Peters & Seymour to go full retard and demand a stop to this crap.
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