David Farrar: Striking Stuff

Radio NZ reports:

E tū members at media company Stuff are striking on Thursday afternoon. …

Wellington-based journalist and E tū delegate Tom Hunt said the company seemed to be showing contempt for staff.

Graham Adams: Media chiefs struggle to understand democracy

News outlets compromised in the Treaty principles debate.

Listening to Sinead Boucher speak last week at a parliamentary hearing on the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill, it was easy to be captivated momentarily by her rhetoric about democracies requiring a strong and free media.

Addressing the select committee MPs, she said: “A strong, independent news media is essential… As elected representatives in a democracy, I know you really understand the necessity for a strong, free press… that helps inform and educate New Zealanders on the issues that are really important to them.”

Then you remember suddenly she is talking about Stuff.

Karl du Fresne: Meanwhile, down a blind alley ...

That worked out well, didn’t it?

Just six months ago, Stuff announced the appointment of Caitlin Cherry as editor of what was then The Dominion Post.

Both she and her new employer made rapturous noises. “We’re thrilled to have Caitlin leading our newsroom in the capital,” cooed Stuff’s Joanna Norris at the time. “She is a fierce advocate for the city and as a lifelong Wellingtonian, she is inherently aware of all that is newsworthy in the city and region.”

Thomas Cranmer: The State of Stuff - Media Ownership and Transparency Under Scrutiny

Today marks the third anniversary of Sinead Boucher's acquisition of Stuff but questions still remain unanswered about the media group's governance structure and the identity of its backers.

As the general election looms, the media will play an increasingly critical role in presenting the political personalities and issues to the New Zealand public. The manner in which those stories are framed will undoubtedly have some influence on the outcome. So before we cast a critical eye over our political parties and their offerings, it might be worth considering the state of our media, and in particular, the state of Stuff.

Karl du Fresne: The slow-motion suicide continues

A friend emailed me to ask what I thought of the announcement that the Dominion Post would henceforth be known simply as the Post.

I replied that what they choose to call the paper no longer matters, since it long ago ceased to bear any recognisable trace of its respected precursor titles. The name change simply confirms that Stuff’s owner, Sinead Boucher (and I’m guessing it would have been her decision, even if Dominion Post editor Caitlin Cherry announced it) has little knowledge of, and even less regard for, the heritage of the company she owns.