I thought it was all talk when he kept dropping it as a possibility but it turns out I was wrong. He’s announced the BSA is gone; the laws will be drawn up in the next few months and they’ll be passed before the next election.
Why this surprises me is because this is culture war-adjacent stuff. This is exactly the kind of thing the Nats have tried to avoid of late - anything that makes you feel just a bit icky.
People aren’t going to like it. They’ve tried to get away from it because there is quite a high risk of blowback. If the Nats are accused of trying to protect their mates in the more fringe parts of the media, like Platform for example, that’s not necessarily a good look.
And on the other hand, there’s little upside - other than making a few broadcasters like me, irritated by the BSA, happy. The BSA is funded by the media so there aren’t even taxpayer savings they can crow about.
But it still is the right thing to do, because the BSA imposes quite significant costs on broadcasters.
Sky, for example, is rumoured to have paid half a million dollars to the BSA last year. That’s money the media simply can’t afford to fork out at the moment when they’re doing it as tough as they are.
And for little good because the BSA doesn’t actually police what we say - you do. We’re more worried about you than we are about the BSA if I’m being completely honest. We know that if we use expletives - say, if I were to use them on air while kids are in the car - you’re going to turn off the radio. You don’t want to hear that.
If we are untrustworthy - if you find out that what we’re telling you is wrong - you’re going to stop listening. And that, frankly, is more of a deterrent than a bunch of people in Wellington getting worked up about something and then slapping a $5000 fine on us.
The BSA has no one to blame but itself and its overreach in trying to police the internet for what has happened to it today. Had it stayed in its lane, it might have survived simply by not drawing attention to itself.
But it went for a power grab with The Platform and it has ended up sealing its own fate.
Heather du Plessis-Allan is a journalist and commentator who hosts Newstalk ZB's Drive show.
9 comments:
One good decision by National, Finally !!!!!! YAAAAAAY
Hopefully you all in the main stream media will now be able to talk about nz issues without the bsa handbrake. Topics like he puapua and what nz will be like if labour x 3 win in 2026 should be discussed. Have you noticed how the Indian community push back? We don't. They are a lesson to the kiwi sheeple. And to the silent main stream media.
This action opens the right-wing propoganda floodgates. Fox News, here we come!
Misinformation with no consequences. Moving from journalistic standards to vibes. What could possibly go wrong, Russia?
Some spine in the Nats! Who would have thought?
The rich tend to win here. They have the money and the motivation. If only they had regular folks interests at heart. Expect more hit pieces from whaleoil-adjacent operators.
Two thingies -
1. "i Have heard, that within the outer office's of the PM's 9th Floor Bunker room, that the 'advisors' became concerned that Gold Paulsmith was not moving fast enough on the BSA thingy issue'.
The upshot, was said 'advisors' had to dela with it, as Pontius Pilate did not want to 'dirty' his hands (we are in General Election Year) so Gold Paulsmith was 'spoken' to - (to provide context and voter enthusiasm) - and advised what to say and what will happen - to the media, which once this 'news' hit the websites (it now replaced Meiki Sherman) - all NZ MSM suddenly had had something to say.
They also got Simeon Brown to "appear" on The Platform - just to show "solidarity" with that media outlet.
My question to NZ MSM - "why did you not openly contest what the BSA Committee was doing"????
2. - If anyone has read the decisions made by the BSA, which can be accessed, you may find that of the myriad complaints made -
- that many were not upheld
- nor was their any indication that a complaint was going to be dealt with.
I have read an article that shows this, the article "listing" the instances where the BSA should have been 'throwing bricks' at those who had 'a failed judgement' when presenting data on TV or via other sources, for which a complaint (justifiable) had been received.
If you think our BSA is/was bad - you should look at the UK and their Media Watchdog group, who tried to lump GB News in as
"a broadcaster" , but to gain access to their News, you need to use Google/You Tube as they do not broadcast like the BBC or Sky.
Sanity - at last - now what else can be "removed"??
The BSA was great. The last bastion holding out against the oligarchy. They are gone and the billionaire elite are going to flood the zone. NZ is on a misinformation downhill slide from here. The uneducated are going to get filled with nonsense and start voting against their interest en masse. Jesus wept.
If only the bsa went after the left as well as the platform then all good. They turned a blind eye to the left misinformation and just went after Sean. Great outcome. There are a few more dar left agencies that should be scrapped and restarted.
Post a Comment
Thank you for joining the discussion. Breaking Views welcomes respectful contributions that enrich the debate. Please ensure your comments are not defamatory, derogatory or disruptive. We appreciate your cooperation.